This is the second part of our San Francisco Golden Gate Coastal Walk. You can read the first part which takes you to Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach, Sutra Baths here.
Our main objective today is to get to The Labyrinth at Land’s End. The walk takes us through just a tiny part of the Golden Gate National Recreational area. We could get easily distracted and spend the whole day here. And this little Golden Gate coastal walk is just a tiny part of a phenomenal legacy left by two people.
Ed and Peggy Wayburn
An area of conservation covering huge swathes of land around the bay area was established by a magnificent couple.
Ed and Peggy Wayburn, little known heroes of conservation have been hailed as protecting more wilderness than any other humans alive.
We came across a sign detailing some of their work in the area and have since looked into their story. It really is incredible what these two people achieved. Remembering Edgar Wayburn.
Ohlone People
The trail continues through eucalyptus and redwood trees, the salty air uplifted by the fresh scent. Breathing deep and soaking up the beauty and otherworldly nature of this place, we get a sense of the first people here. The Ohlone. There is much to say about the Ohlone people, so I will save it for a future post.
For now, it is enough to say, they are the original people and we stand upon their land. It is proper to honour the original people of the land you stand upon. Ancestors of the land, spirits of place, unseen ones. They all lend to the atmosphere and story of the landscape and to honour the ancestors of place, honours the land.
We say a little prayer, leave an offering and move on.
The Labyrinth at Land’s End
There is a path that goes above the labyrinth at Lands End, but no sign that it is down below. It was intended by the artist who reated it to be hidden. A secret labyrinth. We almost walk right by it, totally embraced by the landscape.
Something draws my attention. Not a noise, more a feeling. It causes me to look back. We’ve gone a few yards beyond the spot where you climb down to the cliff edge. I look back along and down the cliff and see the outer paths of the maze. We go back to take the hidden path down and wonder at how dangerous it could be of it were slippery.
On a Cliff Edge.
I have walked quite a few labyrinths and even created some, but I have never seen one quite like this! The outside path leads right along the edge of the cliff.
It is wild out here! Bathed in the the wind and salt spray from the Pacific Ocean, it feels treacherous. With the threatening rain adding to the excitement, we approch the gateway of the maze.
Open to the mystery of it being here, we step inside. Hidden treasure.
We have got the whole place to ourselves. So we walk the labyrinth at Land’s End together.
Letting go as you go in, integrating as you come out. Simple. Until we come to a path at the very edge of a cliff that drops down about 50 ft to the sea. Letting go … laughing … past the danger … letting go a bit more … and back in the loops of the labyrinth. I love it!
If you really wanna go to San Francisco, this place is a must visit. A wonderful and exciting little adventure.
On our way back up to the path, we met another couple who were just walking past. We told them the Labyrinth of Land’s End was just down there. They had also come looking for it and almost walked by. Grateful, they climbed down to have their own secret moment with wildness.
This place was created by a local artist. It has been destryed on several occasions, and the artist has rebuilt it each time. What a blessing such an act can bring. It reminds me of Green, the wand seller in Glastonbury who periodically made a labyrinth on the side of Glastonbury Tor out of white wands. You can read more about Green on my guest post at Normal for Glastonbury.
Find out about the creation of the Labyrinth at Land’s End here.
For now, I will leave us at the Labyrinth, our next post takes us around the last part of the coastal walk and back to Golden Gate Park to the Botanical Gardens.
Please get in touch and let us know if you have visited this remarkable spot.