See the
trailhead page
for an area
road map.
See below for a detailed map of our
hiking route
with
GPS Waypoints:
The excellent BLM web page describing Bridge Mtn vanished in 2010 (let me know if you can find the new URL). I won't try to give a blow-by-blow climbing description because that's been done before! All photos are courtesy of Eve Laeger, route lines added by Steve Eckert.
The passenger car 'trailhead' is waypoint WILLOW, where the pavement ends. It's 19 miles from here to the summit and back, according to the BLM. You'll need a good 4WD to get to what the map calls Red Rock Summit (and the BLM calls Rocky Gap). They say you need a permit to camp here, but I'm guessing they don't patrol very often and we wished we had done the 4WD part the night before.
There are a few use trails but the main trail is well maintained and has reasonable signs at first. Refer to the purple line on the hiking map below - I didn't take any waypoints so I'm not sure this is exactly right, but it's close enough. (If anyone has a better route line, please send it to me and I'll update this map.) You're in the trees until you drop east from the ridge out onto the Sandstone Bluffs. That's where it gets good!
Gary Craig adds: "On my most recent ascent, I noticed that the 'official' trail had been re-routed around the west and south sides of point 2201, where you start dropping down the ridge to the east. There was still evidence of the older trail, which makes a more direct route across the NE side of 2201, but the rangers had definitely been at work trying to hide the older route with brush and rocks and such. Your map corresponds closely to this older route... perhaps you just chose to go that way, or perhaps the trail has been re-routed again."
I should mention that the map shows Bridge Mtn in a very different place than we all climb. We climb to waypoint BRIDGE, but the USGS and the topo maps label waypoint BRIDGM, which is lower and way east. We're actually climbing the high point of what the map labels as "Sandstone Bluffs", not Bridge Mtn.
From the saddle you go up what is often called a 100' vertical crack.
It's not vertical, and you don't have to climb the crack. I got out
of the crack and went up the right (south) side where the painted
lines indicated I should, but coming down I stayed entirely out of
the crack on moderate friction that frequently had good holds.
We didn't use a rope here, and I don't see why anyone would.
On the right is a picture of the summit area with our route traced in red: |
Gary Craig adds: "I'm surprised you climbed the slabs next to the dead tree behind the bridge. It is pretty easy to get up on top of the bridge itself, walk across it (right to left, as you initially approach it), and make your way around to above the tree. Fun, and easier than the friction slab! "
Here is a topo map with waypoints plotted: