Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 3213–26 August 2016 5 Walkers on the slopes of Twin Peaks, overlooking San Francisco S an Francisco is the world’s tech city of the moment, home to the likes of Google, Facebook, Apple and eBay. But not all the activity here is virtual. San Francisco is a place where playtime is as cherished as FaceTime. Yosemite National Park is little more than a three-hour drive away and Marin County, the birthplace of mountain biking, is just across the Golden Gate Bridge. Inside the city itself, there are more than 100 kilometres of walking trails. On the slopes of Twin Peaks, one of San Francisco’s highest points, I’m exploring one of those trails, following Alexandra Kenin, who is symbolic of the city’s duality. A former marketing manager at Google, she now runs Urban Hiker SF, leading walking tours around the city. She’s not alone — now more than half a dozen tour companies operate walking trips around San Francisco. This may be the most tech-minded of cities but it’s still best explored in the most low-tech way of all — on foot. On Alexandra’s Urban Jungles and City Heights tour, both the digital world and the urban world seem secondary to the green belts and open spaces that are squeezed like puzzle pieces into the city. In the Castro, where our walk begins, the sun is shining brightly but there are rainbows everywhere. The Castro is the city’s LGBT district where rainbow-coloured flags fly from roofs. There are rainbow signposts and we set out across zebra crossings painted in rainbow livery. The walk will cover eight kilometres and take us through three city districts, the Castro, Upper Market and Twin Peaks, threading steadily uphill on some of the 670 stairways that run like zippers through San Francisco. Like most hilly cities, the topography of San Francisco creates much of its character. We walk along streets and past homes that conform to the shape of the land, making a winding, wandering climb towards Twin Peaks. There are glimpses of San Francisco’s irreverent nature, such as the home with Richard Nixon gargoyles supporting its window frames, and arguably the finest view the city has to offer as we reach the summit of Twin Peaks. Here we stare straight down Market Street into the heart of downtown. Hummingbirds hover overhead and the Castro’s rainbows beam far below. One of the great curiosities on Twin Peaks is a eucalypt forest, planted by a city mayor in the late 19th century. We descend through the forest, suddenly alone in the San Francisco A laneway of murals in the Mission Hikers take a break on the Urban Jungles and City Heights tour Photos by Andrew Bain The topography of San Francisco creates much of its character