East Fork Trail Pt. 2 (Not Mount Islip, again) – August 15, 2009

Mount Islip can kiss my ass.

Once again the road was blocked. I need to call the ranger and figure out what is going on. It seems like a pretty permanent road block, but I still see new reviews on localhikes.com for this trail. Maybe there is a different way to get to the trailhead? We will hike Islip . . . one day. And it better be worth it. Ha.

So we decided to Hit East Fork Trail again so we could make it to the Bridge to Nowhere this time.

The big difference this time was that Coda was with us.

We were happy to have him, but weren’t sure how he would handle some parts of the trail. We remember from last time there were quite a few awkward sections and steep rocky slopes on the side of mountain.

But we all underestimated the guy.

Of course he had no problem with the stream crossings,

but he was a champ on the mountainside. There were moments that he just went for it, and we were all amazed. And other times we had to offer a little encouragement and brawn along the way, but in the end Coda channeled the spirit of a mountain goat.

Of course Ryan was a good dad, and Harold and I were good uncles. Coda got the support . . . even when he wished we weren’t dragging him down a mountain. He did decide to take a rest after every hair-raising event.

The four of us pushed through the front end of this hike, because we were a little more experienced with the terrain this time.

Advice to newcomers of the trail: You will cross the stream from right to left early on, and then cross back over to the right after you see a tagged-up wall. From then on, you pretty much should be on the right of the stream. If you are on the left on the way to the bridge, you are probably not on the trail. But don’t get too crazy about trying to stay on track, because one way or another you will find your way. But you will find that if you stay on the trail, you will get to the bridge quicker.

We stopped to take some photos of flowers and other tree hangin’ greenery. All this will be identified in the future. Well, we know one is an acorn. But what kind of tree does an acorn come from?

Well, I’ll be damned. Just looked up the acorn. It is also called the oak nut. Which, obviously, comes from an oak tree.

After the boys let me have my little adventure,

we did make it to the bridge.

I was hoping someone had a bungee jumping business here, but that wasn’t the case. People do bungee here, but not today. There were about 20 hikers and a few dogs resting, and some were enjoying the cool San Gabriel River below. (Ryan, Harold – Did you know that stream was the San Gabriel River? Did you know the San Gabriel River also runs through the LBC?)

Why is this the Bridge to Nowhere?

In 1936 this bridge was built to connect two roads that were under construction. 2 years later before construction of the roads were complete, a great flood washed everything away except the bridge. The area was left alone, and now it is an attraction on this 9-mile roundtrip trail.

It is pretty impressive, but I wasn’t too excited about it.

We rested for a bit and then turned back around.

Harold found the definition of a fetching stick, but Coda couldn’t care less about fetching.

The way back seemed to take way longer then the way there. We did a little climbing like last time . . . Coda did not use the rope.

And then we found a good spot to break for lunch on the water. My sandwich tasted great; I wasn’t that hungry, but it was still perfect. The stream was really peaceful, and we all found our spot to relax. We took off our hiking shoes and put our feet in the stream, and Coda joined me for a bit.

After lunch and near the end of the trail, Coda started to cry, and we thought something had lodged into his paw, but we checked him out, and it wasn’t the case. We realized that the dirt was just too damn hot. Though Ryan had scoffed about getting Coda doggy hiking shoes when I told him about them months ago, I think he might have done a 180 on his opinion. I mean I think Ryan felt bad for the poor guy; at one point he picked his pup up and carried him to cooler ground. We don’t even think about the ground heat, because we’re not walking barefoot like Coda.

We finished up the trail, and hit the road.

Harold had to go hang out with old people, so Ryan and I grabbed some good ol’ Los Cotijas (the best carne asada burrito and fish taco around).

Mmmmmm marinated carrots.

Jessica forced me to have a fresh baked cookie. Here is a macro shot:

We had a beer and hung in his pergola for a bit before I headed home.

Another great Saturday morning on the trail . . . and many more to come.

P.S. A few rocks accidentally fell into my pack. I didn’t want them to go to waste, so I created this: