Lake Merced
Lake Merced is a natural lake near Fort Funston. It used to be San Francisco's main fresh water supply but is now the emergency reserve (somewhat worrying as a previous earthquake caused much of Lake Merced to drain into the Pacific).
The lake is also the site of the Terry/Broderick duel where in 1859 the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court (Terry) killed a US Senator (Broderick) in an argument over slavery.
The loop around the lake is a flat five mile path, unfortunately marred by heavy traffic and constant gunfire from clay pigeon shooting and/or the SFPD firing range.
Rob and Rudy at Lake Merced.
Gill and Rudy next to a sculpture called "Penguin's Prayer". Given the latitude I expect the penguin is praying for the next ice age.
(4.85 miles, total elevation gain 0 feet, 1 hour, 39 minutes, average 2.93 mph, view in Google Earth, view in Google Maps.)
Hike starts at: 37.712302, -122.489232.
Updated 2023-06-20 01:27:
Video from a trip round Lake Merced on June 19, 2023.
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(Hike Map)
(Published to the Fediverse as: Lake Merced #hike #sfdogwalk #video #hikevid Five mile hike around Lake Merced in San Francisco, California. )
Año Nuevo
We decided to visit Año Nuevo State Natural Reserve today because it's one of the hundreds of California state parks threatened with closure by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts.
The main attraction of Año Nuevo is the presence of a large colony of elephant seals. At this time of the year you walk a couple of miles where volunteers are available to answer questions and lend binoculars. In the breeding season between December and March you need to book a guided walk at least a day in advance - or at least you will if the park survives.
(As well as my video, check out the streaming Sealcam on Año Nuevo Island.)
Elephant Seals at Año Nuevo.
Gill, with Año Nuevo Island in the background. You can see the ruins of a lighthouse on the island (click the image for a larger version). The original name dating back to 1603 is La Punta de Año Nuevo or New Year's Point (much erosion since then).
One of many lizards encountered on the trail.
(4.18 miles, total elevation gain 268 feet, 1 hour, 48 minutes, average 2.32 mph, view in Google Earth, view in Google Maps.)
Hike starts at: 37.12086, -122.307237.
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(Published to the Fediverse as: Año Nuevo #hike #anonuevo #lizard #seal #elephantseal #video Four mile hike to see Elephant Seals at Año Nuevo State Park in San Mateo County, California. )
Point Reyes - Tomales Point
Tomales Point is a ten mile hike in Point Reyes. The trailhead is at the end of Pierce Point Road. It's my least favorite topological combination — the trail is mostly downhill on the way out and at the end you turn around and come back. It's worth it for the views of Tomales Bay and the Pacific, also for the flora and fauna along the way.
We did this hike a few years ago with my parents, thinking that we'd avoid some approaching rain. Of course the heavens opened as soon as we reached Tomales Point and it rained solidly for the five mile return leg. I remember emptying water out of boots and pockets and then steaming up the car for the two hour drive back to San Francisco.
A Long-tailed Weasel at the start of the trail. It kept running away and then coming back to take another look at us. Very cute.
Rob and Gill at Tomales Point. It was too windy to find a spot to get the camera to take a photo of both of us at the same time. Tomales Point looks out to Bodega Bay where The Birds was filmed.
This plant looks like a silver thistle with a bright red flower. If you know what it is please leave a comment and let us know! Lots of people were in garden-center mode for the hike, admiring the incredible variety of spring flowers along the trail.
A Turkey Vulture, hoping that we don't make it all the way back to the car…
Tule Elk, native to California and slowly recovering from near-extinction in the late 19th century.
(9.77 miles, total elevation gain 241 feet, 3 hours, 39 minutes, average 2.67 mph, view in Google Earth, view in Google Maps.)
Hike starts at: 38.189931, -122.955497.
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(Hike Map)
(Published to the Fediverse as: Point Reyes - Tomales Point #hike #pointreyes #weasel #vulture #elk Ten mile hike out to Tomales Point and back in Point Reyes. High chance of seeing Tule Elk. )
Lands End
Lands End to Eagle's Point is a stunning section of the Coastal Trail. Park in or near the new lot at Point Lobos Ave and El Camino del Mar. Before or after the walk check out the ruins of Sutro Baths. I'd put some of that American Recovery and Reinvestment Act cash into rebuilding the baths, it looks like they were incredible.
If you follow the trial down the the baths then there's a short but very cool cave to explore which ends in another unique view of the pacific and the mouth of the Golden Gate.
From Sutro Baths follow signs to Eagle's point. There are some very steep cliffs along the trail, so a leash is a really good idea for dogs.
One worthwhile detour is to wonder down to Mile Rock Beach. It's a stony and impressively violent beach with a couple of lookouts on the way down with impressive views.
(3.16 miles, total elevation gain 457 feet, 1 hours, 24 minutes, average 2.24 mph, view in Google Earth, view in Google Maps)
Hike starts at: 37.783491, -122.510793.
Updated 2023-06-19 02:22:
Here's a video of the hike from June 18, 2023:
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(Published to the Fediverse as: Lands End #hike #sfdogwalk #video #hikevid 3 mile hike from Lands End to Eagle's Point in San Francisco taking in Sutro Baths. )
Buena Vista Park
Buena Vista Park is a small but dramatic park above Haight-Ashbury.
I usually start at Buena Vista Ave and Upper Terrace. Walk up the large path which meanders to a small lawn at the top of the park.
