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“Bridge to Nowhere” Leads to Emergency Room
On Black Friday, many people braved the crowds in the wee hours of the morning, while my family drove to the San Gabriel River in the Angeles Forest for a beautiful 10 mile hike to “The Bridge to Nowhere.” It was an out-and-back trail, and we packed our lunch to enjoy at the midpoint – the bridge (which is frequently used for bungee jumping!)
Within the first mile, we had to cross the flowing river, as the trail weaved back and forth. We would cross the river a total of 8 times, sometimes over rocks and logs, other times walking straight through the water and cooling off our feet.
We made it to the bridge in just over 2 hours and 30 minutes. Perfect rest/lunch stop before heading back:
My mom and I have a history of clumsiness. We can’t seem to clear a table or counter top without bumping our hip, or walk near a coffee table without smacking our shin. So I would’ve expected one of us to take a tumble in the river, or at least trip over the rock.
But it wasn’t my mom or I who came home that night with a cast. It was the seasoned hiker – my dad. And I’m sure he would like to say that his fall was the result of a treacherous climb up a vertical rock structure, 30 feet off of the ground. But the truth is he stepped weird off of a rock not 8 inches from the ground. CRACK! We all heard the noise his ankle made; it immediately swelled up to his shin.
The problem was, we were still 2 miles from the car and not an easy 2 miles. We needed to climb up and down steep rocks and slopes, and cross the river a couple more times. There was NO cell service, and no way my mom and I could support him through parts of the single-file trail. No, dad had to walk on his broken and swollen ankle for over an hour as we hiked out. We found him a “walking stick” though I’m not sure what a help it was.
Aside from all the teasing and grief we gave him for his uncharacteristically clumsy move, I gotta give him credit for that painful hike. BEAST. Detour to Urgent Care on the way home for some X-rays (yep, it’s broken!) and a temporary splint until the swelling goes down. No hiking anytime soon for you!
Welcome to the Klutz Club!
So it turns out that the Bridge to Nowhere leads to Urgent Care for this family. Minus the whole broken ankle thing, it was an INCREDIBLE hike! We can’t wait to go again. Late November was the best time of the year to go too, because the weather wasn’t too hot and the trees were dark orange and yellow and made the trail beautifully colored. It was challenging and pretty and fun. We also made these delicious Pumpkin Butterscotch Granola Bars to take with us that I will share the recipe for tomorrow :)
Time to enjoy my last day home before heading back to school tomorrow.
(Not) Hiking Humphrey’s Peak
Veteran’s Day also happens to be my friend Alyssa’s birthday & for her 21st, she decided to hike the tallest peak in Arizona – Mt. Humphrey’s. It reaches 12,500ft elevation, and is currently covered in fresh-fallen snow from Friday and Saturday’s storms. Of course I was excited to join her, her mom, her brother and friend on the birthday hike!
Unfortunately, we had some direction mishaps…..Map Quest and someone’s smart phone navigation didn’t match up. We were driving down a desolate dirt road that warned “Not Maintained for Passenger Vehicles.”
It was nearing 11am, and I was worried that if we didn’t get started on the 8+ mile hike soon, we would be finishing after sunset. We decided to park our car on a random dirt road, and just start walking in the direction of the largest mountain we could see, which was covered in snow and trees. It was not Mt. Humphrey’s.
It started out with a semi “trail” which disappeared after about ten minutes.
*Okay, I am a very LOGICAL person and sometimes this can work to my disadvantage. I usually go over the worst-case scenario’s in my head, and I immediately envisioned us trapped in the deep forest with no light, food, or cell phone service. As soon as we deviated from the trail and started weed-whacking trees to create our own path, a red flag went off in my mind – “How are we going to find our way back to the car without a trail to follow when everything out here looks the same?!” Luckily, the snow allowed us to make pretty noticeable foot prints. We would just have to trace our footsteps all the way back.
Reaching the summit
After almost 2.5 hours, we could see the summit of the mountain. The last stretch had been so steep, we literally grabbed onto trees and pulled ourselves up. I was so relieved to see the end in sight!
View from the top
And in honor of Veteran’s Day:
And in honor of Alyssa’s 21st Birthday:
Snow-Chilled Champagne!
“Cheers to Mt. Humphreys, where ever the hell you are!”
Time to head back down! At first, it was pretty treacherous. Because it was so steep and covered in fresh snow, we were slipping and sliding our way down for a few minutes. But the hike down was definitely quicker than the hike up! We had to track our own footprints back down, which wasn’t too difficult seeing as how we were the only people on that mountain. We never passed a single person, and thankfully no wildlife either.
We saw animal tracks and “business” and knowing deer/foxes/potentially-very-hungry-mountain-goats were near us kept me alert. (I’m picturing Meredith on the camping trip from Parent Trap right now ;) )
But it really was total wilderness, and the day brought another “first” for me…
First “Wilderness” Experience – Yellow Snow. (TMI?)
When the “trail” started to flatten out and things became familiar, I was able to breathe easy and actually enjoy the moment knowing we would not be eaten/starve/freeze to death. (Dramatic? Perhaps.) Our “exhausted” face:
We had hungry bellies and plenty of daylight to continue celebrating! Off to a Greek Grill Restaurant where Alyssa could order her first legal cocktail:
Haha too much? Just kidding :)
Definitely an unforgettable experience. Now we have to do some Google Maps research and figure out where the heck we were all day!
