First, however, another spot not seen in many years. This is the openspace called Hawk Hill at the west dead-end of San Marcos/Santa Rita. It's a short distance west of these divider steps that are part of the three-block-long Montalvo stairway: first two pix.
Hawk Hill IS supposed to be a park and amazingly it looks the same as it did the last time I climbed it long ago. For one thing, there wasn’t one of those green park-rules signs here — at least not where I was. Shhhh - don’t remind them! It’s still a wild, steep dune with a few thick-sand trails and iceplant. It’s clearly shown on Google Maps and has more than one entrance, but it doesn’t look like anyone’s tried to “tame” this natural area: 3 thru 7
At the street on the south side, San Marcos, there’s no trail down the steep slope: 8, 9
Downhilled a block to the dead-end of Dorantes for the first of the old remembered stairways. These stairways are shown on Google Maps but as trails, not stairs.
It used to look very different from the way it does now, green and mysterious. Now much of the vegetation is gone and there’s mainly bare earth. At the top of the 25 Dorantes steps you’ll come to a walkway alongside a white wall (belongs to Herbert Hoover Middle School).
Dorantes dead-end: 10, 11
Walkway: 12, 13
A few yards to the west is the top of the second stairway. Its 41 steps descend to the dead-end of 12th Avenue. If you walk south on 12th, the first cross-street is Magellan. 12th Avenue steps: 14 thru 17
There’s a third stairway that can be seen on Streetview, but it’s blocked off by a locked gate if you keep going west along the walkway past the top of the 12th Ave. steps. It can’t be accessed along the wall nor below it on a weedy dirt trail; it’s just for school access: 18, 19
The long stairway this time was the Pacheco, 134 steps, Magellan up to Castenada. It’s long been called the Pacheco steps but on Google Maps is called “Path Street.” Jeez. We’ll just keep calling it the Pacheco, shall we? Pacheco has a little sister across wide, busy Dewey; she’s shorter and ascends a little way into the Edgehill Heights neighborhood.
Pacheco stairway: 20 thru 29
A home on Magellan: 30
On my way downhill for public transportation, nice views of Mount Sutro from Magellan: 31, 32, 33
This walk that climbs up to Magellan behind the Forest Hill Metro Station is a pleasant way into the neighborhood: last two pix.