My photos from two more hikes with the unemployed workers. I went on several hikes in April/May, organized by Basem Istanbouli after seeing an article in SFGate about the hikes he was organizing. Since then the unpto hiking group has grown significantly and we now have so many people on each hike that we have to divide up into several groups with staggered start times.
I went on another hike for unemployed people, returning to Tilden Park, near Berkeley.
Hike 1: Tilden Again
I went on another hike for unemployed people, returning to Tilden Park, near Berkeley.
My first (un)PTO hike was at Tilden, a loop hike on a drizzly day from the Quarry parking lot. This time the weather was much nicer, and we started at Inspiration Point and did a nice loop hike down the Nimitz Way trail, down into Laurel Canyon and Meadows Canyon, and back up to the starting point.
A documentary movie crew from Australia joined us. I didn’t talk to them, but they filmed a bunch of us at the start and joined us partway, but didn’t finish the hike.
- Map to Vault Toilet
- AllTrails link
- 4.4mi / 554ft gain
- estimated time: 2–2.5 hr
2026-06-01 unPTO Gerbode Valley
After a couple of weeks' break from the hikes for unemployed people, where it wasn't possible for me to attend I joined the hikers again near the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County.
This time we met up in the Marin Headlands unit of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area for a loop hike. The meeting point was labeled on Google Maps as “Vault Toilet” which was an apt, if not very useful, name. Turns out it was a parking lot just off Bunker Road, aka the Smith Road tarilhead. It is located across the road from the Presidio Riding Club.
Getting there was a little confusing, especially since it was in a dead zone (no cell phone service). After passing through a one-lane tunnel (traffic lights at either end pause traffic going one way so the traffic can go the other way, but still felt kinda sketchy) you head down Bunker Road to the point where the riding club has its parking, and then walk down a walking path to the Vault Toilet and the trailhead. But what Google Maps didn’t say was to drive past that path and there’s a parking lot. I figured that out, and so did everyone else who showed up, but it was puzzling for a minute until I drove past it, intending to turn around.
But I was early this time, and had no trouble meeting up with people in time for this hike. Accompanying us this time was Clare, an intern reporter from Bloomberg who just graduated from U. of Montana and was working on a story about the bay area’s recovery from COVID, the economics, not the public health, the impact of AI on jobs, and office occupancy rates.
It was a lovely sunny day, and we had some wonderful views looking south toward the Golden Gate and looking east down into Sausalito.
- Map to Vault Toilet
- AllTrails link
- 5.3mi / 869ft gain (wide paths with a gradual climb and some steep sections)
- estimated time: 2.5–3 hr
What’s Next?
I am writing this on Monday, June 8th, and there is a hike today but I skipped it: I didn’t want to drive all the way to Palo Alto on a weekday morning, but I hope the people on that hike had a good time.
I’ve proposed a low-impact hike and picnic this coming Friday (June 12) at Point Pinole in the #east-bay channel of the unpto discord. If you want to come along, join unpto and find the details there! You might also want to follow (un)PTO on Instagram.
