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Feets Take Me Where You Will

10/21/2014

Most times when hiking Sausalito I’ll ascend or descend El Monte Lane (120 steps, pic 1) and Excelsior Lane (about 179 steps, pic 2) as these two start up from Bridgeway. I’ll take one ascending, then maybe the other descending. Or this pedestrian walkway up to Bulkley to start, pic 3.

Would still like to find a certain old Sausalito stairway walks paperback but unable to find on Amazon or eBay. Out of print I guess. Would be fun to take a walk with the author.

Random wandering… This time chose Noble Lane, 94 steps, up from Atwood (pix 4 thru 7), at the top of which is Sunshine and San Carlos. Sunshine up to Sausalito Blvd. and a couple of homes on Sunshine: 8, 9.

Pic 10: Sacramento Way down from Sausalito Blvd.

Miller up from the top of Excelsior Lane, pic 11.

Santa Rosa up to Spencer (184 steps): 12, 13. From Spencer you'll have several blocks of curvy narrow street before you hit Monte Mar and access to Headlands trails.

Prospect, 204 steps; access stairs for Headlands hiking: 14, 15, 16.

Morning Sun Trail up from Monte Mar and the parking lot to the Alta Trail: 17 thru 22: 218 or so steps.

Spencer to Prospect, then down all of Cable Roadway (upper and lower around 289 steps) to Central Ave. Pix 23, 24.

Southview Park for a bite to eat, pic 25.

West Court: 103 steps, pic 26.

The Bridgeway boardwalk, pic 27.

Bridgeway to Josephine & North, 120 steps and a built-in concrete bench partway up: 28 thru 34.

Second Street: 79 steps for the east stairway of this double-stairs-with-center-garden: last three.

1. Foot of El Monte

2. Near foot of Excelsior Lane; down to Bridgeway

3. Pedestrian Lane up from Princess to Bulkley

4. Noble Lane: Atwood to Sunshine

5. Noble Lane partway up

6. Near top of Noble Lane

7. Top of Noble Lane at San Carlos/Sunshine

8. A Sunshine house

9. Another Sunshine dwelling

10. Sacramento Way, 45 steps

11. Miller Ave. near Spencer

12. Up the Santa Rosa steps to Spencer Ave.

13. Up from Santa Rosa, about 184 steps

14. Foot of the Prospect stairs

15. One of the stairways to access the Headlands

16. About 203 steps

17. About 216 steps for the Morning Sun Trail

18. Steps and trail above the freeway

19. Morning Sun switchback

20. Morning Sun fun

21. Morning Sun trees

22. A high-house as seen from the Alta Trail

23. Lower Cable Roadway

24. Lower Cable Roadway's foot at Central (left)

25. Southview Park

26. West Court, 103 steps

27. Bridgeway boardwalk

28. Bridgeway to Josephine & North

29. Foot at Bridgeway

30. A bench partway up

31. Bench beautyspot

32. 120 steps

33. Stairtop view down

34. Josephine & North

35. Garden between stairways on Second St.

36. Up the east Second St. steps

37. Second St. east stairs

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Peixotto and the Slickenside

10/20/2014

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At the north dead-end of Douglass (first pic, a few steps and walkway over to Ord and the Vulcan and Saturn stairs) are 37 steps to States St. (pic 2), dividing Eureka Valley from the Corona Heights neighborhood. An eye-candy house favorite of mine is directly across from the top of the stairs, pic 3.

Started up the ramp from States into Corona Heights Park. How come the men’s room at the rampside playground was locked in the middle of the day?

Leaving the park on the east side, through the Randall Museum’s animal-rescue room and down to the street, passing the foot of the main stairway (130 steps, pic 4) with the trailhead infosign.

Ranting yet again, I have difficulty understanding the priorities of the park people. As mentioned some months ago, the steepish potholed trail here still needs work in places. It’s steep enough for some steps and railings. Pix 5, 6.

Down the De Forest steps to 15th.

Am drawn to the words “hidden” and “secret” when applied to trails, urban miniparks and the like, so when a friend mentioned a writeup of Peixotto Park at 15th & Beaver, realized I was familiar with the area but hadn't seen the playground the writer spoke of. The tennis courts at the north foot of Corona Heights Park are very noticeable; was also familiar with the part-stairs, part-narrow dirt trail on the west side of the courts that climbs into the upper part of the park near the summit rocks.

