Blog Archives

Green Saus

4/30/2016

Several blox south from the ferry landing area, one of my favorite Sausalito stairways starts up from Bridgeway. 120 steps, no street signs, to Josephine/North: 1 tutu 6

Passing (pic 7) the top of the double Second St. stairways with the center garden, 70-something steps for each.

Southview Park: 8 thru 13

Passing the top of West Court, 103 steps: 14

Continuing to climb, Cable Roadway starts up at Central with 195 steps to Crescent for its first block: 15 thru 21

Round the curve onto Sausalito Blvd. where the second block continues up. Cable Roadway is all steps (with street signs) except for one steep car-accessible block at the top of 93 more steps: 22 thru 28

Turn left on Prospect, a daad-end for vehicles: 29

The Prospect stairs, 204, climb to just above he freeway, the crossover bridge at Wolfback Ridge Road, and the top dead-end of Cloud View: 30, 31, 32, 33

Just ahead is another set of stairs, 45, that will take you down ro Spencer, with constant traffic to and from the freeway: 34, 35

A few blocks straight ahead is a pedestrian underpass and a parking lot. From here you can ascend the delightful Morning Sun Trail up to the Headlands’ Alta Trail. The Morn9ing Sun is part dirt trail, part steps (about 216).

This time, however, downhill a few blocks on Spencer to get to the top of another favorite stairway down to Santa Rosa. No street signs for this at either endf. Careful on winding Spencer; no sidewalks. Traffic MPH is painted on the street itself as “15” but seems to me they go faster than this.

184 steps from Spencer to Santa Rosa. gates off the stairs leading to homes: 36, 37, 38

At Santa Rosa, a right turn soon took me to the top of three-block-long Excelsior Lane. It’s part enclosed walkway, part steps (182) descend to Bridgeway where the foot is sandwiched between touristy shops: 39 thru 42

Last pic - saying g’bye for now from the ferry:

1 There's m minipark here

3 A bench partway up

6 120 steps

7 Double stairway with center garden

8 Warch Downhill Speed

14 103 steps for West Court

15 First block of Cable Roadway starts up at Central (center)

16 Take the steps one left

17 First block up to Crescent

18 About 195 steps fir this first block

21 Top at Crescent

22 Starting second block

23 Up from Sausalito Blvd.

25 93 steps for second block

28 Top of steps part

29 Prospect stairs up ahead

30 204 steps

34 Near top of Cloud View, these descend to Spencer

35 45 steps

36 Spener to Santa Rosa steps

38 184 steps

39 Excelsior Lane, end of first block

40 182 steps

42 Down to Bridgeway

43 On the ferry back to San Francisco

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Summit Scramble

4/24/2016

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To get to Mount Sutiro Forest from the west side, a few uphill blox on Warren to the foot of the Oakhurst stairs, Forest Knolls’ lomgest stairway (a previous staircount around 353). Warren to Crestmont with the dead-end of Oak Park Dr. partway up: 1 thru 6

The unmarked trailhead for the West Ridge Trail is a little to the left of the top of the steps. I don’t see why they can’t put a few steps here; It’s a steep scramble when first starting up from Crestmont. Same with the Christopher trailhead.

West Ridge trailmarker at Historic Ttrail: pic 7

ThTWest Ridge continues up from the Historic with some treeroots to start the ascent. Partway up you’ll continue between a couple of rocks and alongside a big log, a shortcut to the summit: pic 8

The summit’s so gorgeous now, the trails green-enclosed: 9 thru 12

Down the East Ridge Trail and along the road and thru the parking lot to access the Medical Center Way stairs (135 steps): 13 thru 19

Another recent hike started at Clarendon. Admiring the green beauty just off the street on the walk over from the Forest Hill Metro Station with the old “No Camping” signs (a line thru a tent). Are they ever gonna open some of this up to hikers?

Finally over the green walkers’ skyway from the Midtown Terrace side and down to Ashwood Lane: 20 thru 23

17 steps down from Clarendon to start Ashwood. Then a short walkway with a school above to the right and residences to the left. Then the stairs start up. 109 total for Ashwood to Warren.

The top of the stairs is set back from the street at the end of a short walkway between hones: 24 thru 27

Now on Warren, a couple blocks to the east and the east end of Oak Park Dr. for the foot of Forest Knolls’ Glenhaven steps, Sutro Tower looming to the south.

Love the way the tower is perched upon that green hill. The tower trail is shown on Google Maps.

166 steps to Christopher for Glenhaven: 28 thru 34

Wantd to do all the Blairwood Lane steps from the foot since I hadn’t dome a staorcount in a few years, so down Blairwood a block back down to Warren, then up again for a total of 220 to Crestnont: 35 thru 39

Then the Christopher trailhead up into the forest beckoned to me, so naturally had to climb it. Steep, but easy to see from the street, though like the West Ridge Trail, still no trailmarker down at the road.

his is another scramble-up that connects with the Quarry Road Trail; the South Ridge Loop is shown on Google Maps.

The Quarry Trail could be renamed the Nasturtium Trail. Mere words cannot accurately describe this area … steepish, narrow, lushly green, logs to sit on, dappled sunlight, birdsong, and no people or cars: 40, 41

Down at the the East Ridge trailhead later, noticed that where they’ve cut down so many trees, there’s now some grass here so it doesn’t look quite as depressingly bare as it did last time: 42

View down from winding Medical Center Way (43), again heading for the stairs mentioned above, “hidden” behind the Parnassus medical buildings, that climbs to a permits-only parking lot.

