Bungee jumping off the Bridge to Nowhere with Bungee America!

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To some, the thought of jumping hundreds of feet off a bridge towards a raging river below is terrifying, and then there are those who think, "Where can I sign up?"I personally fall somewhere in between the two categories, Drew leaning more towards the later, but I can honestly say that I've never felt more safe doing something so crazy than I did with the crew of Bungee America.

Having been around for almost 25 years and having a perfect track record, thanks to their belief in having a backup for every backup, Bungee America is the only company in California that is State Licensed to bungee jump from a bridge, or anything else for that matter. On top of that, whenever Hollywood is in need of an expert stuntman, Bungee America is where tinsel town turns to first. Legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Carrey are among the long list of Hollywood stunt credits!Another important thing to note is that Bungee America operates all year long, rain or shine, so you can get your bungee on no matter what the weather decides to do. We were grateful for this because on Saturday we awoke to a cold and rainy winter morning, but we knew this wouldn't stop us. By 6am we had layered on our clothing, packed up our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, filled our Camelbaks and made our way to the Bridge to Nowhere (map here).

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The history behind this mysteriously named Bridge to Nowhere, is that in 1938 the East Fork Road was washed out during the great flood, leaving the Bridge to Nowhere forever stranded. This beautiful and moderately difficult 10- mile round trip hike on the East Fork Trail follows the river with several stream crossings and a number of rock falls to climb over before reaching the giant arrow (photo below) that points you towards the final ascent to the bridge. Along the way you will find friendly gold diggers, campers, herds of big horned sheep, naturally growing mistletoe and "Gladiator's Corridor," where Russell Crowe's final scene in the movie "Gladiator" was filmed!

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The trail was wet, freezing and surprisingly enjoyable. Our leader kept us entertained the entire time and the other members of the group only added to the epic 2 hour journey. When we finally arrived to THE bridge, of course the first thing we did was look over the edge, oh boy; at least there was hot cocoa and tea to help calm our nerves before deciding who would be taking the 120-foot dive first.

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"5-4-3-2-1 BOOM!" this was the sound everyone heard while being peer pressured into one of the most memorable experiences of their life as they threw themselves into thin air, free falling at nearly 3 times their body weight. As you can see, I had a hint of hesitation on my face:

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Followed by terror:

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Followed by pure bliss:

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While everyone experienced a freedom and joy unlike any other:

The rare kind experienced sweet serenity:

And wait! We're not done yet. Drew and I so boldly agreed upon doing 2 jumps, that way we could each do a forward and backwards dive, truly completing the experience. Check out the videos below of my and Drew's first bungee jump!

There is something so daring about bungee jumping; it represents letting go of the comforts of the known, and thrusting yourself into the overwhelming feelings and amazingly liberating experiences of change. While all leaps of faith are an individual journey, sharing these experiences with others is truly what helps to make them so memorable.