Calendar

Past Activity

Wicked San Francisco

  • Start date: 11/22/2018

  • Start time: 12:00 AM

  • End date: 11/25/2018

  • End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

DESCRIPTION:
This is a 4-day (3-night) active walking exploration through wicked San Francisco; from its wild and lusty frontier days, to exploring the halls of the notorious Alcatraz prison, to ground zero for the fight against censorship. We'll also enjoy some scandalous theater (Beach Blanket Babylon) that features biting satire and outrageously sized hats. The trip starts and ends in San Francisco at the historic Fort Mason Hostel. There will be ample walking opportunities to enjoy beautiful vistas, historic neighborhoods, and exploring this world-class city.

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COSTS:
Participants are responsible for managing all of their own expenses - transportation to/from Eugene to San Francisco, overnight accommodations, all food, tickets to shows, and miscellaneous costs.
These costs can run about $450-$500. Here's a quick overview:
# Allegiant Air is usually the most affordable airline and flies directly between Eugene and Oakland.
# Accommodation at the hostel runs about $50 a night (approx. $150 total)
# Traveling from the airport to the hostel via BART and the MUNI streetcar runs about $20.
# Additional costs can run $150 and might include: Cable car ($7), Alcatraz fees ($40), Beach Blanket Babylon ($40), food, etc.

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SCHEDULE:
DAY 1: Thursday, November 22, 2018
Thanksgiving Day. Arrive in San Francisco on your own time. The hostel has bag storage if you arrive early. Dinner is on your own.

DAY 2: Friday, November 23, 2018
Start the day with a complimentary breakfast at the hostel. We'll catch a cable car ride across town to Market Street. At Union Square we'll begin walking the Barbary Coast Trail and journey through San Francisco's gold rush where people were shanghaied, gambling was the currency, and two saloon dogs were celebrities. We'll explore Chinatown, see where the American Gold Rush started, and walk in the footsteps of the literary troublemakers Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. We'll even visit a Prohibition-era cave. In the late afternoon, we'll walk garden-lined walkways and seek out hidden stairways on our way back to the hostel. Our route will cross parts of Nob, Telegraph, and Russian Hills. Plan on walking 6-8 miles today.

DAY 3: Saturday, November 24, 2018
Visit Alcatraz Island in the late morning and return mid-afternoon. We'll have a couple hours to relax or explore on your own before making our way to dinner and a performance of the the saucy musical review of Beach Blanket Babylon. Plan on walking about 5-6 miles today.

DAY 4: Sunday, November 25, 2018
Open: The day is free for your own explorations.

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HOSTEL:
We'll be staying at the historic Fort Mason Hostel (Hosteling International Fisherman’s Wharf). We will NOT be staying in one room as a group. Book a bed in one of the rooms they offer (I suggest one of the smaller rooms). The hostel has bedding, towels, etc. Bring your own toiletries, shower soap, and shower shoes.

Directions to the Hostel:
Streetcar map: https://www.streetcar.org/wp-content/uploads/map-170714.png
BART: https://www.bart.gov
From OAK or SFO travel via BART to the Embarcadero Station and take the escalator to ground level. Walk across the street to the Ferry Terminal, just outside take the historic F Line street care to the Jones stop. Walk 10 minutes to the Fort Mason Hostel. Bart can run about $10, the streetcar is $1 for seniors or $2.50 for adults.

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FOOD:
In the morning, the hostel provides free oatmeal, coffee, etc. For lunch, we'll eat at local eateries, coffee shops, etc as needed. For dinner, we will eat out or buy food at a local store and use the hostel's kitchen.

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PRE-TRIP MEETING:
A short pre-trip meeting will be planned for the middle of October, date and time TBD.

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I WANT TO GO - WHAT DO I DO?
1. Register on the Obsidian Site.

2. Book the following reservations immediately (A, B, & C):
A. HOSTEL:
http://www.sfhostels.org/fishermans-wharf/reservations
(Check-in Thursday night Nov 22; leaving on Sunday Nov 25 -- arrive early or stay longer if you like)
The hostel has a generous cancellation policy.
B. ALCATRAZ: https://www.alcatrazcruises.com/
Book the 12:30pm Day Tour, Saturday, November 24, 2018 trip.
C. BEACH BLANKET BABYLON
https://www.beachblanketbabylon.com/
Buy a ticket for the Saturday, November 24, 2018 show, (Rear Balcony $30). 9pm show.

3. Book your own transportation to the bay area.

4. Explore on your own: feel free to arrive a day early, and stay later as needed.

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  • Event Leader: Mark Hougardy

  • Event Leader Phone: 541-206-9532

  • Event Leader Email: hougardy@gmail.com

  • Assistant Leader:

  • Event category: Trips

  • Area Type: Urban

  • Departure Location: See Trip Description

  • Rating: Moderate

  • Roundtrip total drive miles:

  • Season: 2019

  • Permits Required:

  • Event Status: Passed

  • Supplies and Equipment Required:

  • participant prerequisites:

  • Conditions:

  • Total Distance: 16

  • Member Fees: —

  • Elevation Gain: 800

  • Non-Member Fees: —

  • Committee: Trips

  • Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

San Francisco is a city born within a moment — the discovery of gold in 1848. The city’s parents were not elites or idealist, but gritty prospectors, sailors, railroad workers, gamblers, ladies of the night, grifters, poets, and carney hustlers. Today, San Francisco is often viewed as a place where a person can discover one’s fortune, where an individual can craft their future, and where it’s OK to be weird. But, beneath the sidewalks, in unimpressive alleys, and among lonely buildings is a hidden San Francisco, a city that was forged in fear, sex, and gold. Our interpretive walking trip explored how fear, sex, and gold changed the city in three important ways. We saw how fear directed at those considered “unfit” by society (poor, minorities, and women) reveals they are the true backbone of the city, then how censorship of sex led to modern freedoms, and finally how gold fever changed forms never really disappeared. Our group traveled by air from Oregon on Thanksgiving Day to San Francisco. Many of us overnighted at the Fort Mason Hostel and dined at a waterfront restaurant. The next day we traveled by trolley to Union Square and enjoyed the Christmas decorations before starting our 5-mile walk. We explored the sordid history of Maiden Lane, the colorful streets of Chinatown, and the historically depraved area known as the Barbary Coast. Our route followed much of the original shoreline, which is now half a mile inland. We visited City Lights Books and places where the counter-culture Beats hung out. We climbed the steep steps of Telegraph Hill to see the murals of the historic Coit Tower. Our walk took us along garden-lined staircases and alleys. The next day we traveled to the lonely island of Alcatraz to learn more about its prison then enjoyed an afternoon exploring the city. That evening the group enjoyed a salty performance of Beach Blanket Babylon. On the final full day, several members walked ten-miles from the Marina District over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and returned by ferry. The group walked ~20 miles in total. We returned by plane to Oregon.