The Emerald City.

The first time I spotted San Francisco’s skyline from the side of Mt Tam, I felt like Dorothy when she first glimpsed Oz from the Yellow Brick Road.

That same enchanted surprise stopped me in my tracks on a crystal clear day in the Pedro Point Headlands. On a trail that’s normally shrouded in fog, I rounded the bluff to a vision of the Golden Gate Bridge and Sutro Tower rising up from the city’s hills. Further north I saw mountains upon mountains lining the Pacific. 

It comes as a beautiful surprise no matter how many times I’ve caught this view from the north/east/south. Whether the city is peering out from the fog or standing proud in sunshine, there’s something magical, ethereal, awe-inspiring, about this city on the bay.