Daily Kennebec journal., 1906-03-14
Going to the Top of Mount Lowe.

unless he has plenty of time ne ous"'
to have the advantage of good auHioe
as TO those things which he may lea.e
undone. There is the trip 10 0'ii'"
Catalina, which for people VINO ENJOY
short excursions on the water mas iiuch
to recommend it. The days rue
through the orange country is another
thing that the visitor cannot well afford
10 miss. Half dozen different lines of
steam and electric railways makes 1t
easy and pleasant to go 10 peautllui
Pasadena and the many interesting
ocean resorts in the immediate Vlclhlty
of Los Angeles, While il is but snort
journey 10 San Diego. Coronado Beach
and the Mexican border. There is
probably no city in the United States
that surpasses Los Angeles in interest
ing surroundings. The sightseeing
stranger may go to some new place
every day Tor two or three weeks ana
then not be able to get all around.
The trip TO the top of Mount Lowe
is one that is always highly recon-
mended by those who have taken it.
Mount Lowe is one of the peaks in the
Sierra Madre range, about Is miles
Iiphi I@o' ]hiSeleS. lie tIoiicS iiiiS
runs out through Pasadena, affcrding
pleasing glimpse of that flower -bedeck-
ed city. and then up through Altadena,
Il sort of fairyland, rising gradually till
the end of the road is reached at Il pa
vilion in Rubio Canyon. From this
point there is an incline cable railway
which in L little more than nalf
mile makes an ascent of 400 feet to the
summit of Echo Mountain.
There was in a party that recently
fnade the ascent Of Mount Lowe Il
young man from Pittsburg. who, hav-
ing glanced at the cable road which
slanted up the rocky side of the noun
tain, said:
"Pshaw. There's nothing exciting
about that. We have half Il dozen in
clined roads right in Pittsburg, and
nobody ever thinks anything about
going up them"
Still. for people who are not used
to riding on such lines the ride up
Echo mountain is rather thrilling. To
the passengers in the ascending cars
the world seems to he dropping away.
and many Il heartfelt sigh of relief has
been breathcd on the landing place at
the upper end of the track.
From the top of Echo mountain,
where the Lowe observatory is Situat-
ed. an electric railway ZigZags up
through the clouds, making an ascent
of 1900 feet in a run of eight miles.
The track is. except in Il few places,
laid upon narrow shelf that has been
cut along the rocky side of the noun
tain II tAaGilnS deem
canyons, forms many loops ana horse
shoes in one place occupies four ter
races, one above the other, so that pas
ear when the car is upon the
upper stret ch. soc three sections of track
below, and frequently one may look
straight down from the side Of Il car
for nearly a mile. Mount Lowe is 6100
feet high, the electric railway ending
100 feet below the summit.
From the terminus of the trolley
line Their is Il trail to the top OF the
mountain. and ii is on this part of the
trip that the fun comes in. Some peo-
pie go up on foot. but the most thrill
ing and popular way is to ride up on
Il horse or mule. | rode a mule when
| went up. He was not pleasing
looking mule. He had an evil eye and
a cruel mouth. and before he and
that his disposition was not such as to
inspire confidence. The young man
from Pittsburg was Il member of the
party, which consisted. in addition to
the guide, of four men and three mid
dlo-ahed women. Three of the men
We're iE adv. nee in single iiIe. then fol-
lowed the women, all riding astride,
and after them | permitted my mule
to have his own way, owing to the fact
that he seemed to think that he knew
more about mountain climbing than |
did.
The guide constituted himself Il rear
guard. perhaps because he fancied that
he would. by being below. be better
able to catch anyone who might come
tumbling down than if he We're in adj
vance. The probabilities are however,
that he could have helped just as much
by going ahead.
The trail from the end of the electric
road to the summit of the mountain is
two and II half miles long and three
inches wide. The guide said its aver
age width was more than foot. but he
was trying to deceive us, as anyone
who has ever made the journey on the
back Of Il stubborn mule well knows.
The Trail ascends beyond the timber
line Immediately after the start is
made, and. running Steeply mp along
the almost perpendicular side of the
mountain. soon comes to a point re-
sembIing one corner of Il triangle.
Here it is customary for the mules to
cautiously approach the rocky edge.
look over into space for 4 moment, then
slowly swing themselves halfway
around and go up another incline until
lOoking-over place is reached. This
zezagsing process is continued until
the summit is achieved, after the
novice has for about the forty-Gfth
time given up all hope of ever seeing
the dear ones at home again.
The lady who rode just in advance of
me seemed to be the posscssor of a set
of nerves that We're not i'm faultlesS
condition. AS her mule approached the
first turning point and permitted his
head to hang out over the edge of IL
marrow shelf that was perhaps three
quarters of mile from the first thing