Blog Archives

BTB to LVO

9/30/2019

The Presidio’s Batteries to Bluffs Trail starts as a short dirt trail at the northwest end of a parking lot at the west foot of the Golden Gate Overlook: 1, 2

Then it happily dips and climbs, its 475 steps finally ascending steeply to Battery Crosby: 3 thru 65

Battery Crosby and its 16 steps down: 66 thru 74

Another dirt trail, up to Lincoln: 75 thru 79

Lincoln: 80

Crossing Lincoln, starting up the Connector Trail (to Immigrant Point Overlook and Rob Hill Campground): 81 thru 84

However, this time continued south on the Connector to its end: 85 thru 88

Uphill to the south end of one of the neighborhoods: 89, 90, 91

A short trail into a section of forest above the Lobos Creek boardwalk trail: 92

Out to the Lobos Valley Overlook off Battery Caulfield Road: 93 thru 96

1 East trailhead for Batteries to Bluffs Trail

3 Stairs begin

4 Looking back

19 Back to the main trail from the overlook

20 Looking back

35 Offshoot of the main trail to Marshall;s Beach

38 Marshall's Beach Trail, center

42 Looking back

43 Looking back

65 Step up onto Battery Crosby

67 Battery Crosby

71 Lincoln above

72 Down 16 steps from the battery onto a dirt trail

76 Baker Beach in distance

77 Up to Lincoln

79 Looking back

81 Crossing Lincoln for the Connector Trail

82 208 steps for the Connector Trail up to Immigrant Point Overlook and Rob Hill Campground

83 Sand Ladder to left, Batteries to Bluffs Trail to right

85 Connector Trail to its south end

89 Uphill to the south

91 Downhill from the residences

92 Presidio forest section off Battery Caulfield Road

93 Presidio Landmark residences = former Public Health Hospital

94 Lobos Creek Valley below

95 Looking back

96 Lobos Valley Overlook on my way out to 16th Ave.

0 Comments

Ongoing FP

9/29/2019

0 Comments

This Russian Hill hike was to check out how construction of the new Francisco Park, at the old reservoir (between Hyde and Larkin), was coming along. Its west side is bordered by the Larkin stairs, a popular spot for watching the Blue Angels.

Larkin, Nob Hill: 1 thru 4

A playground, Helen Will Park, Broadway at Larkin: 5, 6

Larkin, Russian Hill: 7

A THEN from 1970s is 2325 Larkin, pic 8. Someone at the San Francisco Remembered Facebook site found it on Google Maps when I said I couldn't find it. NOWs: 9 thru 13

Larkin: 14

Foot of George Sterling Park at Latkin: 15 thru 19

More Larkin: 20 thru 23

Top of the Chestnut stairway: 24

The Larkin stairway has three separate flights. The first is from the Larkin brick dead-end just past the top of the Chestnut stairs. It’s short and descends to curvy Francisco St. Careful crossing here - cars turning: 25 thru 29

Cross Francisco and the second flight will take you alongside the reservoir. There was heavy equipment activity below; the railings here and along the third flight (further down, Russian Hill Park) were vibrating: 30 thru 35

Russian Hill Park was blocked off here at its west side due to construction all the way down to the foot of the park at Bay St.: 36 thru 40

