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Sierra Clubbers pause while hiking San Francisco's Coastal Trail. Yep, that's the Golden Gate Bridge there in the background.
Photo by David Wasserman

by Bill Bianchi
OUTING
Coastal Trail from the Cliff House to the Golden Gate Bridge

On Wednesday morning, eight Sierrans from all over the U.S., (Florida, Ohio, Illinois, New Mexico, and California), hiked a section of San Francisco's Coastal Trail, from Seal Rock to the Golden Gate Bridge, a fascinating mix of the big city with a stunning natural area. The trailhead for our hike was a busy bus stop. It doesn't get more urban than riding the # 38 bus from Union Square directly west to the Pacific Ocean . Once we got there, the vistas of a rocky sea coast along a fog-shrouded bay created the illusion that we'd left the city far behind. In fact, we were still within the city limits.

We hiked through a strange-looking forest of eucalyptus (invasive species) and pine often covered with garlands of orange and yellow nasturtiums. The rugged coast below was never out of sight. I felt like I was in some remote coastal area, maybe along Washington's Olympic peninsula. But soon we left the woods and the sea vista and entered one of the strangest residential neighborhoods I've ever visited. Huge homes crowded together and running up steep hillsides, mostly new but made to look old in the eclectic California architectural style that combines, Spanish mission, modern, colonial, and Greek revival. And that was just one house. These homes were bright pastels and decked out with lavish colorful landscaping. Upkeep for any one yard, we figured would take a small army of landscapers.

At the Golden Gate Bridge, we entered the world of major tourist attraction, with thousands viewing the structure. Several of us walked halfway across the bridge, just to say we did it. We were surprised to see on the bridge a special hotline phone that offered a "Crisis Intervention." They think of everything!

Then back on the bus to return to the urban part of "the City." Our group was satisfied that we'd had a unique outing.

-- 09/07/2005 Wed
noon