January 7, 2026
I took BART to the City to start this trail leg at Glen Park. The Brutalist interior is massive volumes of grey concrete walls and white marble floor. The escalator descends dramatically to the platform which is improbably lit by skylights far above. At the entry level is a marble “mural” designed by the station architect Ernest Born. This 1973 building was his last project.
Okay, on to the trail! This section is mostly park rather than urban streets. A few blocks from the BART station, I entered the Woodland section of the Glen Park Greenway, which looks carefully tended by neighbors. The curvy ramp goes over Bosworth Street where traffic heading toward O’Shaughnessy Blvd. starts to speed up.
At the end of the Greenway is a single green house, between the path and Bosworth Street. It’s locally famous as the home of Robert Seiwald who will turn 100 this year! He and his wife bought the house in 1960. When the 280 Freeway was built, many homes were moved or destroyed. The catholic school across the street was relocating and wanted to buy their house but didn’t want to pay the asking price. I guess that’s why this cute green house is stranded by itself. It’s not isolated though; the Burnside Mural is right outside, along with the mosaic inlaid steps up to Bosworth.
Next I walked a few blocks to the Glen Canyon Park, where I found this plaque commemorating the Giant Dynamite company, which blew up in 1869. The canyon briefly hosted a zoo and park in 1898. Near the Recreation Center building is a sculpture by Charles Sowers. The lines inside the tree trunks were created by focusing sunlight into a narrow beam to burn the wood. I really like Sowers’ work. I encountered another piece during Expedition #1 outside the Randall Museum.
I took the creekside trail toward Portola Avenue, which turned out to be much muddier than I expected. There are several little bridges crossing the water. I was tempted to fish out what I thought was orange trash but then I realized it was a pumpkin! These retro looking rocking horses are outside the Glenridge Cooperative Nursery School. Arriving at Portola Avenue, I found the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts that I learned about at her retrospective last year.
After a sharp turn onto Twin Peaks I saw this sign indicating the point where the Crosstown and Double Cross trails cross each other. Next was a block of residential homes, then the entrance to Laguna Honda Community Trail System, Troop 88 trail (local Boy Scouts). I was struck by this nifty cloud formation. The beginning of the trail is a lovely smelling eucalyptus forest, still quite wet but not as muddy.
At this intimidating sign, I entered the area behind Laguna Honda Hospital. I took photos! Oh, no! Access to this trail has only been possible since 2017. It’s referred to as “Bedpan Alley” because hospital workers used to chuck trash down into the ravine. It’s not clear why some of it, mostly glass bottles, is still there. Historical record?
Isn’t this latticed stinkhorn fungus cool? It was melon sized but did not stink. The trail lets out on Laguna Honda Blvd. I crossed the street to the Forest Hill Muni Station. For Expedition 22, I visited sites from the movie Dirty Harry, and this station is one of them.
This trail section was particularly transit friendly to the East Bay. I thought I might tackle Section 3 as well, but #2 is quite hilly and navigating through the mud was strenuous, and #3 looks like it has lots of stairs. One more section to go!