Category: Hikes

Kentucky Hike #1: Raven Run

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Location: Fayette County

Distance: 7ish miles

Entry fee: $0

The “run” part of my grand plan hit a small road bump this past week…shin splints.   Damn.  So instead I have been swimming, spinning…and hiking!  The weather here has been beautiful, and this past Saturday (when I would normally do my long run) it was 85 and clear and gorgeous, and I was bummed that I couldn’t run.  So I decided to take a drive through the horse farms and hit up Raven Run, a local hike.  I chose Raven Run namely because Paul assured me that the trails are wide and clear and well marked and there are families everywhere, so I wouldn’t get attacked or lost if I went alone.

On the way out there my gas light came on, so I GPSed the nearest gas station on my phone and ended up here:

I was a little nervous, because I had never pumped gas from one of these things before, but didn’t have much of a choice…the next closest station was 15 miles away.  While I was inside paying, the electricity went out and they told me that the pumps wouldn’t work with no electricity.  Fortunately, as I was about to leave, it came back on.  Crisis averted.   I finished pumping my gas and got back in my car when there was a knock on the drivers side window.  It was the guy who worked there, he had come out to ask me if I “wanted to hang out sometime”.  I smiled, told him oh, I’m married, and showed him my ring, and he said, “Oh, I don’t pay attention to that.”  Sleazy smile.   Time to go.

Got to Raven Run, decided to do the simple 4 mile loop.  No problem.  Sure enough, the paths were very clear, well marked, and I passed a number of families along the way.  Took a few detours to some outlooks and down to the Kentucky River, took some pictures, enjoyed the view, and about an hour and a half in I should have been close to the end.

At that point I somehow veered off the red trail and onto the orange trail (red, orange…pick colors that don’t look the same when the paint fades) into some grasslands where I saw…absolutely nobody.  For like an hour.  I also started hearing what sounded like a large animal in the surrounding grass stalking me.

I know that I’m not in California or the mountains, where the mountain lions roam, but the UK mascot is the wildcats.   And if there is one thing that I am really good at it’s freaking myself out.  Fortunately, I found a plethora of these on the ground:

I have no idea what they are, but they are big and easy to throw…which is exactly what I did–started throwing them into the grass when I heard something (even though they were kind of soft).   I also started singing out loud (if you’ve forgotten the rules of avoiding attacks) and picked up my pace.  Finally made it back to the point where I originally veered off course (always nice to walk for a long time feeling lost and end up back in a place you’ve already been) and, after another 3o minutes of hiking, made it back to the car safely.

Total hiking time: 3+ hours.  Kentucky hike #1: more or less a success.  It is beautiful here.

I missed hiking, it’s good to be back.

Hike #20: The Apartment Hike–Second Installment

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con’t from previous post…sorry for the delay

This next stretch would take us through the Tenderloin, under a freeway overpass, and up Potrero Hill.  Fueled by celebrity gossip and Bud Light, we attacked this leg with a vengeance.  But no sooner had we walked down the hill from Molly’s place and into the Tenderloin did we see….our second red double decker bus.  What it was doing in the Loin, I do not know.  But we hustled our way into the nearest bar, which just happened to be…

Bar Stop #2: Harrington’s Pub, the Tenderloin

“Smells like cigarettes and omlettes.  My superior deduction skills tell me it stinks like cigarettes most likely because they let people smoke inside. As for smelling like omelettes… shit, I dunno.“

~Yelp review, Harrington’s Pub

Indoor smoking, toothless patrons, and “Michael Collins–the Lost Leader” posters lining the walls…Harrington’s is exactly what you would expect an Irish pub on the corner of Turk and Larkin to be.   But we were on a schedule, no time to dawdle…5 minutes and 18 Bud Lights later, we were back out on the street and moving.  We had gone less than two blocks when we ran into…red double decker tourist bus #3.  NOOOOOOO

