Mount Davidson is a well-known landmark in San Francisco, located in the south-central part of the city. The summit was graded flat long ago and a huge cross erected on top, standing over 100 feet tall. Over the years the summit has been host to numerous sunrise services for Easter and other holidays, and tourists visit the area all the time. It's not inconceivable to estimate that hundreds of thousands of people have been to this summit over the years. The summit and cross were also featured in the original Dirty Harry film, so I can say that I share a highpoint with Clint Eastwood and that crazy guy he was after.

I was on a week-long highpoints trip, coming up from Southern California and eventually ending with a handful of easy peaks around the San Francisco Bay Area, plus a visit with my sister who lives in the city. I had not been to San Francisco in five years at this point, and only once or twice in my life driving a vehicle, so I was a bit skittish about the notorious rats-nest of roads that comprises the San Francisco street grid. The night before at my hotel in San Jose was like studying for a final exam: a San Francisco street map, with me studying the major roads, minor side roads and trying to memorize as much as possible to obviate getting lost.

I considered a sea-to-summit hike, parking at the ocean and walking the few miles along city roads to the top. However, time was an issue and my unfamiliarity with the city's roads nixed that plan (I had no idea where the "bad" parts of town were, for example). I still think it'd be an interesting way to visit this highpoint, maybe for a future visitor. Me, I came up from the south along Interstate-280. Just before the freeway enters San Francisco, I exited and briefly followed highway CA-1 and then up Portola Boulevard, one of San Francisco's major streets. After about two miles of moderate traffic, I turned south-east into a jumble of roads amid some absolutely beautiful mansions. I knew I was very close to Mount Davidson but I had no idea which route to follow. I would follow one road for a bit, then recheck the map and try to figure out what to do next. This went on for about 10 minutes. I wasn't too concerned. The views were lovely. Finally, I happened upon a nice mailman who pointed me the way to the right road. I drove up and parked along Dalewood Road, and began the short hike.

Dalewood Road is STEEP! I'd say its gradient is about 20%. Me, I was huffing and puffing up this relentlessly steep road. I've hiked huge peaks and long trails and was struggling on a city street? Well, I heroically pushed on, finally topping out on Dalewood. On one side were smaller condominium/townhouse style homes that probably cost a million-plus, and on the other side of the street was the Mount Davidson park area. I followed a dirt service road around back, then up some rock steps and in a few moments I was at the top. The cross isn't that visible from below as there are equally enormous trees on the summit shrouding it. There was no one else there when I arrived, so I stayed a few minutes and read the plaque. In 1997, the city sold the cross and the land to the Council of Armenian-American Associations of Northern California, and now a plaque bears a memorial to the Armenian genocide in Turkey in 1915-18. Alas, views out over the city were hard to come by right at the summit. A few other people showed up, and I got moving. As I hiked down Dalewood, the views were awesome. I was back to my truck and on my way, a total of about an hour including some "lost" time.

Now it was time to locate my sister's place, in the South of Market area near downtown. Back on Portola I headed northeast through late-day traffic. The traffic was getting heavy and people in San Francisco just pretty much dart into the street, assuming the motorists will do the veering if need be. I was able to find her place with no trouble, having been given excellent directions by her. However, she was still at work, so I waited in my truck for about a half-hour and watched a city worker set up some orange cones on a side road, then get out his radio-controled play car and race it up and down the now-open road. My sis and I went to a really good Ethiopian restaurant nearby her place. The next day I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and made short work of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, then a gigantic 870-mile push home to Phoenix all in one day.