1 Up from Warren

3 Top, center, is Grand View Park

4 Passing the dead-end of Oak Park Dr. and continuing up

5 Oakhurst has about 353 steps

7 West Ridge meets Historic

8 West Ridge, right, out to summit

9 Sutro's summit

13 A shortcut stairway alongside a medical building up here

14 Stairs behind UCSF medical buildings \

15 135 steps

20 Up from Clarendon

21 Midtown Terrace to Forest Knolls

22 Ashwood below

23 Ashwood below

24 17 down to a short walkway to start

25 109 steps

26 Up to a short walkway between homes

27 Out to Warren

28 Glenhaven starts up

29 166 steps

33 Top of Glenhaven

34 Sutro Tower

35 Blairwood starts up from Warren

36 220 for Blairwood

38 Steps center

39 Top of Blairwood

40 South Ridge Loop

41 Nasturtiums

42 East Ridge trailhead

43 View from Medical Center Way

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Coronatrek

4/11/2016

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Eureka Valley’s Saturn Steps Minipark has 118 steps from Ord to the short stretch of Saturn that’s car accessible. There’s also a south stairway that connects with the main north one: first 3 pix.

Saturn continues as sidewalk stairs on the north side of the street up to Lower Terrace, for a total of 159 steps: 4, 5, 6, 7

From Lower Terrace onto Levant, passing the top of Vulcan Stairway.

At the north end of Levant at the top of States up to Roosevelt, 44 steps: 8

Into Corona Heights Pak from the west side, 98 steps to the rocks: 9 thru 20

Around the rocks to start down the east side. 61 steps on the southeast side first, curving round to the bench: 21thru 30

Continuing down from the bench to the foot of the Randall Museum, 130 more steps. So actually down from the rocks there are 61 + 130: 191 eastside steps, uneven and rocky: 31, 32

At the foot, where the park trailmap is. the Randall’s animal sanctuary room is still under construction and I couldn’t get to the other side from here.

They still haven’t repaired the potholes on the old trail that leads out of the park on the east side: 33, 34, 35. They did a great job with the Delta walkers' path in Visiracion Valley near McLaren Park.

Around the south side where the playground is, at the foot of the zigzag ramp, and out at States in the Corona Heights neighborhood: 36, 37, 38

Wanted to descend Vulcan from Levant so now had to climb to the top of States, and back on Levant again.

Vulcan’s sraircount of 219 is only for the north stairway that’s thru from Ord to Levant. Vulcan has a south stairway as well with three older homes on it, a dead-end: 39 thru 43

Back down to Ord with its interesting variety of hones; last pic: Ord & 17th

1 First two houses up

2 South steps, left, connect with north

3 Top of minipark

4 Saturn sidewalk steps on north side

5 Sidewalk steps

6 Elevated walk between steps

7 Saturn meets Lower Terrace

8 Levant at top of States

9 In Corona Heights Park now, westside steps

10 Turn left to continue d up the steps

11 West steps continue

12 98 steps

13 View north to Buena Vista Park

14 Nearing the ttop

15 Short fence added several years ago

16 Twin Peaks, Mount Sutro to south

17 Below, center, a dog p;ay area

18 View north

19 Trail up to the rocks

20 Summit

21 View rocks

22 Steps start down the southeast side

23 First we curve down to the viewbench

24 A short stretch of dirt trail

25 Sutro Tower center

26 Looking back up

27 East trail continues

28 Downtown SF in distance

29 Steps start again

30 61 steps down to the bench

31 130 more steps down the east side

32 Old steps, old fence

33 Eastside pothole

34 Repair tmese please

35 How about a rustic wood ramp with railings here?

36 Zigzag ramp from playground to Randall Museum

37 Up to Museum Way and the Randall for walkers

38 The Castle on States, Corona Heights neighborhood

39 80 Vulcan Stairway

40 1 and 3 Vulcan from the main north stairway

41 Connecting the north steps with the south

42 Near the foot, 219 steps for the north side

43 Vulcan's foot at Ord

44 Ord at 17th St.

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Trailblock 2

4/2/2016

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Continuing a recent Glen Canyon post …

Up from the northernmost trail that was closed for construction.

Back the way I came, but on an upper trail this time. This one used to be more of a scramble than it is now. In a couple of places a few rocks serve as steps.

Traijoggers are everywhere these days. Two flew effortlessly past me on this one. I tend to meander about as fast aa a banana slug, enjoying the views: 1 thru 19

Down to near the top of the rocks, then up the 77 or so steps that were extended a few years ago: 20 thru 30

These climb to the uppermost eastside trail that’s just below Christopher Park. It’s through to the north and south out to Diamond Heights: 31, 32, 33

Unlike my earlier luck catching a ride up from the Glen Park neighborhood, this time had just stepped ontto the sidewalk in front of the Diamond Heights Shopping Center when the southbound #52 passed; between bus stops. It runs about every half hour.

So downhill back into Glen Park instead of a steep descent into Noe Valley as I’ve been known to do.

A view east from Diamond Heights Blvd & Diamond, then thru Walter Haas Playground with its 35 steps down: pix 34, 35

Winding somewhat out of my way, past the lookalikes, down to Bemis (14 sidewalk steps) and out to the southernmost part of Castro St. for a change: 36 thru 39