Have you seen a bridge that leads to nowhere? Well, this is what it looks like. It crosses the San Gabriel River in the mountains north of Azuza, CA. Originally the plans were to build a road that connected the San Gabriel Valley to the mountain communities around Wrightwood. The road washed away during a flood in 1938, leaving only the bridge in tact.
This is probably one of the most scenic hikes that I have done. It is listed as one of the best hikes that Southern California has to offer. However, there are precautions that hikers should make before attempting this hike. I noticed a few small details while hiking and did some follow up research on this hike afterwards.
1. The trail follows the river closely, sometimes hikers will have to hug the right bank, hopping between stones. During the no-rain season, this is not an issue. However, when it does rain, further research has indicated that there have been fatalities, as the water level rises and the river moves rapidly.
2. There is a lot of granite on this trail. If your dog's paws are not used to hiking long distances, I would recommend boots.
3. It is possible to hike this trail and just cross the river only 4 times (over and back twice). On a hot day though, I could see crossing the river at any chance one gets.
At times the trail was remarkably easy to follow. At the beginning, the trail was a fire road, leading to Camp Bonita. This is the last porto-potty until you return back from the bridge. Though the trail follows the river bed, there are times that you will walk on parts of the old road. You will even scramble over rocks and boulders that collapsed under the old road.
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| Asphalt remnants from the old road |
