Two years ago, I moved across LA, to the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. The first thing I do in any new neighbourhood is get to know it by foot, and it didn’t take too long for me to discover access to countless trails. You can walk easily from our doorstep to more than one waterfall, or up into the Angeles Forest for incredible views of the city.
Catherine & Fritz Jensen, Mt Lowe
One particularly interesting peak is Echo Mountain, where in the late 1800s, a man called Thaddeus Lowe built a resort and a “railway to the stars,” a train that led you up what is now Mt Lowe. Imagine my surprise to learn — after never knowing such a place existed — that my great, great grandparents rode this railway. Here’s a photo of them on Mt Lowe in the early 1930s:
To get to Echo Mountain, there was a train that took you into Rubio Canyon, and a separate incline car that hauled you up the canyon wall. Despite the fires and floods that decimated the whole operation, and the subsequent removal of debris, there are still ruins to be found atop the mountain and in the canyon. There is something magical about it. The history, of course, but also a slightly haunted air. I feel a pull to it I don’t understand. Is it genetic memory? Is it memory from a previous life?
Moss Grotto Falls (photo by Erika)
The first time I set foot in Rubio Canyon, I was taken. I said, “I want to film a video here.” A conversation during a recent visit with friends set the wheels in motion. Seeing it through their eyes and hearing their observations helped solidify the thoughts and feelings that had been brewing. I finished this song (which had been merely a seed of an idea), and I set out with Ken Klaus, friend and artist, to film the video. I hope it communicates a bit of the magic and mystery.
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Video: Ken Klaus
Audio: Jeff Gross/144 Studios