~ Celeste Rogers ~

Can you imagine being in a tree house with the city of San Francisco at your feet? That was the first thing we saw on Saturday as we trooped out of Hoyt’s van. The Tree house (next to our meeting place) is in a huge redwood patio equipped with a nice sized BBQ grill, lots of potted plants and interesting garden sculptures such as a bench shaped like a long tortoise.

Bernal Heights is a large rocky hill south of the Mission with a radio tower on top. Some of us dutifully and meditatively walked a nearby rock labyrinth while we waited for the rest to gather around for a group picture taken by Karen Soo.

We set off to climb a few steep stairways – from a few steps to about 100, some winding and some through community gardens. Some streets have cars parked 90 degrees to the streets that were so steep you felt a slight push could tilt them over.

As usual, San Francisco is beautiful, with blue skies, some patches of clouds and fog blowing in from Golden Gate. As much as we sweated from the steep stairs, it was not all that tiring since the cool breezes invigorated us. Trees were flowering with red flowers, community gardens laden with tomatoes, vegetables, garden flowers, profuse bougainvillea and many “ Naked Ladies” – the flowering plants, in case you are wondering. Some eucalyptus trees were so fragrantly swaying in the breeze that it felt good to be alive.

Along the way, we had time to be a kid again sliding down a long, dual metal slide using floor mats, jackets, cardboard or just plain jeans.

After some more arduous stairs – probably more than a thousand, we snacked and rested while being rewarded with a sweeping view of the Golden Gate Bridge on the far left and Downtown SF on the far right.

Soon, we were back near where we started, but were told that we had done only the first half. As we started the second half, we passed a few patches of bushes laden with blackberries ( but only a few worth picking). We stopped to admire a blue house with many water fountains in front, made out of discarded watering cans, buckets, funnels, milk containers, sinks and pumps. I am not sure which was more attractive of the two: the trickling water sounds or the creative water fountains, but we stayed a while to enjoy them.

One of my two guests, Johann, (born in Russia, but lives in Germany) proudly pointed out to me that a German was the brains behind Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) that had created some of the gardens we passed. Johann was unexpectedly glad to meet and talk (in Russian) with another of our hikers named Ann who was also Russian!! Hoyt was delighted with the meeting!

After one of the last and steepest climbs I turned back, I saw a view of SF that was worth all the huffing and puffing. It reminded me of the many uneven steps, dirty and unsafe surroundings in Rio de Janeiro and how lucky that SF has these stairs that are evenly spaced, with hand railings and flowers and shady trees and without animal poop littering.

Ending the hike, I raced up the Bernal Heights Summit and was out of breath but managed to take a quick video of the awesome 360 degree view.
As usual, Hoyt’s hike was amazing and showed us places in SF that we don’t know about- a hike with wonderful people to chat, catch up and share food with, rewarding views that never fail to fascinate, and a delicious Peruvian lunch to top it off.

A very wonderful way to spend a Saturday!! Cheers, Celeste Rogers (with a few edits by Hoyt)
Thank you, Hoyt!!