"Visited Mt Markham and Mount Lowe via Eaton Saddle. Formed a loop after visiting both peaks by descending to the south and connecting with Mt Lowe Road. I took Mt Lowe Road all the way back. I intended to add Inspiration Point and Muir Peak, but I stayed out of the posted area that was closed due to fire damage." — MikeTeeples • Mar 8, 2026

"Took advantage of a rare cloudy July day amidst the recent heatwave and pulled up to Eaton Trailhead around 4pm. The parking lot boasted a great view out unto the San Gabriel Mountains, including Baldy. This was my first hike with my carbon trekking poles as well as the first big hike with my pal Beans the weener dog. As we passed through Mueller tunnel, I realized I forgot my headlamp (better to have and not need, etc.) My new picaridin bug repellent got put to the test early. The tunnel spooked Beans a little bit, but we started to settle into a decent pace. He was occasionally distracted by voices above us, which struck me as odd. He was in fact so distracted he didn't notice the juvenile rattlesnake cross the trail 2-3ft in front of us. As we yielded to let them cross, I wondered why we hadn't gained any elevation yet. I took my phone out to take a few photos and check our progress and the clues came together -- we'd stayed on the fire road instead of joining the Upper Sam Merrill trail at the previous junction. Thankful to the rattlesnake for pointing out my error before we'd gotten too terribly far, we backtracked and joined the trail as it started to drizzle. Once o..." — colin • Jul 23, 2023

"I started this hike with friends at 6 AM at the Sam Merril Trailhead. Then we went up the trail passing by Cobb Estate ruins. Then I went up the trail to get some great views and to summit Echo Mountain. Then saw some yellow poppies and then had a great oak forest and more great views. Then I summited Echo Mountain. The summit had some ruins, the echophone, and the summit historical signs. The summit had great views too. Then I went into the Castle Canyon. I saw some small waterfalls, rock formations, the V tree, great views, and Castle Canyon Falls. Then I summited Inspiration Point. The overlook had great views and a pavilion with loads of viewfinders. Then I went down the fire road to get to the Mt Lowe East Trail. Then I went up the trail. I went up a firebreak along the trail and saw great views of nearby Muir Peak. Then I crossed a creek and encountered the first snow. Then the snow got deeper and then I forked off on the trail to the summit. Then there was deeper snow and a sketchy snow crossing. The summit was so cool. It had 2 signs, a bench and viewfinders, great views toward Los Angeles, and a historical sign. This is my second summit of Mt Lowe. " — lc444 • Mar 22, 2023

" 12/24/22 We started this hike at 8 AM. The trailhead has a great view into the interior of Angeles National Forest. Then we started through the Mueller Tunnel and then ended up at Markham Saddle. Then we summited Mt Disappointment and saw our first snow. But we used a steep shortcut to the top. The summit of Disappointment has great views towards the city, but there is a great view of the foothills as well. But there is a disappointing view of the mountains. up the steep ere is a better views of the mountains from the road. Then we went to San Gabriel Peak. There was a huge snow patch along the trail. Then we summited San Gabriel Peak. It has enhanced views of the city and the mountains and had a benchmark. Then we continued back down to summit Mt Markham. So, we climbed through the shade on one side of Mt Markham and then summited Mt Markham using the use trail on the ridge. The views from Markham were great, but the hard work made the summit not as worth it as I'd expected. Then we continue down to Mt Lowe. The summit had great views of the city and San Gabriel Peak and had some pairs of binoculars and good info. Then after that returned to trailhead." — lc444 • Jan 1, 2023

"On a wonderful, spring-like day, the San Gabriel Mountains front range lured me to take a multi-peak hike. I started at the very busy (as usual) Eaton Saddle trailhead, went to the major trail junction shortly after the Mueller Tunnel. I took the right onto the San Gabriel Peak Trail and visited San Gabriel Peak first and enjoyed the lofty views. I then went to the San Gabriel-Mt. Disappointment Saddle and took the paved road to Mt. Disappointment. The equipment on the radio towers made a loud beep which was annoying, but being a summit lover, I did not let that detract from my enjoyment of Mt. Disappointment. I then returned to the major trail junction, and then I headed up the Mt. Lowe Trail to the saddle between Lowe and Markham, and scrambled up to Mt. Markham, returned to that saddle and visited Mt. Lowe. It was a wonderful outing with about 6.5 miles round-trip and about 1800' gain." — brianpowell • Mar 12, 2022

"Troop 128 climbed 4 San Gabriel peaks for a Philmont training hike. We started with San Gabriel Peak, hiked over to Mount Disappointment, on to Mount Lowe and finished with a scramble to the top of Mount Markham. Very difficult hiking especially with backpacks." — mattjohnson • Jun 13, 2021

"I climbed this peak as part of a Sierra Club Wilderness Travel Course intro outing, and this was peak 1/5 that day. Conditions were ideal, except that the tunnel road from Eaton Saddle was a bit obstructed by debris from some recent landslides." — ctrain2018 • Dec 9, 2018

"On a cooler than average mid-June day with the next day off, I decided to hit up the San Gabriels' Front Range after getting off from work at 2pm. So I took the traffic ridden 605 and 210 from north OC, where I work and live, and at 3:45pm started the hike from Eaton Saddle. The Mt. Lowe Fire Road was a "walk in the park" contrasted to many of my hikes. I then took the signed trail at the junction with the Mt. Lowe Trail. This stretch was pleasant with several areas of Golden Eardrops (Ehrendorferia chrysantha), believe it or not, a poppy family perennial, in bloom! The trail steepens a bit after Mt. Markham/Mt. Lowe Saddle, but is not bad at all. I reached the summit fairly quickly despite botanizing the plants along the way! The highest point of Lowe is not the bench, rather a fairly open patch among the chaparral about 40 yards northwest of it. The marine layer and onshore breezes kept the summit cool, and at times, foggy. Back at Markham/Lowe Saddle, I then decided to follow the ridge to Markham's Summit, adding about .9 mi round trip (out-and-back) with about 460' gain to the summit. Without Mt. Markham, the Mt. Lowe hike from Eaton Saddle is a little over 3 miles ..." — brianpowell • Jun 16, 2018

"This was a great hike to 4 different peaks. Each trail to the peaks were different as well. Gabriel peak was a nice single track with amazing views. Mt. Disappointment was a paved maintenance road with nice views as well. Walk back down to the main trail and take the Mt. Lowe trail (not the fire road) up to the Lowe summit. It’s very special with amazing views. The trail is pretty easy as it’s a wide trail and plenty of shade. Go back down the same way to reach the trail to Mt. Markham. This trail is technical and fun. Wear pants for this one because of the Spanish daggers and other sticker bushes. There is some scrambling in certain spots but the summit has completely different amazing views than the other peaks. It’s worth the effort. Just follow the path, take your time, and watch your footing. It’s doable! I took leisure time throughout this hike and enjoyed the views and scenery. It’s fun and very worth doing all the peaks in one hike." — rickb • Jan 5, 2018

"Did this along with Echo Mountain. Really fun hike but the last section to Inspiration Point is a gut buster. I have full hike directions on my blog here: https://hikingguy.com/hiking-trails/echo-mountain-hike/" — HikingGuy • Dec 30, 2015