Sutro Walk Adventure

I have an assignment for my Geography class that has me thinking, (unrelated to the assignment) about how our waste gets reclaimed by nature and the land.. You think about sunken ships that become habitat for marine life.. So, I was wondering if someplace like Sutro Baths would be considered a good example of nature overtaking a wreck of architecture, far out near Ocean Beach. I headed out to the city to see if there was anything there I could also use for my project; I got some good shots (and a LOT of walking in) but am unsure if I got the proof I was looking for.

First, the bus dropped me off by the VA (I haven't taken this particular route since 2002 maybe when I tried temping out here.. the commute was always frustratingly long and exhausting, so I didn't stick with it.) Even now I consider it the 'ends of the earth,' so it's hard for me to convince myself to come out here often. However, Ocean Beach is nearby, among other things, that makes it satisfying.

There was a side trip to the Legion of Honor to check out the Pierre Bonnard exhibit and "The World in a Book"..(Oh Nürnberg! They had some Albrecht Dürer woodcuts which was nice to see..)Oh, but the key reason to come out was to walk the trails and visit the ruins and the beach..


here some lichen grows on steps..


many signs posted warning people to not venture beyond these fenced off areas due to erosion..


Sutro Ruins..

The only swimming pool action here is by ducks and seabirds.



A bit of red algae blooming in reclaimed pools of Sutro Baths.


Ocean Beach was mostly deserted because of the rain.. but some people and their dogs took the time for a wet game of fetch..


Finally here you can see Sutro TV Tower almost completely cloaked in the fog.. the legs of the tower just peeking out. While the rain wasn't overly heavy, it was constant.

I mapped the walk (via Geary for the most part) from near the Great Highway to Market (about 6.5 miles) but didn't take many pictures after leaving Ocean Beach.. My cel was practically dead.. (I took too many photos, so I couldn't run "map my walk" at the same time,) You can see the entire set from Friday's walk HERE.