Some have asked how the Peninsula Hiking Group (PHG) was formed. It’s quite simple. I have lived on the San Francisco Peninsula for most of the past 20 years. I have been exploring the San Francisco Bay Area for most of the past 43. For the first 10 years in San Francisco, I lived not more than half a mile from Golden Gate Park (GGP), a 1000+ acre urban oasis. Cross streets were named after Spanish explorers – Anza, Balboa, Cabrillo. How could one not explore? At 404 feet, Strawberry Hill, in the middle of the man made Stow Lake, should be GGP’s highest point. I have hiked it countless times, and the view from the top never disappoints. But, there is more.
As some know, San Francisco has a few hills. In fact, they are hard to avoid. At the same time, if there is a better milieu for an urban hike, I have yet to find it. Okay, perhaps, Tokyo, from Tokyo Tower to, up, and over the hills of Roppongi. Mount Floyen above Bergen? Great choice, but if you want variety, Frisco’s your town.
Some might recall that during the first few months of the pandemic, there was little to do besides quarantining in your house or apartment, backyard or balcony. What to do? Hike, of course. We were outdoors, usually masked, socially distanced. The first hike involved a circumambulation of Twin Peaks, followed by a super burrito from La Corneta. The second featured Mount Davidson, fog-shrouded (of course), primordial, a monsoon in late May above the otherwise arid city and surrounding area, followed by a visit to a taqueria, El Toreador, on West Portal. The wait seemed interminable, but the burrito was steaming hot, especially against the icy night, fortifying us for the remainder of urban hike to our parked cars near Ocean Beach.
After being cooped up for more than 2 months, we could not have been more content; the hike was an elixir, freedom from containment, an opportunity to socialize and commiserate with fellow human beings, after countless hours and days on Zoom and other videoconferencing services. Credit will be given to a mutual friend and fellow native San Franciscan, D, for organizing these adventures.
The hikes did not stop and due to proximity concentrated on the Peninsula, just south of San Francisco. About a year later, D moved abroad, but alas the hikes continued, throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, but with the focus on the Peninsula, my home.
The next one is Marin. Post to follow (and comments welcomed).
The Peninsula Hiking Club 