Today, I’d like to talk about running in the classic “I know a spot” place in San Francisco: Twin Peaks. Twin Peaks is pretty popular place to hang out both during the daytime and nighttime. At any time, you can find tourists, locals, and high school kids at the top of the mountain, known as Christmas Tree point, enjoying the view and having a good time. It’s the perfect spot to view the downtown San Francisco skyline and the twinkling lights of cars zooming down Market Street - that is, when it’s a clear day. Like any other place in San Francisco, the view is susceptible to Karl the Fog. I’ve visited Twin Peaks multiple times both during the day and night, on clear days and in the fog. Whenever I have friends visit, I always take them to Twin Peaks at night to enjoy the view. On an extra clear day, you can even see the stars.

Besides being a fun place to visit for the San Francisco views, it’s also a great place to run. But how do you run up this 922-foot mountain? Read on to find out!

First of all, Twin Peaks is called that because it consists of two peaks: Eureka Point in the north, and Noe Peak (the slightly taller peak) in the south. The spot where most people love to hang out and take photos is Christmas Tree Point, an overlook off of Eureka Point.

There are many ways to get to Twin Peaks. Personally, I usually start off of Portola Drive, and then I run all the way up to Christmas Tree point, where Twin Peaks’ most common viewpoint is. AllTrails also has a 2-mile Twin Peak route that starts off of Clarendon Ave.

If you are not used to running up a mountain, I think Twin Peaks is a good starting point. The grade is not super steep, and if you prefer to run on a road rather than a trail, that is an option as well.

Twin Peaks is accessible via various Muni lines. You can get to the base of the mountain with the K, M, or T light rails, and you can also take the 36, 37, 48, and 52. There is plenty of parking in this area, too. And if you’re a biker, I constantly see people biking up this mountain, though probably not for me anytime soon. Again, it’s pretty amazing how you can literally access mountains in San Francisco via public transit.

When I run on Twin Peaks, I usually join it together when Glen Canyon (what my previous newsletter was about) to do the Creeks to Peaks trail. When you run through Glen Canyon, up Twin Peaks, and back, all together, it’s about 4 miles. I usually have to pause at Portola to wait for the stoplight, but besides that, it’s a great trail with a variety of landscapes, from creeks and a flat canyon path to a mountain view of San Francisco.

When running up Twin Peaks starting from Portola, I usually run on the dirt path on the side of the road. Since there are frequently cars driving up and down Twin Peaks, I recommend taking the dirt trail. I’m biased because I prefer trail running over road running, but it’s also safer. There’s a rail on the side of the road to protect you from other cars.

It’s also not super steep. If running up a mountain sounds intimidating to you, it’s OK to take it slow. The path is relatively gradual.

As you get higher up the mountain, you can either continue running along or on Twin Peaks Boulevard, or you can take the stairs up, as the AllTrails trail suggests. It’s pretty tough to run up stairs for both safety and cardio reasons, so usually when I’m trail running and I hit a section with stairs, I usually switch to walking. I’m not trying to tire myself out, and I usually think of it as focusing on building leg muscle for climbing. Once I make it to the top of the stairs, I continue running onto the trails towards Christmas Tree point.

Twin Peaks has a great view at the top, and if you’re up for a challenge, you can run up and down both peaks. Sometimes, it can get crowded, especially on a nice day, as visitors often hike or drive to the top of the mountain for the view. Other days, Twin Peaks is really foggy so you can’t see much, but there’s beauty in that too.

I stop to enjoy the view, and then I start making my way down the mountain. It’s a lot easier to run downhill cardio-wise, but be careful when running down the stairs so you don’t trip!

Below are also some photos of Twin Peaks at night! (No, I’ve never gone night running at Twin Peaks, but like I said, it’s one of my favorite places to take out-of-town friends!)

Things to watch:

Lots of visitors and hikers, the view of downtown San Francisco, the tiny blinking lights of cars going down Market Street, California orange poppies

Things to be careful of:

Definitely be careful about the cars driving up Twin Peaks. Also be careful about running into crowds and tripping while running up the dirt trail or stairs.

Reading: I finished some nonfiction books that I loved! First off, I read “The Wall Dancers” by Yi-Ling Liu, which was about Internet censorship and subcultures in China. I loved that the book not only explored the impacts of Internet censorship and how people find ways around it, but also was very person-focused, as she told the stories of interesting people from trap rapper to a feminist blogger to a gay dating app CEO. I also finished “Say Nothing” by Patrick Radden Keefe about the Troubles in Ireland - he clearly did a ton of research and put it together in a gripping way. I’m currently listening to the audiobook “The Korean Messiah” by Jonathan Cheng, which is about the Christian origins of today’s North Korea. Finally, I’m back to working my way through the samurai epic “Musashi” by Eiji Yoshikawa.

Watching: Still watching “Battlestar Galactica” and on the last season (no spoilers please!) I also finished watching “Normal People” only Hulu. I have to admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of the book it was based on, but I enjoyed the show more and loved Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones’ performances. Just started watching the new season of “Beef” (very dark and intense) and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” (I watched the first episode and enjoyed it, though I kept getting interrupted by my cats misbehaving in various ways).

Cooking: I made a delicious clam and miso pasta and innovated the recipe on my own! Here’s how:

-Heat up a neutral oil (I use avocado oil) and saute 2 crushed garlic cloves and a tablespoon of crushed ginger. You can also add a Thai chili pepper if you want some spice.

-Add a couple splashes of soy sauce and sake.

-Add clams and cover with a lid. Shake it every few minutes. They should be done after 6-8 minutes, and the clams should be open.

-Let the clams cool, and when they’re OK to handle, deshell the clams and discard the shells. Put the clam meat in a separate container. While you’re doing that, boil water and cook pasta.

-In the pot of soy sauce, sake, and clam juice, add 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter and 3 tablespoons of miso. Once they’re all mixed together, add the cooked pasta and slowly add a cup of Parmesan cheese, mixing quickly as you add the cheese. Everything should melt together.

-Top with green onions and/or furikake!

Adapted from this NYT miso pasta recipe

And that’s all! See you next time!