Ghirardelli Square (North Point St.): 41

Polk near North Point: 42

1 Larkin, Nob Hill

2 Larkin, Nob Hill

5 Helen Will Park at Larkin & Broadway

7 Larkin & Vallejo, Russian Hill

8 THEN; 2325 Larkin, 1970s

9 NOW: 2325 Larkin, September 2019

10 NOW: 2325 Larkin

11 NOW

12 NOW

13 NOW

14 Larkin

15 Foot of George Sterling Park

24 Top of Chestnut stairs

27 Uppermost of three flights of Larkin steps starts here

28 Down to Francisco

29 Looking back

30 Crossing Francisco for the second flight

31 Francisco Park under construction to the right

34 Looking back

35 Foot of second flight

36 Third flight starts here down into Russian Hill Park

39 Looking back

40 Foot of third flight of Larkin steps at Bay St.

41 Ghirardelli Square at North Point

42 Polk St. near North Point

0 Comments

Short Simonds

9/18/2019

0 Comments

Thru the Presidio’s Broadway Gate (near top of the Lyon stairway): 1

Downhill thru the forest to the Simonds Loop neighborhood: 2 thru 5

Simonds Loop’s 62 steps - upper to lower: 6 thru 12

A short “hidden” stairway: 13, 14, 15

Lower Simonds Loop out to the bus stop: 16 thru 27

The #43 bus stops here on its way out of the park: 28

1 Broadway Gate into the park

3 Section of forest above Presidio Blvd.

6 Into Upper Simonds Loop neighborhood

7 Upper to Lower Simonds Loop

21 Looking back

28 The #43 bus stops here on its way out of the park

0 Comments

Ina Stairpark

9/16/2019

0 Comments

Up the 192 steps from Pine to California, Nob Hill: 1, 2, 3

Broadway up from Taylor: 4, 5

Taylor homes up from Broadway: 6, 7

Fallon Place: 8

Vallejo steps from across the street: 9, 10

Ina Coolbrith Park: 11 thru 47

Vallejo steps to the minipark: 48 thru 54

Minipark at the top of the stairs: 55, 56

Vallejo south elevated walkway: 57, 58, 59

A left on Florence. It dead-ends at a stairway that descends to Broadway: 60, 61, 62

Florence steps: 63 thru 69

Broadway north side steps back down to Taylor: 70 thru 77

Broadway south side-steps, foot: 78

Taylor, Nob Hill: 79

1 Taylor stairs - Pine to California, Nob Hill

4 Broadway here is a dead-end at top for vehicles

5 Side steps both sides and built-in benches at the top

6 Taylor up from Broadway

8 Fallon Place down from Taylor

9 Vallejo up from Taylor to a minipark

11 Ina Coolbrith Park between Taylor and Mason

25 Down the south stairs

27 Down the north stairs alongside the older apt. buildings

36 Foot of the park, above Mason

39 Vallejo near Mason. Foot of the park.

40 Starting up the south side from the foot of the park

42 Looking back down

43 Looking across

47 Back up at the top of the park

48 Across the street and up the Vallejo steps

55 Minipark at the top of the stairs

56 View east

57 Vallejo St.

58 Vallejo south elevated walk

60 A left on Florence, a dead-end for vehicles

61 Florence stairs at the south end

63 Florence steps down to Broadway

66 Broadway and its wall from Florence steps

70 One of the two built-in benches at top of the Broadway wall dead-end for vehicles

71 Broadway north side-steps

74 Looking across at the south steps

78 Foot of the south steps

79 Nob Hill - Taylor between Jackson and Washington

0 Comments

Less Now

9/15/2019

0 Comments

Above Arguello: 1, 2

Down from the guardrail on a shortcut trail: 3

Along Arguello to Inspiration Point Overlook: 4, 5, 6

View from the overlook: 7

The Inspiration Point Overlook steps that connect to the Ecology Trail now total 33. Staircount was 45 for the old curvy wood flight. Preferred the older ones. The newer ones are the same generic square type as the Cemetery Overlook stairs and all over Glen Canyon: 8 thru 16

A much bigger disappointment was to pass by another huge deforestation project ongoing in the park, this near The Spire.

This sort of thing has been going on for years in this park, but was never so close to it as this time. Didn’t know this area was on the chopping block.

There were tall cones of wood chips, a lot of depressing bare ground where once was a majestic forest, and the ominous sounds of heavy machinery.

A sign said tree removal and reforestation. The doomed eucalyptus is to be replaced by other species preferred more by the park, this around December.

But they are destroying healthy trees in the meantime, not to mention habitat destruction. And how many years will it take for the newly planted trees to grow to maturity?

All this in this time of climate change concerns and the devastation ongoing in the Amazon and elsewhere. How many millions are they spending to destroy this beautiful section of forest and the planting of the new trees?

Heading east: 17

An east Presidio neighborhood, eventually up to Julius Kahn Park and the opening in the Presidio Wall out to Spruce at Pacific: 18 thru 22

Up to Julius Kahn Park and thru the Spruce St. opening in the Presidio Wall at Pacific: 23 thru 26

1 Above Arguello

7 Inspiration Point Overlook

8 New Ecology Trail stairs now walkable

9 33 steps now

18 An east Presidio neighborhood

23 Trail up to Julius Kahn Park

25 Into Julius Kahn Park

26 Spruce St. opening in Presidio Wall at Pacific

0 Comments

Mac All

9/3/2019

0 Comments

Mostly Russian Hill; a few from Nob.

