The Bridge To Nowhere

I’m sore from head to toe. Honestly, my head and toes are sore. I didn’t know that could happen. I went hiking yesterday, 9 miles round trip, over rocks, mountains, rivers, and cliffs in order to reach the infamous Bridge to Nowhere.

Apparently there are several well-know Bridges to Nowhere in the world. One pretty popular one is in Alaska. But the one I went to is right here in Southern Cali, in the mountains of Azusa to be more specific.

The story is: In 1936 the city was planning to build a road through these mountains to connect two bustling cities and, as all architects but no normal people know, bridges are built first. So the big curving bridge is smack-dab in the middle of this mountain range, curving straight into a cliff. It literally goes nowhere. The rest of the construction was supposedly washed away in a flood and the entire project was scrapped, leaving the only remaining piece of evidence that this highway even existed: The Bridge to Nowhere.

This bridge may seem like a lonely sight to you but actually it’s hardly ever alone. It has been a favorite destination for hikers for decades but what has made visits to it’s oddity even more frequent in the past few years is the addition of an extreme sport: Bungee jumping.

Yes, my friends, the only place you can legally bungee jump in all of California is off of this treacherous (it’s not really that treacherous, I just wanted to make it sound more dramatic) bridge. You may remember this from The Bachelor. You know, the one where Jake cried? Not specific enough for ya? Well, this was the one where he cried right before jumping off of a huge bridge over a raging river. Better? OK.

My friends and I decided this would make for a fun, leisurely day. We were half right. We definitely had fun but leisurely’s the wrong word. It was strenuous to say the least. My body is in complete rebellion right now, angry that I put it through such extreme conditions. For a girl who hasn’t seen the inside of a gym in over a month, I must have been crazy.

The young guys who work for the bungee company, the one’s that are out there every weekend, they straight book it to the bridge and back every time. They run…the entire way. When asked, they said it takes them 45 minutes to get there from the beginning of the trail. It took us 3 ½ hours. One of them ran past us with his shirt off. I’ve only seen muscles like that on professional soccer players. Scratch that. I’ve only seen muscles like that on David Beckham. I think I would’ve jumped on him but he was moving too fast and I was stuck in the middle of a river trying not to get swept away. (Some of you may think I wanted to jump on him for the free ride up the trail. Other’s because he was all musclely and sweaty and hot-stuff. You’re both right.)

Anyway, none of us bungee jumped cuz it’s not really our thing but it was fun to watch the dozens and dozens of other people jump and scream and cry a little. A twelve year old little boy jumped off three times. His name was Braxden and he was so sweet. He and his mother hiked all the way back with our group, telling us all about his vacation to California and how he loved the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland and how he can’t wait to go to Sea World and Universal Studios. I love kids.

We had to cross the river 14 times total. The path kept jumping from one side to the other as cliffs would impede our passage. We tried to cheat and just scale some of the cliffs. It never ended well. My friend, Kayla, was stuck on the side of a cliff afraid to move for quite some time until a friendly hiker came by and talked her down. Perilous I tell you, perilous. It also didn't help that the day before her boyfriend had her do 90 squats at the gym and her legs felt like jello for the entire hike. Poor Kayla.

All in all it was a really fun trip even though my muscles are screaming profanities at me right now for even typing that. Here’s some pictures. If you visit Cali and you like extreme and unique activities, I can’t imagine anything more perfect.

So, it seems like Cat and I are the only one's hiking. Truth is, my other friends were super slow...and they know it.

That's a bungee jumper screamin his head off

I'm only slightly embarrased that my hand is actually in the m&m bag while this picture is being taken. Thanks for pointing that out, Colleen.

-Age