Apparently the Tenderloin is a tourist hotspot.  Unfortunately (fortunately?) we were heading towards Market and 8th, an area that doesn’t have a whole lot of bars, so we couldn’t get to one immediately.  But within a few blocks we stumbled across…

Bar stop #3: Holiday Inn Hotel Bar, SOMA

I am not entirely sure this bar was meant to serve non-guests (we had to prop the bathroom door open with paper towels because none of us had a room key to open it), but the bar was deserted and the bartender, Mandy, loooooooved Molly, so whatever. After a little bit of confusion regarding orders, Mandy hooked us up with some beers (Molly and Eden got strawberries).  With a chug and quick mugging with Mandy, we were on our way.

Upon walking out the door, there was a collective gasp as…yes.   A FOURTH double decker tour bus drove by–our third bus in about 8 blocks.  Lucky for us, it was blue, not red.  Close call.

OK!   Through the scary parts of town and free of tour buses, we headed towards the I-80/ 101 underpass–Freeway Crossing #1.  Erickson did the favor of providing us with a plethora of Bubblicious flavors for the bubblegum rule.  I think we all underestimated exactly how wide the freeway is, because the only person who came close to making that goal was Erickson.  Carl also made a concerted effort, but everyone else gave up after a few tries.

With the failed gum freeway crossing attempt behind us, we were finally on our way to our next scheduled stop.

Sixth Stop: Ferg’s, Potrero Hill

For the final push of this stretch we had to make it up Potrero Hill, which is hard to do when you’re not 9 miles and 8+ cocktails deep.  But with some major effort the whole team made it to Ferg’s apartment where we were greeted by large bags of Doritos and some more Bud Light.  Just what the body needs after a strenuous climb.

We enjoyed the view, stretched, prepared ourselves for the next leg, which would also be relatively long, and headed out West and towards our…

Seventh Stop: Summer & Ryan’s, the Mission

Over Potrero Hill to the second freeway crossing (where Molly and I were the only two to even unsuccessfully attempt the three legged race….rules were slowly falling by the wayside) and through the Mission (aka Baconwrappedhotdogcartland) we went.  Chadeyne came across a liquor store that sold cutty bangs. In need of a refreshing beverage, most of us imbibed.  And almost barfed.

Another mile (and without bacon wrapped hot dog cart incident) later we arrived at Summer and Erickson’s, where Summer had been so kind as to order up some Papalote burritos, which were DELICIOUS and exactly what we needed to motor us around Twin Peaks, through our longest leg, and to our final destination…

Eighth and Final Stop: The Hesslers, Inner Sunset

At 3 miles, this was the longest leg of our trip and it definitely felt like it.  The sun started to set, the group started to spread out…but about an hour or so after leaving our
seventh stop WE ALL ARRIVED!

Though Chrissy had to work the whole day and was not able to join (a major bummer), she and Carl (who had joined us at Harrington’s) were kind enough to open up their home as the final stop.  Pizza, beer, and a beautifully decorated funfetti cake wrapped up our tour, where 7 of the original 8 hikers (plus an additional 10 or so hikers that were picked up along the way) celebrated victory…then went home and fell asleep by 9:30.

Finish time: 8:30pm, only 90 minutes behind schedule

Lessons learned: 14 miles goes by quick when you’re dodging red double decker tour buses

Flora and Fauna: the cutty bang

Hike #20: The Apartment Hike–First Installment

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Location: San Francisco–all over

Distance: 13.7m

Entry fee: a good attitude

The purpose of this hike: make our way across the city hitting up the apartments of as many people as possible taking 30 minutes at each stop to eat, socialize, and imbibe (I don’t know if that qualifies as a “purpose”, but whatever.)  This turned out to be no small feat on a number of levels.  Not only did it require some serious thought in terms of route and timing, but its success also hinged on:

  • the willingness of a large number of people to invite 15+ (potentially intoxicated) sweaty hikers into their homes in the middle of the day and provide them with food and drink
  • another group willing to spend their Saturday wandering the freeway underpasses and trudging up Russian and Potrero Hill(s)

Not to sell my friends short, but I was blown away by the enthusiasm and number of people willing to hang out with toothless dudes in a pub in the Tenderloin in the middle of a sunny Saturday afternoon and make this hike awesome.  Because that’s what it was.

