Bridge to Nowhere

An easy hike with a great payoff!

By coincidence, both Charlene and I had been discussing the Bridge to Nowhere with different people on different occasions, so it made sense to check it out.

As the bridge is now owned and used by a bungee-jumping company, the parking lot at the trailhead was packed with people you wouldn't normally find on a hiking trail. The yahoo factor was quite high, but we managed to stay separate from most of the big groups until close to the end. To their credit, they all had to hike the 8km in to the bridge (and hike back out at the end of the day).

Following the San Gabriel river

The trail mostly follows the old road that was originally intended to provide another route through the Angeles Forest. A large flood event occurred in 1938, washing the road out, and further development stopped, leaving this strange bridge that literally goes across a river and ends at a rock face.

Our own little swimming hole

At the end of the trail, a bit past the bridge, is an area where the San Gabriel River forms a number of pools that are deep enough (and safe enough) for taking a dip. The water was quite comfortable, certainly much warmer than the streams and rivers I was accustomed to back home. We stopped for lunch, relaxed in the pools, and occasionally heard the screams of people jumping off the bridge. Fortunately, the sound of the water muffled most everything else.

Our lunch spot (with the bridge in the background)

As the hike was very gentle and had little elevation gain, we hiked out quite quickly, amidst a number of groups that clearly did not believe in early starts.

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