Brown Mountain Loop

JakubRZ · Post by **JakubRZ** » Sat Feb 21, 2026 5:43 pm

Started at the trailhead at top of Rising Hill in Altadena. We bagged Wella's Peak and then ascended the west ridge towards Brown. It was a bit of a steep bushwack, but we were able to find the trail fine and eventually ascended the ridge. Up and down we went bagging Brown Mtn and 3-4 other secondary peaks along the way. Spectacular views. Trail from Brown to Tom Sloan saddle is rough, but largely passable. Dropped down towards Dawn Mine and didn't see a soul until we exited Millard Canyon before the falls. The water in Millard is flowing steady and there were 20+ stream crossings. Spectacular scenery, fun crossings and totally doable to stay dry, if you focus and take your time. We dropped down to Millard Camp and took the fire road back up and down. 15 miles, 3700'. Highly recommended adventure. I would probably not recommend going counterclockwise.

RidgeHiker · Post by **RidgeHiker** » Wed May 13, 2026 11:50 am

This is awesome. I was up at Brown Mtn a few days prior to your trip. The views are amazing up there. I did an out and back from Eaton Saddle over the many false peaks. Picked up a few ticks I had to knock off.

I have always admired that ridge up from Wella's and been eager to try it, but don't want to alone. Let me know if you'd like to do this loop again or a variant of it and I can tag along!

Post by **Sean** » Wed May 13, 2026 12:28 pm

Thanks for the report and photos. Several years ago I forgot my sunglasses on Brown. Did you find them?

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Thu May 14, 2026 9:34 am

Brown Mountain is great and I've never seen anyone up there except for the animal photographer "Cougar Magic." It's gotta be the most inaccessible/remote feeling peak in the front front country.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Thu May 14, 2026 9:36 am

RidgeHiker wrote: Wed May 13, 2026 11:50 amI have always admired that ridge up from Wella's and been eager to try it, but don't want to alone.

I've only gone down that ridge. The views are great, as you'd expect. Going up would kinda suck, especially on a hot day.

JakubRZ · Post by **JakubRZ** » Thu May 14, 2026 2:51 pm

Hey thanks for chiming in everyone. Funny because I originally posted in February and no one responded then. I figured my post wasn't "edgy" enough for this audience LOL

Brown Mtn ridge is super fun. Going up from Wella's on a cool breezy morning was fine. You get a lot of elevation gain behind you quickly. The trail is rugged, overgrown, at times barely there, but the views are spectacular. As long as the Chaney trailhead remains closed, this area alongside Dawn Mine will remain amazingly quiet even on weekends. And there are so many things to explore...south of the main ridge there is peak 3981 (I heard called The Schlubb?) and peak 4187 that has some promising rock formations I have spotted from below. The Saucer Branch remains partially explored by a few people on this forum, but not sure if anyone's ever completed it from Millard Canyon up to the BM ridge. Also, I remember Dima leading a party to locate a Cessna wreck and Colin (RIP) taking ridges leading North from Millard Falls up to BM. And then there's the Bear Canyon side...

Post by **Sean** » Sat May 16, 2026 5:12 am

Anyone know the lore behind the name "Wella's Peak?" Around here we usually refer to minor bumps by their elevation profile, such as Point 2999 or Point 3111, depending on which bump you consider to be "Wella's." Also, calling it a "peak" is a bit much considering its sub-300' prominence. Besides, I believe there is an old benchmark on 3111, which should offer a name for the pair of bumps. I forget the name on the benchmark though.

Matthew · Post by **Matthew** » Sat May 16, 2026 7:15 am

So it was named "Wella's peak" by an Openstreetmap user named m0dafinil back in 2016. On that account, this person only has 6 map edits and most of them look like the re-adding of this peak to the map. Also our friend stonehillnews commented and asked for the name origin and got no response.

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Post by **Sean** » Sat May 16, 2026 9:28 am

And it was added to Peakbagger by "neuro hacker" whoever that is.

Post by **dima** » Sat May 16, 2026 10:14 am

Yes. And since everybody pulls from OSM, so that name is now established. Long live Wella!

JakubRZ · Post by **JakubRZ** » Sat May 16, 2026 2:09 pm

According to google AI and MTB lore, the name of Ken Burton's dog, a German Shorthaired Pointer, was Wella. She accompanied him while building the nearby trails.