GROUP HIKES

Grand Canyon Group Hike | TRVRS Outdoors

Join us for a group hike that starts along a more popular hiking trail in the San Gabriel mountains before leaving any named trails and exploring an area that is mostly untouched by human traffic. This will be wildly different from our usual ridgeline treks, so be prepared to for some canyon dwelling.

Disclaimer

If you've never attended a TRVRS Outdoors event before, you should know that we tend to attract Southern California's relatively stronger and more experienced hikers. It is important that our participants are well aware of the inherent dangers involved with class 2-3 climbing routes. If this is not familiar territory for you, maybe sit this one out or reach out to us with any questions you may have if you are unsure (trvrsapparel@gmail.com).

We like to be inclusive on our outings, but we also need to make decisions that keep the rest of the pack safe, so a little bit of self-awareness goes a long way.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION

We'll meet at the bottom of the lower Sam Merrill trail in Alta Dena before hiking up to the junction for the Castle Canyon trail where we'll regroup. From here, we'll head straight up to Inspiration point where we'll have another opportunity to regroup, snack, and enjoy the views of the coast if its a clear day. Once everyone has an opportunity to catch their breath, we'll continue toward Mount Lowe camp. This is where the fun begins.

From the camp, we'll descend into the Grand Canyon of the San Gabriel mountains. This three mile cross country segment will feature some rugged terrain. Hikers should expect some side-hilling and travel over chossy (crumbly) granite. We'll keep to a slow pace on some of these portions of the route.

Eventually we'll meet back up with the Mount Lowe Railway and Forest Service Road FR2N50, but this relief will be short-lived as we will almost immediately ditch the road for a fire break that is commonly known among locals as "Steep & Cheap". While this section is almost all solid granite, we will descend one at a time to ensure we don't send rocks tumbling toward other participants. If you are not comfortable with downclimbing this style of terrain, you might need to consider heading back to Echo mountain via the trail and going back down the normal route.

Grand Canyon of the San Gabriel Mountains Group Hike | TRVRS Outdoors

DETAILS

Terrain: Easy to navigate trail for 2.5 miles, Steep canyon trail ascent for 2 miles, difficult cross country route for 3 miles, Class-3 technical downclimb for roughly 50 feet on descent back to car.

Exposure: Yes, both climbing exposure and of the plant variety (poison oak).

Difficulty: Intermediate (relative to the average hiker, we tend to attract the faster of the bunch!)

Dog Friendly: Nah, leave the pooch at home for this one.

Distance: 10.5 miles

Vertical Gain: 3,500 feet

Duration: About 7-8 hours
Meeting Location: Cobb Estate Trailhead

How Can I RSVP?

You can RSVP at the Facebook event page.

How can I stay in the know for future events?!

You can get updates about our upcoming group efforts on our Facebook Group, Baggin' Peaks & Havin' Drinks. Alternatively, you can join our mailing list at the bottom of this page for updates as well.

To find out about our upcoming events, please sign up for our mailing list or join one of our groups below:

Baggin' Peaks & Havin' Drinks - STRAVA

Baggin' Peaks & Havin' Drinks - FACEBOOK