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Skateboarding => Travel Guide => Topic started by: Lou Strux on August 04, 2021, 01:11:51 PM
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Everybody’s doubtless familiar with San Francisco’s Fort Miley, but most folks overlook the fact that it is but one of some hundred (plus) military installations with similar wedge-bank style architecture. In point of fact, a lot of folks don’t even realize there’s an entire separate, 2nd section to Miley, just the other side of “yonder trees.”
Most of these cement bunkers were built to protect the opening to the bay from ship-borne invaders by repelling their fleets with massive artillery fire. Their design called for odd looking, obtuse angles in order to deflect incoming canon fire upward & over the military assets housed therein. The end result is a bunch of ancient concrete poured into what appear to be skate-able forms.
I had a spare hour yesterday & happened to be Golden Gate Bridge adjacent, so I started trekking around the coastal trail to see how many of these were (reasonably) skate-able.
Of the 5 or so I encountered, only two offered any promise, but one of them, a short 20 minute hike from a public road, showed not only much promise, but actually bore signs of previous sessions, with well waxed edges in some cases.
Anyway, there are skads of these things around the bay’s shoreline, mostly concentrated around the Golden Gate, but peppered throughout the area in general, including at least one I’ve sessioned on Angel Island.
They’re not all skate worthy, but those that are offer some interesting obstacles to hone your crust chomping skills on.
Most, if not all, are considered historic relics, so skating them is officially frowned upon, but many are so far out of the way from anything (beyond trees) that security is a non issue, and cops in a busy metro area aren’t going to track through the woods to break up a session. Some may require a bit of knavery, however. Example: no skateboards are allowed on Angel Island, so in order to skate the spot(s) there, you need to sneak your board onto the island inside a bag, either whole in a duffel, or disassembled in a backpack.)
I’m starting this thread because the search function didn’t yield any similar prior thread results, & I thought it would be neat to share pics, and (without putting the spots on blast, so they can still be enjoyed by future generations of skaters) create a sort of directory of what’s where.
Any of y’all PALS ever fuxx around on these? You got something similar in your area you want to show, or share?
If you want to know where a spot is at, DM the person that posted the tale, or pics or whatever. If they wanna share, they can tell you where. If they don’t, that’s up to them to decide, but it means you’re prolly a kook on the boards & don't deserve to know the 411 anyway. Don’t feel bad, work on your game.
Here’s pics from yesterday’s fun find.
I couldn’t get any snaps of myself, as I was alone with only my phone & board. Didn’t pull anything worthwhile anyhow, so no loss there.
The taller wedges are chest to shoulder height on me, (I’m about 5’ 10” tall, to provide reference) & the smaller ones are between knee & waist high. I’ve seen footy shot here, but never figured out which battery it was filmed at until I saw it in person.
(https://i.ibb.co/K2cTms0/822-B9290-B36-F-44-C8-B70-B-6-DE0-B0002-D09.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ZBRqNgL)
(https://i.ibb.co/GQhLGKB/ADF7-B117-C9-B3-4-CFB-B005-6-EAF2-BCAC81-B.jpg) (https://ibb.co/chmHRGM)
(https://i.ibb.co/t23ghP8/27-FF6-FBD-639-F-4-B7-A-9-FFB-C72688-C9-B57-A.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ZgN5J1W)
(https://i.ibb.co/k2sc80J/B704-A1-DA-3-D69-4-B1-C-86-FC-83397-F55-C109.jpg) (https://ibb.co/chSTFtw)
(https://i.ibb.co/D88ytH6/D0-F02-F09-9-E74-48-C7-80-AA-4607-ABAAA27-E.jpg) (https://ibb.co/QCCRf3q)
(https://i.ibb.co/B2w4YSn/C39-F5-AD3-6952-4589-9-BFF-EEAE5-C864359.jpg) (https://ibb.co/VY3HkPw)
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Holy shit, this is so cool. On the opposite coast, but if I lived in the Bay Area I would be all over this. Great post, and love the detail. People like you go severely underappreciated by most skaters who think "finding spots" is sending an Insta DM asking for a pin.
Thank you for pushing your skate scene further and unearthing new terrain, which will hopefully bear fruit in the form of dope photos and footage for us to watch!
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This is rad, Lou, really going the extra mile. Pretty sure an OJ’s promo was shot at that spot last year when they dropped the Nomads. Could be why the lips were recently waxed. (Minds out of the gutter, pals, we’re talking crete and paraffin.)
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yep, there are a lot of them up and down the coast.
my first job when i moved to san francisco was working on a trails crew with the national parks service and our territory covered everything between stinson beach and sweeney ridge. i spent 9 months hiking all those trails and came across many abandoned military forts / government buildings. if i had started the job 2 weeks earlier i would have been able to spend some time on the farallon islands, but i missed that boat (literally).
(https://i.imgur.com/vuvPOgR.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/zoTdK2Z.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/MPeARLR.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/xfgzz6h.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/wiClNI8.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/8zHJ6of.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/RYUFHvC.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/2xNAMiU.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/FOnM3zI.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/m67kNjz.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/LtSxUmw.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/oPEm7Qh.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/LqByCXC.png)
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yep, there are a lot of them up and down the coast.
my first job when i moved to san francisco was working on a trails crew with the national parks service and our territory covered everything between stinson beach and sweeney ridge. i spent 9 months hiking all those trails and came across many abandoned military forts / government buildings. if i had started the job 2 weeks earlier i would have been able to spend some time on the farallon islands, but i missed that boat (literally).
(https://i.imgur.com/vuvPOgR.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/zoTdK2Z.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/MPeARLR.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/xfgzz6h.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/wiClNI8.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/8zHJ6of.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/RYUFHvC.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/2xNAMiU.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/FOnM3zI.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/m67kNjz.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/LtSxUmw.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/oPEm7Qh.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/LqByCXC.png)
Oh, you a for real badass with documentation to prove it, too!!!
These spots are such gems. Exactly the kind of content I was hoping for from this thread.
Have a gnar.
Fuck it… gnars all around!
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Spots and photos are so fucking sick. Have a gnar.
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Have any Bay Area filmers thought of a project (individual part, montage, full length, etc) centered around those old bunkers?
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Have any Bay Area filmers thought of a project (individual part, montage, full length, etc) centered around those old bunkers?
Is a really cool idea.
Something about skating on the relics of war really appeals to my inner hippy.
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Epic post. Would Gnar but it looks like I already gnar'd ya in the last 24 hours.
Thank you.
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So rad. I had been thinking of these installations lately, haven't been to the Land's End area in awhile, but I usually think about skating shit like that, the ones I've seen haven't been promising though. Granted, I lack the ability to really do anything but ride down the banks, so it would be a bit wasted. In for more
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All these pics absolutely stunning
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alright well this ones going on the bucket list