San Francisco: Glen Canyon Park

Last Christmas, in preparation for our visit, Laura gave me the book Stairway Walks of San Francisco by Adah Bakalinsky, who is currently about 85 and still doing book signings.  This is apparently the definitive book on stairway walks, and was specifically recommended to us by Sean Timberlake, our Castro guide.  We found the book very informative and helpful, and used it a lot.
So did Laura – she suggested this walk, and discovered this magnificent area of San Francisco she hadn’t known about either.

 We took the trail leading into the park from the Diamond Heights Shopping Centre.  From being in suburbia, suddenly you are in a wilderness.
Pat and Laura go boldly forward.


In the 1850s, Adolph Sutro (of Sutro Tower fame) bought 28 hectares of the canyon, which he named "Gum Tree Ranch" after the Australian blue gums he had planted there (one in the foreground).
Pat and Laura find a seat.


The first commercial manufacturing of dynamite in the US occurred in this canyon. In 1868, the Giant Powder Company began production at its factory in the park under license from Alfred Nobel, to produce his new explosive in America. 
The factory did not last long. A year later, an explosion completely destroyed the entire facility, turning every one of the buildings on the place into "hundreds of pieces", according to a newspaper account. Two people were killed, and nine injured.  The plant was subsequently rebuilt in the sand dunes south of Golden Gate Park, but was moved several more times following more explosions.
Alfred Nobel (1833 – 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer and   the inventor of dynamite.  In his last will, he used his enormous fortune to institute the Nobel Prizes for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and for work in peace.
Pat and Laura contemplate the canyon.


Oh look, there’s the Sutro Tower (the Alien) watching over us.
Pat and Laura descend….

  ….and descend….


….and descend.
I think this is how this walk came to be included in the book of stairway walks.


The park includes diverse terrains.  At the top can be seen some of Adolph Sutro’s blue gums, and some extensive grassland.


There are also some striking rocky outcrops, popular with rock climbers.


At the bottom of the canyon flows Islais Creek, surrounded by willow thickets.


Pat and Laura descend the steep track into the willow thickets.


In the willow thickets beside Islais Creek, the temperature was immediately several degrees cooler.  Laura is still carrying Stairway Walks of San Francisco .
Down here, we could walk over things….


….and under things.


We came across this pretty blue bird, which I haven’t been able to identify.  Any help would be welcome.


We then emerged into a clearing, with more of Adolph Sutro’s blue gums….


….and more rocky outcrops.
Then we turned round and went all the way back again.

While the weather had been very clear when we entered the canyon, when we were leaving, a couple of hours later, the fog was beginning to roll in over Mt Davidson.  Here are some pictures: