42 Hills
San Francisco is built on 42 hills.
I attempt to walk on most of them.
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My second walk was #9 from the book — around Presidio’s Fort Winfield Scott. It used to house the Coastal Artillery Group at the beginning of 20th century and I saw many buildings and other remnants from that time during the walk.
I started off at the row of old military houses, and took a stone stairway to the tennis courts below. The next portion of the walk was unexpectedly interrupted, because the trail I was supposed to take was closed due to the construction around the Doyle drive. I had to detour east along paved roads and thus could not see the Dragon Fly Creek and the old granite slabs from 1906 earthquake, with names chiseled on them. The detour did take me through a nice wooded area where I found strange word sculptures made from wire and hay.
At the end of the detour I reached the Presidio Native Plant Nursery and the Demonstration Gardens that showcase various habitats one might find in the Presidio. The nursery’s upper level is served by a cool staircase made from the tree cores.
A bit further on, I found myself at Fort Winfield Scott’s parade grounds, surrounded by the Italian stone pines and the old barracks, built in the Mission Revival style. The northern portion of the grounds houses an athletic field, with a baseball and soccer areas. While walking on the east side of those, I saw the Brig. You’d think the inmates had a great view, but those windows at the top are unreachable without a ladder.
On the west side, I crossed Lincoln Blvd to check out Battery Godfrey, one of many batteries sprinkled along the coast. The views from the path behind the battery are superb, and, despite a nice sunny day, there was barely anyone there. Supposedly on a very clear day one can see Farallon Islands from here.
From there, I continued south along the Parade Grounds and came back to the tennis courts (open only to members of Presidio YMCA). After watching a couple of games in progress, I took a long curvy stone stairway behind the Officers Recreation Building and ended up at the parking lot where I left my car.
This was a very enjoyable and beautiful walk, especially since the weather cooperated. I was glad to visit less known area of Presidio, though I still didn’t bring DSLR, mostly because I didn’t want to be weighed down. Things to remember for next time: water bottle.
