Bridge to Nowhere with the kids, 19 June 2010
Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:14 am
While you guys were kicking your own asses this weekend on seldom-visited ridges, I escorted a group of 14 teens and five adults to the Bridge to Nowhere.
Holy cow, was there a lot of people. I assumed there was some kind of special function going on, but no, it's just a popular trail in the summer (I last visited in November). We saw multiple groups of 60 or so heading out from the parking lot, it was nuts. And when we got back, we saw that cars were parked along the road all the way down to the bridge, many of them illegally (and they were ticketed). It pays to get an early start, in more ways than one.
Nonetheless, for much of the hiking time, especially in the afternoon, we were completely isolated. So the crowds were mostly a problem at the parking lot and at the bridge itself (and even there, most people hung around the bridge, instead of going up the Narrows where we went for lunch and playing in the river).
I lost count of the stream crossings, but after a few of them everyone was an old hand:
However, I am glad we postponed this trip from last month. when the water was higher. There were some crossings that were a little challenging due to the depth and velocity of the water.
When writing captions for the photos, I was rather surprised to see this impressive peak has no name:
It is marked on the map as a 6,327 foot prominence north of Rattlesnake Peak. It is taller and more distinctive than Rattlesnake, yet it is not named on the map or in the HPS listing.
Lots of folks playing in the river above the bridge, but they didn't get in our way:
It hadn't occurred to me prior to the hike that the kids would want to play in the river. As it turned out, they splashed around in there for two hours:
Rattlesnake Peak:
Moar stream crossing:
Old roadbed:
Great day for a hike. It was warm, but the stream crossings and breezes kept us cool. Definitely one of the best hikes for kids in the San Gabes.
The rest of the story.
Holy cow, was there a lot of people. I assumed there was some kind of special function going on, but no, it's just a popular trail in the summer (I last visited in November). We saw multiple groups of 60 or so heading out from the parking lot, it was nuts. And when we got back, we saw that cars were parked along the road all the way down to the bridge, many of them illegally (and they were ticketed). It pays to get an early start, in more ways than one.
Nonetheless, for much of the hiking time, especially in the afternoon, we were completely isolated. So the crowds were mostly a problem at the parking lot and at the bridge itself (and even there, most people hung around the bridge, instead of going up the Narrows where we went for lunch and playing in the river).
I lost count of the stream crossings, but after a few of them everyone was an old hand:
However, I am glad we postponed this trip from last month. when the water was higher. There were some crossings that were a little challenging due to the depth and velocity of the water.
When writing captions for the photos, I was rather surprised to see this impressive peak has no name:
It is marked on the map as a 6,327 foot prominence north of Rattlesnake Peak. It is taller and more distinctive than Rattlesnake, yet it is not named on the map or in the HPS listing.
Lots of folks playing in the river above the bridge, but they didn't get in our way:
It hadn't occurred to me prior to the hike that the kids would want to play in the river. As it turned out, they splashed around in there for two hours:
Rattlesnake Peak:
Moar stream crossing:
Old roadbed:
Great day for a hike. It was warm, but the stream crossings and breezes kept us cool. Definitely one of the best hikes for kids in the San Gabes.
The rest of the story.
Great TR Mitch! I did that hike once and really enjoyed it. Glad you and the kids did too. I bet that will be a hike they will always remember. The goal of the group i was with was to play in the narrows and we did with the bungee jumpers as constant entertainment. Actually that is something i still want to do, bungee jump there. Anyone else reading this interested???
