Quick Stats: 11.1 Miles & 3,009′ gain via Castle Canyon from The Cobb Estate. LPC #24
Nestled away in the mountains near Altadena is a small peak that I’ve skipped many times. It’s on the Lower Peaks Committee list, which means it’s something I wanted to do, but for one reason or another, I would always hike past it.
Recently I met someone that is really into the outdoors, and is also kind of interested in mountaineering. . . Not that this is a mountaineering peak, but I’m going to see if I can get her actually interested in mountaineering. We decided as our first adventure together to do a hike of Muir Peak. There are two very accessible routes to it: From the North via Eaton Saddle, and from the South from the Cobb Estate. We opted for the South approach.
We started early enough that we needed headlamps, but with a nearly full moon on a well maintained and highly trafficked trail, we didn’t use them. (I think this is my first entry in a long time on Peakbagger that has no equipment listed). Our ascent took started at the Cobb Estate, taking the Sam Merrill Trail up to the “summit” of Echo Mountain, where there were people apparently doing vocal warm ups at the top. Interesting side note: Only one of them actually sang at all, so we decided (without asking) that this was an artist who was inspired to sing to Altadena from the mountaintops, and his friends came along to support him.
From there we went up Castle Canyon, another maintained trail that is pretty well trafficked to make our way to Inspiration Point. I think the enjoyment of getting to know my new friend got in the way of photo taking, because this trip has very few of them (and Castle Canyon is pretty lush and beautiful).
From there it’s a very brief hike toward Muir Peak along a trail named “One Man & One Mule Trail;” until there’s a “Blink-and-you-will-miss-it” junction up the trail to the summit:
For the descent, we retraced our steps to make our way down Castle Canyon, down the Sam Merrill Trail, and back to the Cobb Estate. Not before getting in a little climbing along the way since we’re also becoming climbing partners, too!