The final route:

Rules:

  • No more than 30 minutes at each stop
  • Anytime a red double decker tourist bus passes by you have to run into the nearest bar and chug a beer
  • Anytime a Bay Quackers Bus passes by you have to run into the nearest bar and shoot the warmest garbage tequila on the dusty bottom shelf
  • At freeway crossing #1, everyone must have a fully inflated bubblegum bubble while crossing the freeway or you have to go back and start over
  • At freeway crossing #2, three legged race, losers have to walk the rest of the way tied together
  • and of course, if we pass a bacon wrapped hot dog cart you have to eat one (this one really stressed Ryan out)

With a start time of 10am and a strict 30-min-per-stop policy, we figured we should hit our final destination around 7pm.

First stop:  Peterson’s, the Tendernob

Coffee, mimosas, PBR, and donuts.  Breakfast of champions.  2 of the 8 hikers that joined us on the first leg showed up around 10:25, so we didn’t actually leave till about 10:40…10 min behind schedule before we even started walking.  Off to a good start.

Second stop: Michelle and Dave’s, Laurel Heights

Like, woah.  What a spread.

At the end of our first 2 mile stretch through Pacific Heights we found ourselves in front of a seriously delightful brunch that included quiche, bagels, muffins, mimosas, and bloody marys.  With garnishes.  We also got to hang out in the backyard area and picked up 3 more hikers.  But 30 minutes isn’t very long, and before you knew it we were stuffed full of quiche and on our way to…

Third Stop: The Dude’s, The Presidio

Upon leaving our second stop were still running about 10 minutes behind schedule.  The Dude got aggressive, took the lead, and announcing, “I think this is the right way” led us off the paved road and onto a narrow dirt trail into the woods…right through an enormous patch of poison oak.  (No symptoms yet, fingers crossed it stays that way.)

But the walk through the shrubbery may have all been worth it, because we arrived at the Dude’s place 5 MIN EARLY!

We got to work right away on the guac, chips, margaritas, and Pacificos that Eden had so nicely arranged, and played a little cornhole/bocci/horseshoes.  We also acquired 6 additional hikers at this stop.  While setting up the cornhole court we heard a shriek from Ryan at the side of the house who had just seen the first…red doubledecker tourbus chugging by.  Dilemma.  We hadn’t anticipated seeing one while INSIDE anyone’s apartment.  Appropriate response?  Finish the cornhole/bocci ball game ASAP and make it to the closest bar.  Which is exactly what we did.

So with cornhole champions crowned and about 15 people in tow we headed towards the Marina and to…

Bar stop #1: The Final Final, the Marina

Quickly downed 15 beers and some popcorn and, with a quick exit, headed up some not so small hills to Lombard, then down the crooked part of Lombard, through the tourists to…

Fourth stop: Tabby, Christian, and Colbie’s, Russian Hill

We arrived here tired and sweaty and ready for some…twinkies, hot dogs, and rednecks on vacation!  Wonderful.  Christian was downstairs brewing some beer and gave us a taste of his most recent brew, which was delicious and super alcoholic.  Win win.  We would have loved to stay here forever, but rules are rules.  30 minutes (and a blow of the whistle that Molly found) later and we were back out the street.

Before we could hit our next stop, one out of town hiker had to see/race up Filbert Street, which is supposedly not only the steepest street in San Francisco, but at 31.5%, one of the steepest streets in the whole Western Hemisphere.  Maybe we were on the wrong part of the street, but general consensus was that there are way steeper hills in the city.  Whatever.

