Woods Creek bridge out (south Sierra)

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Iconic High Sierra bridge on John Muir Trail damaged
Gregory Thomas
May 25, 2023 Updated: May 25, 2023 3:17 p.m.

A cross-country skier exploring the snow-laden High Sierra this week discovered that another key backcountry bridge on the John Muir Trail is badly damaged — a development that could upend the plans of thousands of summer hikers and backpackers.

Social media groups devoted to the John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail have been abuzz this week with hiker reports of critical failings on the iconic Woods Creek Bridge in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks. (The two scenic trails overlap for approximately 180 miles through the granite peaks between Yosemite National Park and Mount Whitney.)

The bouncy, roughly 130-foot-long cable suspension bridge spans a stream deep in the mountains between Black Mountain and Mount Pinchot. That remote terrain is now covered in snowpack and difficult to access.

It’s the third crucial wilderness bridge along the John Muir and Pacific Crest trails in the Southern Sierra that has been found to have been mangled over the winter.

Northbound thru-hikers attempting the 2,650-mile PCT will begin arriving in the Woods Creek Bridge area soon and will face the tough calculus of finding a way through, backtracking or abandoning their journey in the areas where bridges are out. Stream crossings on foot are widely considered one of the most hazardous aspects of High Sierra hiking, and people have drowned trying to ford snow-fed streams.

Photos of Woods Creek Bridge show a splintered wooden stanchion tower on one end and a teetering span deck.

On a call with The Chronicle, a spokeswoman for Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks confirmed that the bridge is out and that park officials will inspect it this weekend. It wasn’t clear how long a repair or rebuild might take.

“As conditions allow the park to assess more trails, more damaged trail structures are likely to be discovered,” the National Park Service wrote Thursday morning in an update on the bridge. “Wilderness travelers should be prepared for the possibility that streams and rivers may be extremely hazardous to cross due to high water or damaged infrastructure, and this may be true late into the season.”

The damage is being attributed to heavier than normal snow loads from the historic winter storms.
The two other bridges that are out span the south and middle forks of the San Joaquin River. It’s unclear when they will be repaired or rebuilt. The Pacific Crest Trail Association has posted options for thru-hikers to reroute around the south fork outage.