McCormick off Pacific, northwest edge of Nob Hill, near Larkin: 1 thru 7

Moirrell, another short alley, this one through to Broadway, across Pacific from McCormick: 8 thru 12

Broadway tunnel top - a minipark, and Cyprus Place, near Leavenworth: 13 14

Russian Hill

Green: 15

Havens, a dead-end alley up from Leavenworth: 16, 17

Filbert up from Leavenworth: 18

Michelangelo Playground, below Greenwich: 19 thru 26

Greenwich minipark up from Leavenworth: 27

Lurmont off Leavenworth: 28

Hyde near Lombard: 29

Macondray - its Leavenworth to Jones part: 30 thru 41

Crossing Jones for the part of Macondray down to Taylor: 42

Macondray - Jones to Taylor: 43 thru 68

Taylor at Macondray: 69 thru 72

Green St. stairs up from Taylor: 73

Taylor & Vallejo steps up to a minipark: 74, 75

"The Landmark": 76

Fallon Place steps descend from Taylor: 77

Taylor, west side of street, down to Broadway: 78 thru 83

Broadway and its north sidewalk steps: 84, 85

Nob Hill

Hyde: 86

Taylor: 87, 88

1 McCormick off Pacific

8 Morrell

13 A Broadway tunnel top minpark

14 Cyprus Place, south side of Broadway

15 Green

16 Havens up from Leavenworth

17 Havens is not thru to Hyde

18 Leavenworth to Hyde on Filbert

19 Michelangelo Playground below Greenwich

27 Greenwich minipark

28 Lurmont

29 Hyde near Lombard

30 Macondray east from Leavenworth

31 Looking down

36 View north

39 Looking back

41 Looking back

42 Macondray continuing across Jones

70 Down to Taylor

73 Green up from Taylor

74 Vallejo stairs up from Taylor

76 "The Landmark" between Ina Coolbrith Park and Fallon Pl.

77 Top of Fallon Pl.

78 Taylor St.

84 Broadway north sidewalk stairs

85 Broadway - dead-end for vehicles at top

86 Taylor St.

87 Hyde St,

88 Hyde St.

0 Comments

Short Section

9/2/2019

0 Comments

Farnsworth Lane (149 steps) to Edgewood Ave. up from Willard: 1 thru 3

Edgewood Trail from the end of Edgewood Avenue: 4 thru 11

The uppermost part of Edgewood, the highest switchback up to the guardrail/road now has a short section of rustic fencing: 12 thru 18

Views from the road: 19 thru 29

Back steps to the community center: 30

And back along the road: 31 thru 37

Passing the top of the stairway down from the parking lot for the trail behind homes on Edgewood. But partway along is an offshoot trail taken this time. It’s short, downhill, and connects with the main stairway via 15 old wood steps and wood rail: 38 thru 48

Main steps (136 total): 49 thru 52

1 Farnsworth starting up from Willard

4 End of Edgewood Ave. into the forest

5 Edgewood Trail

12 New fence section

19 North Ridge Trail across the road

30 Community Center back steps

31 Along the road again

34 Down to Edgewood Trail from the road

37 Historic Trail

38 Trail behind Edgewood Ave. homes

40 Another trail connects with the main north stairway

44 15 connector steps are old, wood

45 Looking back

49 Main north steps

0 Comments

Easier

9/1/2019

0 Comments

Up into Fort Miley at Land’s End: 1, 2

Thru the upper parking lot overlook. 59 steps divide the upper and lower overlooks: 3 thru 8

El Camino del Mar Trail: 9 thru 18

47 steps to the west edge of the Legion of Honor parking lot: 19 thru 23

My favorite Land’s End berrytrail saw some clearing since my last visit. I could see the actual trail all the way down. Bit why didn’t they also remove the old rags at the foot?: 24 thru 29

Up to the Coastal Trail, east side stairs: 30

Out to the east trailhead: 31 thru 42

Detouring, due t o ongoing construction at the east trailhead, 32nd Avenue this time: 43 thru 46