It is with deep sadness that I report a good friend and hiking buddy, Christian Bourlette, passed away on June 24, 2020 while hiking at the Bridge to Nowhere. We first met about 5 years ago. We became close friends. We hiked alot with other groups and sometimes alone on the weekends. He would accompany me on my crazy, ass hikes and wasn't afraid to explore new trails with me. One of our last trips together was to Gaviota peak in Santa Barbara. It was just the three of us Sean, Christian and me. We had so much fun spending the entire day hiking and checking out Nojoqui Falls. He was so full of life. A very charming man and loved by everyone he met. He had an infectious smile and his French accent was one that you would never forget. He was funny and loved taking pictures. He was a very sweet man who truly loved and adored his wife. I had the honor of meeting her. She was not an avid hiker like Christian but always told me that it made her happy to see all the beautiful pictures he posted of our hikes. He loved nature and was a trail boss maintaining lots of trails in the San Gabriel's. I have so many fond memories of him. He would often speak of his beloved country France and tell me stories of his mom and childhood. On his last trip to France a few years ago, he brought back two gifts for me, which I will always cherish. He was young at heart. Every time we hiked alone, he would bring me my favorite snack, Trader Joe's Chile Mangos. Tragically on his last day here on earth, his foot got stuck in some rocks in the water and he fell. Not sure of all the details but it happened on Tuesday. SAR rescued his friend in the middle of the night and recovered Christian's body the next day. A friend whom was with him did not want him to be alone in the wilderness and stayed with him for 10 hours until SAR arrived. Christian my friend you will be truly missed so much by me and everyone's life you touched. You were a good friend and a good man.
RIP Christian.
Death at Bridge to Nowhere on 6/24/20
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Girl Hiker
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ReFreshing
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RIP fellow hiker. May you forever enjoy the trails wherever you are. A good friend is one who also enjoys chili mangoes from TJ's.
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Tom Kenney
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Sounds like his life was populated with good folks. Ripples...his positivity worked it's way outward to the rest of us.
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temp_yKdcIbaK
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That's terrible. I'm so sorry. He sounds like an awesome person and great person to be outdoors with.
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Uncle Rico
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From the press account I read, sounds like he fell while going the Devils' Gulch falls.
RIP
RIP
From KYIV-today.com:
The coroner’s office identified a hiker who fell and died in the Angeles National Forest last week as a North Hollywood man.
Christian Bourlette, 69, died of traumatic injuries The coroner ruled his June 25 death an accident.
He was hiking with a group on the Bridge to Nowhere trail on Wednesday, June 24,when he and another man got separated, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Peter Shupe who added that the hikers were headed to the Devil’s Gulch waterfall.
He fell off a three-foot ledge and continued to slide down the mountain, Shupe said.
Authorities recovered Bourlette’s body Thursday and airlifted the second man to safety.
I hiked with Christian a few times. He was a very nice man with a zest for exploring nature with his fellow hikers. I always enjoyed talking with him. I feel bad for his family. This is a tragedy. He'll be missed by a lot of people in the hiking community and many others, I'm sure.