Me and my girls are training to do Half Dome next year.  This is no small feat as we are either slightly long in the tooth or not particularly athletic, but we are determined.

This leads me to the point of the post.  This morning we hiked Echo Mountain and I must say, it was superb.  Never been?  There is a great description here .  You start at the very top of Lake Ave. near the big stone gate posts.  Follow the trail markers to the right and soon you will find a well groomed trail.  The hike is 2.7 miles to the ruins of the old Echo Mountain House and it is a great mix of incline, flats and switch backs.

The history on this hike is amazing – July 4th, 1893, Thaddeus Lowe opened his incline railway to the world.  It was the steepest incline railway in the world with a 63 percent grade at the steepest part and would climb nearly 3,000 feet in length as well as 1,250 feet in elevation.  Along the way there were four hotels, a petting zoo, miniature golf, a bowling alley, billiards, tennis, spectacular views of Southern California, a one million candle power searchlight, horseback riding and a dance hall. It truly was Disneyland of its day.

A full article is available here.

I took a few amazingly good pictures with my cell phone.  Enjoy the slide show!

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