Mt. Markham and San Gabriel Peak
Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:42 am
Since I've been a bit of a sluggard lately and haven't kept pace of my EisPiraten duties and responsibilities, I figured I'd better start the new year off right by posting a TR. Nothing new here that you haven't already seen, but my daughter and I went out yesterday for a trip to the summits of Mt. Markham and San Gabriel Peak. It was cool and windy, and it was the first day that kind of felt like winter might be around the corner.
The parking area at Eaton Saddle was jam packed with cars so we had to park up the road a bit and walk back to the saddle. We strode along the fire road to the Markham saddle and then veered off onto the Mt. Lowe trail to the saddle between Lowe and Markham. Encountered lots of people on the trail and a clump of bro's at the saddle eating burritos and playing a ukulele. We hastily started up the use trail to the summit of Markham only to have the ukulele bro's follow our lead and start up behind us. Where the path (which is really almost an established trail at this point) steepens before you attain the long, flat summit, the bro's backed off and beat a retreat to the summit of Lowe to annoy somebody else while we hogged the solitude of Markham all to ourselves.
After snacks and a healthy does of philosophy, literature, and politics, we started back down the ridge as a helo came over Eaton Saddle heading south. I surmised with no basis whatsoever, but a healthy does of prejudice, that it was headed for the Huntington Medical Center with a motorcyclist who had been scraped off the ACH further north.
Anyhoo, back at the Markham saddle, I slipped into the brush to water the foliage. Pee rags abounded. I understand differences in plumbing, but drip dry folks. Or pick up after yourselves for Gawd's sake.
The trail to San Gabriel is in fine shape. Immediately below the summit, a pair of blue, soiled skivvies hung unceremoniously from a tree branch trail side. I didn't take a picture because I was dry-heaving too much. Atop, the wind began to pick up and the sky to the north began to darken. The cool, winter-like weather was a super enjoyable change from the perpetual summer we're having.
The trek back to Eaton Saddle was uneventful. Still a fair number of cars when we returned late in the afternoon.
Some pics:
The parking area at Eaton Saddle was jam packed with cars so we had to park up the road a bit and walk back to the saddle. We strode along the fire road to the Markham saddle and then veered off onto the Mt. Lowe trail to the saddle between Lowe and Markham. Encountered lots of people on the trail and a clump of bro's at the saddle eating burritos and playing a ukulele. We hastily started up the use trail to the summit of Markham only to have the ukulele bro's follow our lead and start up behind us. Where the path (which is really almost an established trail at this point) steepens before you attain the long, flat summit, the bro's backed off and beat a retreat to the summit of Lowe to annoy somebody else while we hogged the solitude of Markham all to ourselves.
After snacks and a healthy does of philosophy, literature, and politics, we started back down the ridge as a helo came over Eaton Saddle heading south. I surmised with no basis whatsoever, but a healthy does of prejudice, that it was headed for the Huntington Medical Center with a motorcyclist who had been scraped off the ACH further north.
Anyhoo, back at the Markham saddle, I slipped into the brush to water the foliage. Pee rags abounded. I understand differences in plumbing, but drip dry folks. Or pick up after yourselves for Gawd's sake.
The trail to San Gabriel is in fine shape. Immediately below the summit, a pair of blue, soiled skivvies hung unceremoniously from a tree branch trail side. I didn't take a picture because I was dry-heaving too much. Atop, the wind began to pick up and the sky to the north began to darken. The cool, winter-like weather was a super enjoyable change from the perpetual summer we're having.
The trek back to Eaton Saddle was uneventful. Still a fair number of cars when we returned late in the afternoon.
Some pics:
