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A short jaunt of less than a half mile past the ruins atop Echo Mountain takes you to this cache, where you can enjoy the views and see what remains of the old railroad trestles and bridges. Making this side trip, you'll see the old trolley railway bed that continues on north and west of Echo Mountain, en route to "Ye Alpine Tavern" (today the site of Mt. Lowe campround).
On any weekend with good weather, you'll find lots of hikers enjoying the trail up to Echo Mountain and the ruins of the White City. Fewer of these weekend visitors make the side trip to see the old trolley railway bed that continues on north and west of Echo Mountain, en route to "Ye Alpine Tavern" (today the site of Mt. Lowe campround).
The Mount Lowe Railway was a series of scenic mountain railroad lines created as a tourist attraction on Echo Mountain and Mount Lowe. The railway, originally incorporated by Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe as the Pasadena & Mt. Wilson Railroad Co., existed from 1893 until its official abandonment in 1938, and had the distinction of being the only scenic mountain, electric traction (overhead electric trolley) railroad ever built in the United States. The line was divided into 3 divisions: the Mountain Division, the Great Incline, and the Alpine Division.
The Alpine Division opened in 1896 and consisted of 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of narrow gauge track with 127 curves and 18 bridges and trestles. On this line there were three cars available for shuttling between Echo and the end-of-line, though only one car ever operated at a time due to electrical limitations, and there was no two-way traffic. The division spanned the broad face of Las Flores Canyon, rounded a promontory called the “Cape of Good Hope,” traveled deep into Millard Canyon, reappeared at the front face of the mountain, and eventually disappeared into Grand Canyon where it terminated at the foot of Mount Lowe. This location was called Crystal Springs (elev. 4,995 ft/1,522 m) for a stream of water that poured from the hillside, and it was here that the last of the hotels, the 12-room Swiss-style chalet, "Ye Alpine Tavern,” was built.
The cache is located near the place that the railroad crossed Las Flores Canyon, and there are many reminders of the past here, including the foundations of trestles and bridges, and remaining railroad ties along the road bed. There are also a number of interpretive displays showing photos of the railroad in its heyday. Today, the Alpine Division forms a nice connecting trail between the summit of Echo Mountain on the east, and the trails of the Millard Canyon area to the west. An attractive alternative route to the cache, rather than via Echo Mountain, is to start at the Chaney Trail trailhead and hike east to reach the junction of the Sunset fire road with the Alpine Division trail.
The cache is a camouflaged canister, larger than a "small" but smaller than a full "regular"; plenty of room for trade items and travel bugs. For FTF, the cache starts out with two special trackables: The Real Geocachers of La Cañada Flintridge FTF Coin and the First To Find Micro Geo-Award. The goal of the Micro Geo-Award says, "This trackable should only be logged when the holder has a FTF on a cache (discovering is ok). When the holder is ready to move it on, they must place it in a new cache as a FTF prize!"
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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