SAN FRANCISCO WINTER WALK March 8, 2010

Ready to do another hike, I woke up in the wee hours of the morning, Monday. I discerned that the weather was to include some rain. The chance of showers were only about 10% in the Bay Area. I packed my umbrella, and gathered together my gear. Urban hikes are pretty safe in the event of some downpours.

There had been some more thought given to preservation of the Delta. I was driving south on CA 160, and stopped for a few photos. I had taken many long bike rides along the river in my youth, and have always enjoyed the farm scenery. I also like the many bridges across the Sacramento River.

Taking the exit to the Hillcrest Avenue park and ride in Antioch, along Highway 4, I paid $3 for an all day bus ticket. The 300 express bus carried me to the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART Station. I got my ticket and happily boarded the train.

After the longer ride, I disembarked at the Embarcadero Station. I always am unable to not gawk at the highrises. San Francisco is one spectacular city! Hiking southwest on Market Street, I saw what was new. I shuttered my usual photos, making such a hike, every so often.

Coming to the United Nations Plaza, and ambling on north, I took a panorama of City Hall. It began to sprinkle a bit, and I found refuge in a free Wi-Fi enabled eatery. Seeing that I had been hit by a small cell, the sun quickly returned, and I continued my walk north on Van Ness Avenue. I had a few sights of side streets.

I then came to the Bay, and Aquatic Park. The Pacific light and sun were glorious! I sauntered eastward through Fisherman's Wharf, liking the smaller crowds and colorful buildings.

Coming to Pier 39, I went straight to the side dock to see the sea lions. I meticulously recorded the view, with a movie clip (640 x 480 pixels, 68 MB), and my panorama feature helping immensely. I would want to get right to my computer with these!

Then, I decided to hike up Coit Tower. Taking the many stairs, I paid the $5 to ride to the top on the elevator. Glass windows didn't help the photography, but I somehow managed. It was a great day!

Back down, I headed through North Beach, and then to Chinatown. It began to rain a bit more, so I looked for a new museum. This brought me to the new Embarcadero. Fantastic! I so admired the light inside the new ferry building, and took a few more photos once outside. This was all new to me!

All I now had to do was to get home before rush hour. I boarded BART by about 3:30 p.m., and got a good seat. Zooming under the tunnel to Oakland, it looked dark and raining on my view back to the City, good that I had not tried to stay around. The ride was nice enough, and back to the furthest station to the northeast, I boarded my express bus back to the park and ride.

Somehow, I missed an exit on my drive home. I wound up wandering about Discovery Bay, a new, massive development. Amazing what a few years of building results in! I circled back to the street that I had left, totally lost. I wished that I had a navigator.

I captured the sunset from a few places north on CA 160, and then had to take another side road, the Hood-Franklin Road, by a detour from the closed Twin Cities Road, back to Interstate 5.

I knew that I had a lot of work on my computer as I returned home. I had estimated my loop hike as about 5 miles, and maybe with 500' gain. I captured about 550 images. Spending about $35 total, I had used maybe 4 gallons of fuel. It is about 64 miles, each way, to the park and ride from my home.

Having already said that many people would say that this is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, I saw that it had become even more scenic. I someday hope that some local citizen will seek to join me on my climbs and little adventures. I would be willing to pick up a Bay Area hiker or climber, without a car, via the local Amtrak, and shuttle us both, or all, to the many distant mountain ranges that I am now familiar with. But to have such a town to live in, that is almost worth being farther from the Sierra!

BACK TO PETE'S THOUSAND PEAKS HOME PAGE