Hike to Echo Mountain.
Angelino’s love a good hike. One of the most interesting is Echo Mountain above Altadena CA.
Opened in 1893 by Prof. Thaddeus Lowe, who become famous for sending a telegram from a balloon to President Lincoln and later for his interest in astronomy.
The whole rail system consisted of three parts. An electric trolley that ran up Lake street, then up the foothills to the base of the mountain.
The terminus was a waterfall filled canyon with a special wooden station. It perched above a stream with an attached restaurant hotel called the Rubio Pavilion. From here you take the next part of the journey.
The great incline. This was a two-car funicular train that resembles a mine car to travel nearly 3000ft up the side of the mountain. At the top of Echo Mountain was a beautiful Victorian hotel and smaller chalet hotel. Also, small zoo and dance hall for guests and Professor Lowes observatory.
This was also the departure point for the third part of the journey.
Alpine division. These were special light rail trolleys that would travel further up the mountain to the base of Mt. Lowe. The end of the line was a wooded alpine canyon with Swiss style Chalet hotel/bar.
Here people could hike to inspiration point to picnic or hit-up the tavern. This was the end of the line. Just seven miles from the start of the line but seemingly a world away.
Storms and fires troubled the rail line. The Echo Mountain hotel burned down only seven years after opening and was never rebuilt Prof. Lowe sold the railroad, and it changed hands a few times until Henry Huntington’s Red Car Line acquired it.
In 1909 more fires and a bad storm troubled the line. There was a terrible lightning storm and flash flood that destroyed the Rubio Pavilion at the foot of the mountain.
One of the caretaker's children was killed in the collapse while the caretakers themselves spent years in the hospital recovering. Two of the children that knew how to operate the Great Incline cars, escaped up the summit. Imagine though going up that incline during a lightning storm with wind and rain and water cascading down the slope flooding and destroying the pavilion below.
Though the Echo Mountain resort area was destroyed the rail lines were repaired and the Alpine Tavern was expanded. They remained in operation until the late 1930’s after another fire and flood shut them down for good.
The ruins sat abandoned for many years before the remaining stone structures such as the powerhouse and Alpine Tavern were razed in the late 1950’s.
In 1993, the site and remaining ruins were made into a historical landmark and hiking trail.
We checked it out in the summer of 09’. This was a while ago, but from what I've seen online it's much the same up there. Amazing to see the ruins and see history come to life.
Photo Credits: waterandpower.org - mountlowe.org
To hike the trails, go all the way up to the end of Lake St. in Altadena CA, Look for the Sam Merrill trail.
