July 23, 2004
Angeles National Forest
Lookout Trail / Rowher Flats
July 23, 2004 |
Angeles National Forest Lookout Trail / Rowher Flats |
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| The Rowher Flats and Forest signs. | The signs at the base of the entrance. |
| GPS: 34°29.935N x 118°22.943W | |
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Like most trails I ride regularly, this trail is north of Los Angeles. Its in the same area as the Rowher trail, but we'll starting from the other side of the mountain - the Acton side. Take the 14 freeway, or Sierra Hwy north towards Palmdale. Take the Sand Canyon offramp from the 14 and head towards Sierra Hwy. At the intersection of Sand Canyon and Sierra Hwy, turn right and 4.5 miles later you'll see the forest sign and the Rowher Flats sign. The entrance is on the left side of the highway.
At 3 miles in, like the sign said, there is a parking/unloading area. This is where most of the motorcycle and ATVs unload. There is a restroom here and, at the far end, a map of the area trails. Looking at the map you'll see that there are only 2 trails for Jeeps, Rowher and Lookout, and both are rated Most Difficult. The parking/unloading area is a convenient place to air down and disconnect. When you're ready to continue, exit the parking area, turn left, keep going up the dirt road that leads to both trailheads. |
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| The area trail guide and topo. | Trail legend. Lookout & Rowher = 4x4. |
| GPS: 34°31.567N x 118°22.959W | |
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| The entrance to Lookout Trail. | The first hill after the entrance. |
| GPS: 34°31.850N x 118°22.240W | |
| We saw this Cherokee scouting the trail as we pulled up. He went up the entrance, looked at the first real hill and turned tail. At least he wasn't going first. We roll past him and on up the hill - no problem. We looked back to the Cherokee. Obviously insprired, he was making for the hill. | |
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| The next challenging hill. | A long slippery hill climb. |
| There are a couple more hills that offer some challenges. Loose dirt, large rocks and ruts, the usual fare on the local trails. This trail is just about a mile west of Rowher Trail and looks very similar. It ends at the top of the hill where it meets Rowher Trail. | |
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| The hills are rocky and dusty. | At the top looking back down. |
| The hills are all dusty, some have lots of small sharp rocks that aren't good for your tires and provide zero traction. But once you're up its a nice view back down. | |
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| The Naked Jeep. Got it made in the shade. | |
| The reward at the top can be found under the shade of a couple of old trees. | |
| << Lockwood Trail << | |
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Jeep is a registered trademark of DaimlerChrysler. |
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