Activity for Thursday. October 7.

We get to the park on time, and it is a clear day without much wind. We hope to see some new people to get some new information, and to capture sound since it is less windy. 
7:10- A woman in exercise gear playing frisbee with a black dog sees us setting up a camera and leaves.
7:11- See "Beatrice" again with her dog. On a cellphone.
7:14- See "Peter" again with his dog.
7:15- Same woman with black dog has already run around the lower trail, and is running toward us.
7:16- Middle-aged man with dog.
7:17- Female runner we have seen before with headphones.
7:26- Three women with three dogs hanging out in rocks to the right of the trail. As they approach us they are gossiping and laughing.
7:28- A black woman with two dogs dressed in warm winter attire walking on opposite trail.
7:30- Walking along the bridge halfway to the summit we meet older man (white, late 60s) who lives on Portola with dog. Stops to talk to us and is friendly. Comes to the canyon everyday.
7:35- Meet with "Leslie" again on the summit. She talks to us a bit more about the history of the canyon. It used to be a motorcycle way in the 1950s where people would race their motorcycles. There also used to be a gun factory located there until an explosion killed/injured several people. She also told us that many of the trees located there were planted as a wind barrier. While we are talking we see a coyote sitting on a mount above the summit. We bolt to the location so we can take pictures, and she tells us it is the mother. All of a sudden she starts barking very loud, and bolts across the canyon to the other side. We run down the trails after it so we can witness the commotion. Apparently a dog off leash started barking/bothering one of the coyote pups, and the mother ran off to its rescue. All of the dog walkers began putting leashes on their dogs, and a man with a toddler child and dog walks away from the scene. The coyote is still howling and barking, warning all of the dogs to stay away. The dog walkers are huddled together near the nursery school saying that the coyote started the commotion, and that the coyotes are no longer afraid of people due to the people that photograph them. They place the blame on the photographers, and take no responsibility for their dogs being off leash. There are signs everywhere warning walkers of the presence of coyotes. It was clear at this point that there was a distinct separation between the dog walkers and the people who support the coyotes. We filmed some of the conversation as it was happening, and soon we felt as if we were involved in the controversy.
8:30- We leave the canyon.