Batteries to Bluffs Trail

by kenji SAITO on July 30, 2022

Hiking Batteries to Bluffs Trail

We checked out of our Airbnb and made the long drive back to San Francisco. It’s questionable if a computer navigator is superior to a human navigator. Or is it the other way around. A question best left unanswered.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

The cold snap of the ocean air hit us in the face like a cold pizza pie as we parked our car by Baker Beach.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Checking out a small concrete shelter apparently taken over by the bunkerless and Mother Nature.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Low clearance pine tree.

Battery Chamberlin

Battery Chamberlin

Entering the battery built back in 1904 to protect underwater minefields laid outside the Golden Gate.

Battery Chamberlin

Battery Chamberlin

The sole remaining six-inch gun that was gifted from the Smithsonian Instituition and installed in gun emplacement #4. There used to be monthly demonstrations but has been currently suspended.

Battery Chamberlin

Battery Chamberlin

The girls standing in the doorways of one of 17 gun batteries that populate the Presido’s rugged coastline.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Walking up the paved path to the next bunker.

Battery Crosby

Battery Crosby

Standing on the battery that was built in 1900 and closed in 1943. Apparently this place is popular with bikers and skateboarders.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Overlooking the bluffs.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Going down the winding staircases.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Jasmin making her way down to the beach. What goes down, must come back up.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Walking down the sand ladder to Marshall’s Beach.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

I walked up the beach to obscured views of Golden Gate Bridge and no nudists. Perhaps it was too nippy. Shrinkage.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Spreading the breath of life from across the ocean.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Never turn your back towards the ocean.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

I decided to take the most direct route to the top of the bluffs. No staircases for me.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Hey! Where are you guys going? It’s this way!

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Climbing my way to the top of the blue-green serpentinite rock. It was very unstable going up.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Enjoying the cloud soaked coastal view from our bench perched at the top of the trail.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

We followed the staircases to the trail that paralleled Lincoln Boulevard.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Are we there yet?

Battery Boutelle

Battery Boutelle

Straddling the bunker that once housed three gun emplacements.

Battery Godfrey

Battery Godfrey

Checking out the battery that housed the largest guns that was designed to outshoot the battleships of the day.

Battery Godfrey

Battery Godfrey

A quick peek into the interior magazine.

B2B Trail

B2B Trail

Our last bunker visit in the famous San Francisco fog.

All pau

All pau

We took the higher road on the way back to our car as it was not as cold and windy.

Post hike meal at Top Pot. The wait was long and the food was expensive. Cheaper and open seats were available elsewhere, but patience was a virtue. The food lived up to its name. Top shelf.

We flew back home the next day, some bags fuller with Trader Joe’s stuff than others. Thanks to everybody for the planning and more importantly the company during our brief stay in California.

Photos taken by Jasmin Nepomuceno, Mari Saito, Quan Haberstroh and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

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