The two day journey to the Bridge to Nowhere was filled with great memories and even a few surprises. Although it was our troop’s easiest backpacking trip, it was also one of the best. Before we headed out on our journey, we all got our backpacks and packed them with everything we needed. Then we went to our scout master’s house, so the older scouts could inspect our backpacking backpacks to ensure that we had everything for the backpacking excursion. After the checks were complete, we were ready to go.

The next day we setted out to start backpacking. We didn’t start the actual backpacking until 11:00 pm. An hour or two before we reached camp, we noticed that the dangers of the wild were already upon us. We saw both a scorpion and a rattlesnake. By the time we reached camp and set it up, it was already 1:00, and I was tired so I slept as the older members of the troop partied outside the tents.

As the sun barely peeked over the hills, I was awoken by the sound of the other troop members talking and heating up water to use for oatmeal and ramen. The oatmeal was tasteless and was not very filling. We then spent the day following the river with a few breaks like our usual resting place that features a crashed plane. The wreckage of the plane provided a perfect picture opportunity for our troop. As we continued backpacking through the brush, we heard the faint sound of a rattle approaching in the distance. The troop members ahead of me stumbled up onto a large boulder and just beneath it the troop said that they saw a rattlesnake. The leaders advised the troop to take a detour around it, and we continued on our way. The rest of the hike went exactly to plan until we got to where we were supposed to set up camp for the second night. There were people already there, so we ended up walking for an hour more till we reached another good, uninhabited campsite. We ate chilli for dinner then slept through the rattling of the snakes all night.

The next morning, we woke up feeling ready for another day of hiking. Unlike the other days, the last day was really fun. This day was the day where the whole troop got to experience the fun of the destination instead of just backpacking all day. First, we stopped and played in the river which we had been following since the beginning of our journey. While I was swimming, I decided to slide down a small slope using a current. Maybe not my brightest idea considering the current was shallow, and the mossy limestone rocks scraped up my legs and back.

We continued hiking, but the troop was a bit more exhausted after swimming. The spaces grew larger between the members of the troop, and I got stuck with my sister's friend. We knew we still needed to follow the river, but, after a while, we did not see anyone in front of us anymore. We turned around to check if we were alone, and all we saw was the tropical rainforest stretching into the distance. We almost started moving forward until my other sister's friend’s dad and my mom appeared from the trees behind us. Feeling better after almost getting lost, we decided to do some parkour, and, before we knew it, bam! We were at the Bridge to Nowhere.

At the bridge, there was a rock high up from the ground that we jumped off into an area of the river that had a weak current. There was a small waterfall next to the jumping rock so my friends and I went to go check it out. We went behind the waterfall and found a cool cave, although the rocks above our heads were too low for us to stand up. After enjoying the Bridge to Nowhere, we had some lunch, and we started to leave. Since the entire backpacking was downhill, it was hard to carry 20 pound bags uphill for the ten miles back to the car. After finally reaching the cars they had a gift for us. An ice cold watermelon, it was probably the best watermelon I have eaten in years. The Bridge to Nowhere backpacking was a great experience, and I am excited to do it again possibly next year.

Gallery

• 2021 San Gabriel Mountains Bridge To Nowhere Backpacking