Hiking - Bridge to Nowhere

Bridge to Nowhere Hike

September 11, 2011 


Meetup Group: 

Adventures In SoCal

Organizer

Max

Hiking in Azusa CA.
The Bridge To Nowhere was built in 1936. The bridge was supposed to open passage between the cities of Azusa to Wrightwood.  However, it was not meant to be. A series of accidents and obstacles delayed & terminated its construction.  Hence, it came to be dubbed the "Bridge To Nowhere". The hike to it's location from the main parking area is about 11 miles (5.5 to 6 hours) round trip, has minimum elevation gain, and there are 5 - 6 streams to cross about 2 ft - 2.5 ft deep along the hike.

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This was a terrific hike I met positive, energetic, and like minded people that love being outdoors. Everyone was helpful and looked out for one another. We kept a good pace, it was fun crossing the steams, we had some great conversation, and shared some snacks along the way; that's another great thing about hiking with cool people in groups - sharing food.

Wear Hiking Shoes
I'm shocked at the number of people I've seen without proper hiking footwear. I highly recommend hiking shoes for any trail but especially this one due to climbing up, over, and down lots of rocky and graveled inclined sections throughout the trail. A few spots along the hike are littered with some fallen trees that are easy to get over. 

With about 5 streams to cross, some had water up to knee level, loose rocks, and  moderately strong currents, especially in the late evening on the way back. The sun set the last 90 minutes or so on the way back to the ranger station. Crossing streams in knee high water required some balance due to the moderately strong currents, and while stepping over some loose rocks. It was dark so, using red flashlights to light the rocks below the surface while crossing worked well. 

We covered the distance to the bridge with a good pace the entire way.  The challenge level was moderate; it's just long!  A beginner will do fine here with “hiking shoes!”, a little balance, and confidence in crossing water levels above the ankle up to knee high, and skimming rocks in a few areas along the trail.  It's not a difficult hike - it's a fun, and could be a great calorie burner. You can pace yourself if you need  more of a challenge.

Upon completion of this roughly 12 mile adventure, some of us were starving of course.  A local Mexican restaurant in Azusa served some hungry hikers that evening. It truly is a great hike. It's not very difficult trail. It may be considered one of the longer hikes for a beginner.

Hiking - Vasquez Rocks

Hike at Vasquez Rocks

October 16th

Meetup Group
(OSS) Outdoor Singles & Socials

Organizer
Ed
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Many movies have had scenes filmed here.  Ed, our organizer listed them as the very popular original Star Trek series, and several Star Trek movies that followed.  Other movies filmed here include “The Lone Ranger”, “Zorro”, “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Bonanza”, “Blazing Saddles”, “24”, “The Six Million Dollar Man”, “MacGyver”, “Austin Powers”, Numbers and “The Flintstones”.

Original Star Trek: Kirk's fierce battle with the Reptilian at Vasquez Rocks

 

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By Herbert

Ewww! Nasty Cough - That Reptilian Kirk slapped around at Vasquez Rocks was obviously a chain smoker - should of had that cough checked out before such a fierce battle.  Perhaps  dehydration and low blood sugar was the reason for it's slow  mobility.  No doubt Kirk's deadly two palm blow to the head would have decimated any humans skull causing sure agonizing death! :-) 

My first time to hike at Vasquez rocks was with a meet up group.  About 60 members showed up for the adventure. Originally the group was to receive a ranger guided tour that morning.  Once our group arrived our meetup organizers were informed by park officials, the ranger who was to lead us was unable to make it that morning.  Luckily we had three group organizers as part of the hike; one of them was well informed of the history of filming at Vasquez rocks and shared that with us. 

Due to the absence of the ranger that was expected to lead the hike, perhaps some moderate rock skimming/climbing was in the original plan. In any case our adventure was basically reduced to a tour rather than a hike - at first.  I’m sure the ranger would have allowed some rock time for those of us that came wearing proper footwear. We stood in awe of the greatness and diversities of the formations, the different shapes and forms are something to see.


After a while an announcement was made that we were going back, and the tour/ hike was complete. This was understandably wise of Ed, our organizer to decide for safety reasons due to the size of our group, lack of proper footwear by some members, and the absence of the Ranger.  However, Stein, an assistant group organizer who’s familiar with the area volunteered to lead the group on a trek and continue this adventure. 
Some people left, some continued. This was great because it actually made this outing longer than the drive most of us took to get there. The trek turned out to be a decent workout with a temperature of about 80, and few inclines along the way. Overall Vasquez Rocks Park is nice indeed. There are tables on the grounds making picnics convenient should a group desire. You can make a great trek of infinite loops on the surrounding trails if desired.  I'd like to return with a group to climb the rocks and take great photos from the peaks. Then  have a another great meal together in a nearby town afterward; or perhaps next time a picnic on the park grounds will be in order.