Opinion: Leave pristine wilderness to hikers, not bungee jumpers

To the editor: My wife and I recently celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary. Years ago, when dating, we hiked to the Bridge to Nowhere in the San Gabriel Mountains. Coming around a turn and seeing a mint-condition bridge was amazing. (“Here’s why that bungee jumping business at the Bridge to Nowhere is still hanging in there,” Oct. 26)

We had lunch on the bridge in pure solitude. It was incredible to think the bridge was more than half a century old yet looked brand new. That memory means so much to me, as there was nowhere else in California to get that experience.

Now, the Bridge to Nowhere is an amusement park where the star is a bungee circus. The owner of the bungee-jump business bought his land from descendants of the family that once operated a gold mine, but land grants were given to encourage gold mining that must take place where gold is found. Hiking is an activity for which mountains are necessary; bungee jumps don’t require wilderness.

Paul Garcia, Whittier

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To the editor: I have never bungee jumped, nor do I ever intend to. I do, however, frequent the East Fork of the San Gabriel River.

Here we have someone trying to eke out a living five miles from the nearest habitation, where residents can’t see or hear folks when they bungee jump. Yet, because he has a chemical toilet, the public health officials are on his case, never mind that the state Department of Transportation issued a cease and desist for the use of a helipad the owner set up to comply with regulations.

Oh, and the jumpers take parking spaces away from weekend picnickers, who also “use the bushes.” The simple solution is to expand the parking area.

If ever there is a case of government overreach, this is it. It’s almost a reason to vote for Donald Trump.

Ralph F. Wetterhahn, Long Beach

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