Starting a nontraditional tradition

You may recall that last year my dad, sister, and I went backpacking in Arizona for Thanksgiving. This year, my folks came to visit me here in California, and we continued the "nontraditional tradition" of Thanksgiving in the Wild. Thursday morning Turkey Day we set out for the San Gabriel River East Fork, planning on staying out for three-days-two-nights with all our gear. While our plans changed on the fly, we had a great time. More...

Rather than the typical out-and-back trip to the Bridge to Nowhere, we thought it might be nice to take the long way around and check out Allison Mine and maybe also Stanley Miller Mine before descending to the Bridge via the Narrows on day 3. Halfway through the first day, though, we realized that the topo maps don't lie: it was pretty steep terrain for mere weekenders like us. So we pulled about-face after lunch between Bonita Peak and Heaton Saddle and were nearing the end of the descent in time for sunset. We camped along the river near the Heaton Flat Trailhead. Dinner was just-add-water Turkey Tetrazini with a can of cranberry sauce and some roasted acorns that we had found along the trail. So it was a Thanksgiving feast after all!

Next day we were sluggish to rise, but finally did manage to have breakfast and clean up, then haul most of our gear back to the car. We decided to dayhike the Bridge round-trip and call it a successful trip.

The story of the Bridge to Nowhere is rather interesting. There was a road constructed in the 1930's that followed the San Gabriel River. Several bridges spanned the river at various locations. Then in 1938 there was a flood that washed away the entire road, leaving the bridge stranded. In the mid-50's there was work to rebuild the road, but the project was abandoned (maybe prisoner labor wasn't cutting it...) So today the Bridge to Nowhere stands, with no road leading to it, nothing but the side of a mountain once you cross, and a bungee jumping company owning the piece of land around it, in the middle of the wilderness.

The hike to the Bridge was beautiful, with plenty of river crossings (up to our shins and knees at times), a few waterfalls, and a feeling of accomplishment upon reaching our destination.

P.S. Sorry for the delay, this post was sitting in my "draft" pile waiting for some photos which I just never got around to uploading! -spr 12/21/05