JasonDammit

I'm about 6 hours into the game. I'm doing the "Lost in the swamp" and "The root of the matter" quests. There is a bridge mechanism that has to be engaged in order for me to cross over into the next part of the swamp. I engaged the trigger and crossed over into a small island with a save point, a shrunken head shrine/bonfire and two paths leading off the island. I saved there. I cam back an the bridge was gone. I can't get back to the wheel to trigger the bridge again and the only other path off this island is blocked by roots. I can't do anything to get off of this island. Its impossible. I can run around in circles and re-save....but that's it. Rather upsetting. I'm on the XBOX360. Is there a fix for this at all? I really don't want to have to start over. I usualy save over my manual saves. So, I have no previous save to load from. Auto save included.