Miles 96 to 98

The bridge at a distance (upper right not the one in the center) is No Hands Bridge. This bridge is at mile 97 of the race. The trail leading from it towards the back takes runners to the finish at Auburn,CA. You'll see a road above that trail. That's Hwy 49 which goes to Auburn.

During race day, No Hands Bridge is decorated with lights at night. Your crew gets to see it as they make their way to the Green Gate (mile 80) and Hwy 49 Crossing (mile 93) Aid Stations, and again as they return along Hwy 49 to the finish line.

From mile 92 to mile 98, the trail follows more or less Hwy 49 but over the mountains. The patch of dirt without trees forming an inverted "U" that you see towards the center of the picture has two parallel trails.  One of them is the Western States trail that is coming down from the mountain parallel to Hwy 49 towards No Hands Bridge.  You'll notice that Hwy 49 makes a squiggly L shape as it borders the mountain and then turns left (turn is hidden by the other mountain) towards Auburn.  The other road (and bridge) you see is Old Foresthill Auburn Road which is a shortcut to/from Foresthill.  It intersects Hwy 49 around No Hands Bridge.

You can (and should) see this view from yet another bridge (where I was standing) about a mile after you exit I-80 towards Foresthill. This is the Foresthill Bridge (you can see the picture here taken from No Hands Bridge), the tallest bridge in the State of California.  Pull over to the right immediately after Foresthill Bridge (you can't miss it) and walk back towards the middle of the bridge and look west. This view is one of my favorites.

I'm including a map here to make it easier to navigate.