From the lawn walk down through the maze of paths. It's a densely wooded park but every time you walk round a corner you're treated to a different city view peeking through the trees.
(0.96 miles, total elevation gain 576 feet, 24 minutes, average 2.40 mph, view in Google Earth, view in Google Maps)
Hike starts at: 37.766248, -122.442906.
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(Published to the Fediverse as: Buena Vista Park #hike #sfdogwalk Short walk around Buena Vista Park in San Francisco, California. )
About Hikes
Hikes indulges my passions for walking and being uncontrollably geeky. I love recording a walk and then looking at it in Google Earth. It's a great way to get context for a walk that isn't always obvious while you're wandering around.
I started the blog with a pretty complex setup. For a hike I'd take my Magellan eXplorist 500 GPS and a point and shoot digital camera (currently the excellent Canon PowerShot SD700 IS). After the hike I'd use a program I knocked up to compile stats from the GPS track log, and GPSBabel to convert the track log to Google Earth KML. Then I'd resize images and write a blog post.
This works well for longer hikes but it's a bit painful for shorter ones. I've got an AT&T Tilt phone which has a pretty decent camera and GPS built in, so over the Christmas holiday this year I wrote a tracking application for the phone. This app is now available as freeware (Catfood Tracker). As well as tracking your location it also generates a KML file and hike statistics at the end of a walk. Perfect. See Golden Gate Park Loop for a hike recorded entirely on the Tilt.
With an easier tracking option available I aim to blog about more hikes in 2009. I've also added an interactive map to the blog, which shows all the posts in Google Maps. This page is generated from the blog RSS feed, with a marker placed on the map at the first track point of each hike.
(Updated September 26, 2010: I've upgraded from the Tilt to an Android phone and so I've started using My Tracks from Google to record shorter hikes. This blog has also moved from Blogger to BlogEngine.NET. I've just written an extension to geotag posts so you'll see a Google Maps link to start of each hike at the bottom of every post (as well as some additional metadata to help locate posts in geo-aware searches).
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(Published to the Fediverse as: About Hikes #hike #ithcwy A behind the scenes peek at how the hike posts are made on I Thought He Came With You. )
Golden Gate Park Loop
This gentle three mile loop is our favorite walk in the Golden Gate Park. Start at JFK and Transverse and walk down JFK to 30th Avenue. Turn right at 30th and then left onto a metaled path before you exit the path. The path takes you to Spreckels Lake.
At Spreckels Lake it's turtles all the way down…
Walk halfway round the Lake and then head off behind the bison paddock (over 36th Avenue and then to the right of the restrooms). You'll pass one of two enclosed off-leash dog areas in the park.
Follow the path right round the paddock and then cross JFK at Chain of Lakes Drive. Immediately turn left on a small path that runs behind Middle Lake. This is a quiet area of the path where we've seen skunks and a lone coyote (although fortunately not at the same time). When you hit a T junction turn left and follow the path behind the angling pond and up to the Polo Fields. Keep going and you'll reach Speedway Meadow.
Follow the path beside Speedway Meadow back up to JFK and then on to the starting point at Transverse.
(2.80 miles, 1 hour, 6 minutes, average 2.53 mph, view in Google Earth, view in Google Maps)
Hike starts at: 37.770814, -122.48021.
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(Hike Map)
(Published to the Fediverse as: Golden Gate Park Loop #hike #sfdogwalk A three mile hike in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park that includes lakes, meadows and some Bison. )
Crissy Field
Crissy Field, part of the Golden Gate National Parks, is a recently restored stretch of beach and parkland next to the bay. It's a very popular place to take dogs for a good swim. Currently there is a big debate about dogs in the national parks - see Dog Management at the GGNRA site and SF Dog.
If the weather is vaguely nice then the beaches at Chrissy Field get pretty packed. We go to Fort Funston most weekends, and save Chrissy Field for when the sea is too rough or (like today) when we just can't face climbing back up the sand ladder.
(0.55 miles, total elevation gain 3 feet, 45 minutes, average 0.72 mph, view in Google Earth)
Hike starts at: 37.806083, -122.450172.
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(Hike Map)
(Published to the Fediverse as: Crissy Field #hike #sfdogwalk A short walk at Crissy Field, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) in San Francisco, California. )
Fort Funston in the rain
(view in Google Earth).
This is the short version of our Fort Funston walk (the long version is here). Depending on the tide and the height of the sand it's sometimes not easy to get past a couple of sewage outlet pipes. Today's walk was wet with a high tide so we turned left at the bottom of the sand ladder and just walked along the beach and back. The longer version is to turn right and complete a three mile loop.
Hike starts at: 37.714211, -122.502257383333.
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(Published to the Fediverse as: Fort Funston in the rain #hike #ggnra #fortfunston #sanfrancisco Shorter hike at Fort Funston (GGNRA) in San Francisco, California. )
Glen Park Canyon
Glen Park Canyon is a short city hike — the trail gets increasingly dense as you walk into the canyon until you need to limbo your way under branches.
(1.51 miles, total elevation gain 909 feet, 47 minutes (average 1.92 mph), view in Google Earth)
Hike starts at: 37.737133, -122.442133.
Updated 2023-05-06 17:32:
Updating to add a hyperlapse video of the hike.
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(Published to the Fediverse as: Glen Park Canyon #hike #sfdogwalk #video #hikevid 1.5 mile hike around Glen Canyon Park, a startling wilderness area in San Francisco, California. )