It’s true one can’t see the playground from 15th. So entered thru the main gate on the east side of the courts. Another entrance was blocked with some of those orange flexifences when I'd started into the park from that side. The Rocky Mountain (Parent) Participation Nursery School’s Peixotto Clubhouse is here (pic 7). Benches and a small playground here.

The most interesting thing about the little park to me was the sheer wall of rock (pic 8) on the north side of the park, difficult to see from the street. A narrow enclosed pathway led from the playground, behind the fenced tennis courts, directly to the foot of the Slickenside Trail, pic 9, short, winding, and popular. Three other people, two with dogs, passed me descending as I was hiking up, this on a weekday.

This is narrow and winding trail, hiker logo-signs at either end, with about 42 steps, including a few actual rocks as steps and some logs. Seems it could be improved upon to make it less loose-rock-slidey, however, especially when descending: 10 thru 14. As I was ascending, someone coming down even mentioned the slipperiness.

After emerging at the top of the Slickenside, continued down to the Roosevelt park exit past the fenced dog play area. From here it's only a few blocks north to Buena Vista Park and its main south entrance. This whole southside was beautifully upgraded several years ago.

The main trailhead here is a stairway with 171 steps up past wooden walkways (pix 15 thru 19). leading nearly to the summit where there’s a grassy little openspace.

Last pic: an older stairway on the north side before exiting the park at Haight near Central.

1. North dead-end of Douglass. Left to Ord, Vulcan and Saturn.

2. Up to States St. in Corona Heights

3. Top of the stairs at States St.

4. Foot of the main park stairway, 130 steps.

5. Fix this trail in Corona Heights Park!

6. Eastside trail repair needed in the park

7. Rocky Mountain Participation Nursery School clubhouse in Peixotto Park

8. Sheer wall of rock

9. Trail up the north side of Corona Heights Park

10. Nearing the top

11. Rocks and dirt where there are no steps

12. Buena Vista Park upper right side

13. Trailtop

14. Downtown SF in distance

15. 171 steps for Buena Vista Park's main southside stairway

16. Walkways east and west alongside the stairs

17. Shady wood walk on the south slope

18. You can sit and rest on your way up

19. Top of the main stairway

20. Older steps on the north side

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West Potrero Footbridge and Stairway Walk

10/19/2014

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A history of the miniparks and footbridge:

http://www.sfparksalliance.org/our-parks/parks/fallen-bridgeutah-18th-mini-park

75 sidewalk steps climb on both sides of Mariposa up to Utah, starting partway up from Potrero Ave. First two pix: north steps.

The blue pedestrian bridge: 3 thru 9.

The Benches on the San Bruno Ave. side is an even smaller micropark at the dead-end of 18th where the bridge starts. You can walk around inside the fenced Benches Garden: pix 10, 11.

When you get to the west side of the blue bridge (a different color several years ago), pic 12, you’ll see Fallen Bridge Park/18th & Utah Minipark below, extending to where Utah curves around to 18th: 13, 14, 15.

Older houses at 18th near the park: 16, 17.

Slovenian Hall on Vermont near Mariposa, pic 18.

This mural (pic 19) is at the foot of both McKinley Square Park (39 steps for the stairway here) and the Vermont wiggly street near 22nd. When you cross the 22nd St. bridge to the westside behind the hospital buildings, the first streets on the west side of the freeway are also Vermont and San Bruno.

Farther along noticed another pedestrian freeway bridge (between 24th & 25th) but it was locked, unusable. Cars and pedestrians, however, can cross over at 23rd.

I’ve long liked this old corner house on the west side of Vermont at 25th, across the street from an old firehouse, pic 20.

17 steps to start on divided 23rd, 79 in all. At the top of the south sidewalk stairway just before Wisconsin you need to cross the street for the rest of the stairway; out at the corner of a small grocery: 21, 22.

147 steps for the Wisconsin down to Arkansas stairs, pix 23, 24, 25.

On to the 24th St. sidewalk stairways. The #19 Polk bus stops at the foot of these steps at Rhode Island (pic 26). The steps climb to De Haro: 132 steps for the south stairs (pic 27) and 107 for the north stairs (28, 29, 30). The drivable street in the center is bricked. Starr King Openspace is also at the top of the stairs. Attended an enjoyable groupwalk several years ago in this little park.

Last two: Houses on De Haro as I downhilled to the Whole Foods.