Stairways are Heaven
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Tank to Sutro Part 1

7/19/2014

1 Comment

 
To start this trek, disembarked the #37 Corbett/Twin Peaks bus at the Corbett/Clayton Neighborhood Garden steps, first pic. At the top of this short flight would like to see a skyway, or at least a crosswalk, to take hikers directly across Clayton so as to safely continue up the Pemberton stairs (three blocks’ worth, 210 steps). Clayton’s curvy and cars zoom around here too fast. 

Pemberton from Clayton to Villa Terrace: pix 2 thru 6

Pemberton from Villa to Graystone Terrace: 7, 8

Pemberton crosses two narrow streets in the Twin Peaks neighborhood, Villa and Graystone, on its way up and ends at Crown Terrace. 

Pemberton from Graystone to Crown Terrace: 9 thru 12 

This time hung a right to take me out to Twin Peaks Blvd. where directly across the street 23 old wood steps climb up Tank Hill, pic 13.


Tank Hill’s a tiny viewpark, a north shoulder of Twin Peaks. The other short access stairway is down the west slope that descends to Belgrave Ave. There’s a vehicle dead-end at both ends of this maybe three-block-long street, at the west end of which one can access one of Sutro Forest’s older, steeper trails. 


Pic 14: View of Mount Sutro Forest a few blocks to the west. 

Tank pix: 15, 16, 17, 18.

If the parks people wanted to do something really useful, they might consider improving the old dirt trail that steeply swoops down the west slope of this park to Belgrave’s east end. There are 16 rocky-slidey-uneven steps: 19, 20, 21.


A couple of stairways lead down from Clarendon nearly to Belgrave, but not quite. I’ve been down these (not lately though), descending through the open gate at Clarendon. This is actually the uppermost part of Stanyan and is labeled as Stanyan on Google Maps. But it’s blocked off just before Belgrave (you can see an end-fence up the slope, pic 22), so not recommending since it’s an up’n back. Is it now locked and private? It’d be cool if this could get extended down to connect with the rest of Stanyan at Belgrave. 

The trail into Sutro Forest near the end of Stanyan at Belgrave’s other dead-end-for-cars is a steep and gorgeous one I’ve enjoyed for years. It has no markers like the other trails, just four old steps to start and some posts to bar vehicles. Maybe because there’s an Aldea residence alongside as one climbs and they want to discourage prowlers? The trail is shown on Google Maps. 

I’ve also explored an alternate, rougher trail of sorts north from the foot of this trail a few times, miraculously escaping poison oak, exiting midwayish onto the newer Historic Trail whose trailhead starts a bit lower down Stanyan. This was like the old days on the mountain when I’d step into deep ivy-covered holes, sometimes losing whatever trail there was in a bunch of tangles, sometimes sliding down the slope. Was hoping this would get opened up a bit more so as to connect with the newer trail. 

Used to notice some possibly feral felines around here back in the old days, behind the homes on Stanyan, along with some trash and empty cat food cans; once an older woman sitting on a log feeding a few. It used to be more difficult to ascend at the top than it is these days. I’d pull myself up near the bottom of one of the homes. Now one can just walk out into the residential area at Johnstone, then continue onto more forest trails. A trailhead for the Fairy Gates Trail is right there.

This uppermost Inner Greenbelt trail offers winding and narrow steepness, deep-forest beauty, birdsong, and even a couple of treelimbs to climb over/sit on: 23 thru 31. 

… To be continued. 

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1. Top of Clayton/Corbett Neighborhood Garden steps. Pemberton's foot center, left.
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2. Pemberton's foot
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3. Rosemary, center
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4. Pemberton Place steps
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5. First block up to Villa Terrace
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6. First cross-street VillaTerrace
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7. Villa to Graystone Terrace
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8. Villa to Graystone
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9. Graystone up to Crown Terrace, the older steps
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10. Graystone to Crown
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11. Up to Crown Terrace
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12. Top at Crown Terrace
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13. Tank Hill's south stairway up from Twin Peaks Blvd.
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14. View of Mount Sutro Forest from Tank Hill's west trail down to Belgrave
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15. Tank Hill Park
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16. Kite Hill Park center, right
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17. Up ahead, the view rocks
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18. Tank's west slope
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19. Westside trail down to Belgrave
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20. Down to Belgrave
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21. Rocks and dirt - could use more steps
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22. Upper Stanyan doesn't quite connect with Belgrave
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23. Uppermost Inner Greenbelt trailhead for Mount Sutro Forest up from Belgrave
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24. Treelimbs to sit on and step over
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25. Steep and secluded
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26. Forest beauty
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27. Step over and continue up
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28. Winding up past a residence
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29. Mountain home. Wish it was mine.
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30. Climbing
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31. Out at Johnstone near Fairy Gates trailhead
1 Comment
JoJo
7/20/2014 12:33:40 am

Great pics. You're right about the Westside trail down to Belgrave needing more steps. Looks like an area to slip around on, pics 19-21. Love the pics of the older steps, and your pic titled Forest Beauty, pic 26. Who wouldn't want to live in this beautiful wooded area. Thank you for sharing.

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    I like meandering around on San Francisco's park trails and public stairways, sometimes taking photos, and enjoying nature and the outdoors.

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