ANYWAY, onward and upward (literally) to…

Fifth Stop: Molly’s, back in the Tendernob

This was one of the shorter legs of the hike and we celebrated at the end with Bud Lights, gossip mags, and bathroom breaks.  Amazing how fast 30 minutes can fly by.  But soon enough there was another toot of the whistle and we were out the door…

At a little over 6 miles we had already completed 5 of our 8 stops, but had done less than half the overall distance.  So far so good, but the serious hiking was about to start.

To be continued…

Hike #19: Angel Island

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Location: San Francisco Bay

Distance: ~6 miles

Entry fee: $15 round-trip ferry ticket (per person)

This past Sunday morning Paul and I decided to hop on the ferry and cross the bay to Angel Island.

During the ice age Angel Island was connected to the mainland.   About 8,000 years after that the island served as a fishing and hunting site for the Coast Miwok Native Americans (interesting side note, similar evidence for the existence of Miwoks on Angel Island are also found on Ring Mountian…which devoted followers may remember from Hike #14.)   The northwest Ayala Cove is where Juan de Ayala, commander of the first vessel to enter SF Bay, first anchored his ship…and where we first started our hike.

With the recent rain the island was super green with lots of wild flowers mixed in with the charred tree stumps and fence posts from the 2008 fire.   Since this was our first trip to the island, we weren’t entirely sure what we wanted to do or where we were going.   There is a paved road that runs around the perimeter of the island (aptly named Perimeter Road) that is open to bikes, which are popular among campers on the island.  (Campsites out here are few and far between, and making a reservation often requires booking months in advance.)  Paul really wanted to get up to the highest point on the island, Mount Livermore, so we opted out of walking the entire perimeter and took the North Ridge Trail for the first half of our hike…along with a Russian family of about 15.  After 30 minutes of weaving through Russian children…passing them, having them catch up…we finally broke away and beat them to the summit.  YES.

Upon arriving at the top we found…a bunch of people eating (all the picnic tables were taken) and a FANTASTIC view of San Francisco, Marin, and the East Bay.  After taking it all in, we followed the back half of the Sunset Trail down to where it hits the Fire Road.  From the Fire Road we headed down to the Perimeter Trail, which we followed back to Ayala Cove.  Aside from the Russians, we encountered few hikers on the first part of the hike.  Once we hit the Perimeter Trail traffic picked up a little bit as well…but nothing overwhelming.

deserted hospital

On the way back down we passed by a number of old, abandoned buildings.  Known as the “Ellis Island of the West” in the 19th and 20th centuries, Angel Island served first as a military base (and for a while as a quarantine station for soldiers re-entering the country), and then an immigration station.   Restrictions imposed by the Chinese Exclusion Act (also referenced in Hike #10) resulted in a number of immigrants spending years on the island waiting for entry between 1910 and 1940.  There are a number of run-down buildings that used to be hospitals, schools, and homes, as well as small communities that formerly served as military housing located in clearings near the water.  These communities were particularly weird…they are very neat and clean, with manicured lawns and blooming gardens, but emtpy…which makes the whole place kind of creepy.   These parts of the island seem very surreal, they reminded me of the town in the movie Big Fish.

Early spring is a really great time to do this hike if you want to see some cool flowers and butterflies.  Butterflies were everywhere on this hike (as were bees), and there were some really awesome wildflowers in full bloom.  No slugs or ladybugs, though.  And fortunately no mountain lions.

We made it back to Ayala Cove a little bit early and had a beer at one of the cafes there before catching the boat home.  The lawn at the cove was packed with families and kids playing and lounging on the grass.  I got super sunburned.

Hike #19: really awesome success…a great day trip, highly recommend.

Lessons learned: upon exiting the ferry, get a quick start and watch out for tourist groups

Flora and Fauna: red spotted purple butterfly (I think); iris; california indian pink; california sister; coyote brush

Hike #18: Twin Peaks (Urban Hike #6, part B)

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Location: San Francisco, Cole Valley

Distance: 5.2 miles

Entry fee: $0

Following the completion of Urban Hike #6 Part A and another half hour wandering around Cole Valley,  we decided that since we could see Twin Peaks just fine from where we were standing…why not go there?

