This hike will take you to the top of Mt. Sutro at over 900 feet elevation, provide a workout for your legs and let your mind’s thoughts be soothed by a wander in a beautiful forest.
Following the Fairy Gates Stroll, you will start near the Chancellor’s House and head west up Johnstone Road about 150 yards and enter the East Ridge Trailhead. Proceeding up a series of switchbacks you will notice that at this time of year (Fall) much of the foliage exuberance of earlier summer has transformed into more somber, muted autumn greys.
As you climb higher into the mountain, there are good views. This week I saw the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and much of the North Bay from this vantage.
Soon there is a fork. Continue on the Ridge Trail, or take the Mystery Trail to the right. They both go to the top and both are scenic.
It’s a mystery to me why the mystery trail is so named, but it’s known as a nice, quiet trail, less used than many. Part overlooks a large swath of recent tree removals, but knowing thousands of native plants and trees will be planted there this winter raises the spirits.
If you follow the East Ridge Trail, you’ll find more switchbacks, and numerous plantings of native trees and bushes, most still small.
Soon the trail flattens out and you’ve reached an area with a few wood tables for picnics. This was the location of the Nike Missile Control system during WW2 (no missiles were stationed here.) A short distance away is Rotary Meadow, where the Rotary Club in the early part of the century kicked things off by helping to restore the area’s native habitat.
If you follow the Mystery trail, you will end up here, too. From here, after looking at the view and the native plants, you may return on the trail you came up, or access other trails on the mountain.
Next month we will explore further. Remember to lace up your tennis shoes and come up here soon!
—Mark Alexander Posth
Mark is a Cole Valley resident often seen hiking through the forest.