Bridge To Nowhere!

Located in the San Gabriel Mountains....This 10-mile out and back hike along the San Gabriel River has very little elevation gain...roughly 900 feet. The "correct" way to go was not super clear to me, as I ended up off the trail and had to trek up the side of a brush covered hill. This led to me having many scratches and minor cuts all over my legs. But it was well worth it, and I made the right choice because the climb ended up taking me to the actual trail. I was following the river as you must cross it a bunch of times in order to continue following the trail. At some point I was supposed to stay to the right where the trail actually hugs the side of the hill and slowly gains some elevation.

But I stayed along the river bed following random fresh mud footprints. This part was roughly 3/4 of the way to the bridge, so make sure you are following the trail and stay to the right when you are nearing the bridge(~4 mile mark). On the way back I was able to follow it much easier. Lots of water crossings and basically just cross when necessary and where you imagine it to be the easiest. I noticed I did a few too many water crossings which is what led to me getting a little off track, but nonetheless, worth it. I could see walking poles/stick being a nice helper for this one if you'd like some stability for water crossings and just the rocky trail in general. If you want to beat the bungee jumping crowd and get parking, go early.

I was at the trail head by 5am and did not see more than 5-10 people on the way in. But on the way out I kid you not....I saw hundreds of people hiking back to watch the bungee jumpers and/or do the bungee jumping. So if you want to watch the jumpers, then it may be worth the wait to have a snack and watch the adrenaline junkies. Overall it took me right around 3.5 hours and was nice to feel like you're not in the city at all. Mind you I didn't stop going in or out, just had some trail mix at the bridge. I hiked a little past it to snag some cool photos and take in the view of this bridge....that's literally in the middle of NOWHERE. Enjoy!