Mt. Lowe East Trail 12W14.3A

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This Forest Service has this as the "Upper Sam Merrill Trail" in their database, but most maps, historical references and signs use "Mt. Lowe East Trail". Watch for and do not take shortcut trails going down the south ridge.

The Mt. Lowe East Trail starts along the Mt. Lowe Road #2N50 about 0.1 miles north of the junction with the Muir Peak Road #2N50.A, Middle Sam Merrill Trail 12W14.2 and Idlehour Trail 12W16. It climbs up to a junction with a connector trail over to the Mt. Lowe Trail Camp. Keep right as the trail climbs through a nice forest of bigcone spruce and oaks and then enters shadeless chaparral of scrub oak and ceanothus.

Through this section, it moderately climbs on the east side of the mountain to a junction with the Upper Sam Merrill Trail 12W14.3 (sometimes referenced as "Mt. Lowe West"). To reach the peak, take the left fork, go another 0.2 miles to another fork, and head left again to the summit.

Bigcone spruce, oaks, ceanothus, laurel sumac, and buckwheat all grow here.