“But why — but why should
any wish to kill me?”
Mowgli
The Jungle Book

Was it premeditated? No, I don’t think so. Yesterday’s morning walk with a small group of my elementary school classmates (John Sinclair, Craig Loeffler, and Marian Ritchie — and John’s wife, Doreen) began congenially enough at 31st & Santiago in The City yesterday morning. It was drizzling, foggy, and on the cool side when we started, but we optimistically set out for a Friday morning walk and coffee excursion. It didn’t take long for me to realize I’d been set up. My friends were trying to kill me!

Our first stop was at Sunset Reservoir Park at 28th & Ortega in the Inner Sunset District. From the northwest corner of the park, the view of the Pacific Ocean, from the Outer Sunset to the Golden Gate Bridge, was spectacular.

Our walk continued east, and uphill, to 16th & Moraga. There I was introduced to the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps. I’d seen the staircase in photos, with the colorful tiles on each step from bottom to top, but I’d never seen it in person until yesterday. We climbed the steps, which led us to Grandview Park at 15th Avenue. We walked around the park to 14th & Moraga. Much to my surprise, there was a second set of steps.

The Moraga Stairs are much like the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, except that they are not decorated with colorful tiles. Marian and I followed John, Doreen, and Craig up the staircase to the intersection of 14th & Moraga. Before tackling this second set of steps, John did offer me the opportunity to select an alternative route which would avoid the steps, but I felt good enough to accept the challenge. I was certain that once we reached the top, there would be no more steps. Wrong!

Walking south on 14th Avenue, we encountered more uphill climbs. We stayed on 14th after the split in the road where 14th Avenue meets Pacheco Street. As we climbed the hill, I mentioned to Marian that at least there were no more steps. I’d no sooner spoken those words when John again turned around to announce that we had another choice to make. By this time we were in Golden Gate Heights. 

John said we could continue on 14th and work our way down to West Portal, where we would stop for coffee, or we could tackle the Aerial Steps. The choice was mine to make. Again, I opted for the steps. Why not? We only live once! This staircase was almost identical to the Moraga Stairs. 

John took the photo above as I took the last of the steps for the day at the corner of Aerial & Funston Avenue. We walked southbound on Funston to Golden Gate Heights Park, then followed Cragmont Avenue into the Forest Hills neighborhood where the twists and turns of the road left me feeling somewhat disoriented. Only when we got to the intersection of Montalvo & Magellan Avenues did I recognize the neighborhood. From there, we walked down the hill to West Portal.

I thought we were headed to Starbucks on West Portal Avenue, but we continued two blocks further to a local coffee house — Ballast Coffee. They have a cozy seating area in the back yard behind the shop where we rested our feet, enjoyed our hot drinks, and continued our ongoing conversation. Then it was time to head back to our cars at 31st & Santiago.

From West Portal, we took Vicente Street down through the Parkside District — past St. Cecilia Church, Larson Park, and the recently-renovated James B. Moffett Tennis Courts at Parkside Square Park at 26th Avenue, where I shared a little San Francisco history with my classmates. The tennis courts were renovated in 1968 and named after Mr. Moffett, the founder of the youth tennis program in The City. At the dedication ceremonies that summer, another one of our classmates, Dan Graham, and I served as ball boys during an exhibition match between Moffett’s daughter and local tennis pro “Peanut” Louie. It was an honor to be on the court that day. Moffett’s daughter was better known by her married name — Billy Jean King.

We walked a couple of blocks more on Vicente, then turned north on 31st Avenue to return to our cars at Santiago Street. My legs were in pain. My feet hurt. My lower back had tightened up. Even though I’d walked an average of 14,000 steps per day since last Sunday, I had not been challenged by hills and steps as I was yesterday. It was one of those experiences that “hurt so good.”

I am grateful for the opportunity to have shared this outing with John, Doreen, Marian, and Craig. They may have tried to kill me with the 15,000 steps, three staircases, and countless hills, but I survived… and thoroughly enjoyed the day.