Twin Peaks is situated at the geographic center of San Francisco and is the second highest point in SF after Mount Davidson (which, I will admit, I had no idea existed.)  The Spanish name for the peaks was “Los Pechos de la Chocha”…or “Indian Woman Boobs” (I’m not even joking…though chocha has a different meaning today and sounds dangerously similar to another obscene word in Spanish.)   During the 1800s (when California became a part of the US)  it was renamed Twin Peaks.  The peaks each have their own names: Eureka Peak/North Peak (which is the one we hiked to the top of), and Noe Peak/South Peak.  As part of a 31 acre natural preserve, the peaks remain relatively undeveloped and is one of the few habitats that remains for a number of endangered species, including the Mission Blue butterfly (though we didn’t see any of them up there, unfortunately…they look cool.)

We weren’t entirely sure where we were going, so we just started walking towards the tower at the top of the hill…we wound around Upper Terrace to Piedmont, down Ashby and onto Clayton, where we started following the signs for Twin Peaks.  We made our way up the hill where, upon reaching the top, we traded shoes (Jen was getting blisters from her flip flops) and took in the amazing view. The top of the peak is usually pretty crowded with tourists and tour buses (since you can actually drive up to the top.)

The hike back down provided a few more awesome views of the East Bay, St. Ignatius, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Hikes #17 & 18: An unexpected success!  Sometimes spontaneous hikes are the best

Lessons learned: don’t hike in flip flops; there are no bathrooms at the top of Twin Peaks

Flora and fauna: japanese tourists

Hike #17: Buena Vista Park (Urban Hike #6, Part A)

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Location: San Francisco, Upper Haight

Distance: 2.5m

Entry fee: $0

So with Molly temporarily in Canada, my good friend Jen (who happened to be visiting this week), joined me on my first sans-Molly urban hike.  We actually set out on this two part “hike” unaware that we were going on any kind of hike at all (Jen was wearing flip flops).  But two major landmarks (on top of major hills), 8 miles, and one shoe swap later, I decided that this should absolutely count as an urban hike…or two.

We started out at my apartment and headed through upper Haight to Buena Vista Park, the oldest official park in San Francisco.    According to certain sources, is has also “long been known as a nighttime ‘cruising ground’ for gay men, who meet in the park for anonymous sexual encounters.”  Nice.

The incline is relatively steep (but has stairs) and gives you some really nice views of St Ignatius Church and the Western Addition.  After wandering around the crest for a little while, we headed down into Cole Valley, where we stopped by an incredible open house with views that overlooked the city and Bay.

Lessons learned: I will never be able to afford any of the awesome property in SF

Flora and Fauna: magnolia

Hike #16: Coit Tower (Urban Hike #5)

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Location: San Francisco

Distance: 2.3 miles

Entry Fee: $0

I have a new goal in life, and that is to live on Telegraph Hill.

We started this hike at the pool we swim at on the corner of Washington and Drumm.  I brought my camera and, upon trying to take the first picture realized I had taken the memory card out of it the night before.  Slick.  It really was unfortunate, because the weather was beautiful, the views were stunning, and the neighborhood on the way up is just amazing.  So all the pictures posted on here were stolen from the internet.

Some history on the tower: contrary to popular belief, Coit Tower was NOT designed to resemble a fire hose nozzle (sorry Molly).  In 1929 Lillie Hitchcock Coit passed away and left 1/3 of her estate to the city of San Francisco to “add beauty to the city”.  Lillie was a volunteer firefighter and apparently had a thing for firefighters…she was even the mascot for Knickerbocker Engine Co. No. 5.   So this was probably where the fire hose theory originated.

