Cheap Thrills: Walking Up Marin Avenue

At the end of a long day, while the sun hangs low in the sky and the air begins to cool, work out the late afternoon kinks — and work up a sweat — by climbing the brutal concrete terrain of Marin Avenue.

The deceptively short hike, sandwiched between the Marin Circle and Grizzly Peak Boulevard, is actually an arduous climb, exhausting every muscle as you ascend the steep grade and demanding a sturdy perseverance.

The climb starts slowly, your heart thumping faster as you lumber up the first block or two. It’s at Spruce Street that your thighs begin to quiver and sweat beads on your brow. With cars whizzing up and down the street alongside you, you plod forward, trudging up the hill on the tips of your toes and feeling a tight burn in your lungs.

At Euclid, stop and take a breather. Turn around and take in the scenery. The bay sprawls out beneath the overhanging tree limbs, catching up the warm light, and throwing shards of sunshine back up the hill. Despite the steady pulse of traffic, the view feels peaceful and private, a visual restorative that readies you for the last, wicked stretch of climb.

Take another deep drag of oxygen, throw your shoulders back and resume your march. Crossing Hilldale Avenue, set your sights on the top and put one foot in front of the other until you pass Keeler and, chuffing up the last, impossibly steep block, you summit at Grizzly Peak.

As your pulse returns to normal and the breeze washes over you, congratulate yourself on your remarkable feat. Watch for a few minutes as cars struggle up the last stretch of road, cresting at the stop sign as their wheels clinging to the asphalt and their brakes struggle beneath the strain. Then turn yourself back around, and facing downhill, ease on down the road.