This is the first of my photo galleries of the lower sections of the Mt. Wilson Trail, defined as from the trailhead to Orchard Camp, which is approximately half way to Mt. Wilson. I would guess that at least 90% of the people walking on this trail go no further than First Water, and only a very small number go all the way to Mt. Wilson, which is 7-1/2 miles from the start and 4,500' in elevation gain from Sierra Madre. This historic trail is one of the most popular and consequential trails in the San Gabriels, and one can never hike on it without seeing other people. I am fortunate to live only a few blocks from the trailhead so this is a trail that I have done many times. The trail itself is actually about 6 miles long ending at Forest Service Road 2N45 and continuing along that road for the rest of the way to the summit. Some trail approximating the current one had been used for a long time by the Gabrielino peoples and then was more extensively routed and constructed in 1864 by Benjamin Wilson aka Don Benito to haul timber from the mountain top. The first observatory was established by Harvard University in 1889. This gallery contains photos from six hikes in the spring and summer of 2005. There was a tremendous rainfall in December and January so this was a pretty good spring after some needed repair work was done on the trail. Descriptions of these hikes may be found here. An asterisk next to the common name indicates a non-native species.

Hollyleaf cherry
Prunus ilicifolia ssp. ilicifolia
Rosaceae

San Gabriel Mountains leather oak
Quercus durata var. gabrielensis
Fagaceae

Wild cucumber
Marah macrocarpa
Cucurbitaceae

Chaparral whitethorn
Ceanothus leucodermis
Rhamnaceae

Coast live oak
Quercus agrifolia var. agrifolia
Fagaceae

Goldback fern
Pentagramma triangularis ssp. triangularis
Pteridaceae

Hairy ceanothus
Ceanothus oliganthus var. oliganthus
Rhamnaceae

Cabbage white butterfly
Pieris rapae
Pieridae

Periwinkle *
Vinca major
Apocynaceae