To get to the tower we went up the Filbert Street Steps.  Telegraph hill is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, with the highest concentration of pre-1870 structures.  (The 1906 earthquake and subsequent fire destroyed most of the city, but the crest of Telegraph Hill along with the Waterfront, Jackson Square, and parts of Russian Hill were spared.  Some of the houses on Telegraph date back to the 1850s.)  Originally called Loma Alta, the current name arose during the Gold Rush when several businessmen set up shop at the top of the hill because they could watch ocean traffic coming in and out of the Bay.  They would relay by telegraph the name of the ocean liner and likely cargo to their subscribers, which would allow the subscribers to buy and sell certain commodities prior to the ship’s arrival, giving them a leg up on the competition.

The grade of Telegraph is pretty steep.  The whole side of the hill is covered in lush vegetation and public gardens, with all sorts of bright flowers and trees, with little (and not so little) cottages tucked down little narrow paths.  It is awesome.  Because of the terrain there is virtually no traffic in the area (the paths we were walking down had room for foot traffic only.)  We got to the top and enjoyed the amazing view from the statue of Columbus that stands in front of the tower.

We spent the majority of this hike (up and down) trying to figure out the best way to befriend one of the tenants on the hill so we could be invited to houseparties there.  We even considered crashing a party that we passed…but didn’t want to risk getting blackballed from future events.

Hike #16: success!  This is a great place to take any tourist friends that might be in town

Lessons learned: Filbert Street and 22nd Street are two of the steepest navigable streets in the Western Hemisphere (at a maximum grade of 31.5%)

Flora and Fauna: we didn’t see any parrots ON the hill…but we did see them down by the gym.

When Mountain Lions attack

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Accompanying the many warning signs for poison oak along the trails that we’ve been hiking have been similar signs announcing the fact that we are in mountain lion territory.  Mountain lion attacks are not all that uncommon in California, I remember hearing about them when I was a kid.  There have been a number of recent incidents in the area, and ever since hearing this story a few years ago about a Northern California woman who fought off a mountain lion that attacked her husband and LATCHED ON TO HIS HEAD while they were out hiking, I figured getting a little more info out there on how to avoid this situation couldn’t hurt the hiking community.

First, some additional info on mountain lions (aka North American Cougar):

  • Prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking
  • Territorial
  • Usually avoids people
  • Weigh between 100-150 lbs
  • Most active at dawn and dusk
  • Attacks are most frequent during late spring and summer (when adolescent mountain lions leave their mothers in search for new territory)

How to avoid mountain lions:

  • Hike in groups
  • Make noise when you hike (not usually a problem for us)
  • If you hike with kids, keep them close to you…they go after smaller targets
  • Never squat or bend–you will look like four-legged prey to any type of large cat (they suggest avoiding this if you are ever hiking in mountain lion territory, but I’m not sure how realistic that is…during the course of a hike some of us have to tie our shoes and/or pee)

What to do if you come across a mountain lion:

  • DON’T FLEE–they will chase you down
  • Make intense eye contact, yell, and appear larger and more menacing (some suggest showing your teeth and growling…if you have the wherewithal to do that when facing down a lion that wants to eat you, more power to you)
  • Put plenty of space between yourself and the ML…you want to make sure it doesn’t feel cornered; back away slowly, but make sure you don’t turn your back on it
  • Jab it in the eye (unclear how you’re supposed to do this while slowly backing away)

If you are attacked by a mountain lion:

  • DON’T PLAY DEAD or roll into the fetal position (you do that with a grizzly bear)
  • Fight back, never succumb
  • Hit the ML on the head as hard as you can repeatedly
  • Claw or throw sand in its eyes

Some other words of wisdom I came across in looking all of this up:

  • “Never approach a mountain lion and try to pet it, no matter how friendly they may seem.”
  • “If indeed you are attacked by an animal in the wild report this attack to Fish and Game, or the Ranger in the area as soon as possible.”