Stepping Out

It started like this: last fall, on the day of what I think was the SF marathon (but what may have been some other road race), Erik and I took the N out to the Great Highway and started walking. We headed north to the Cliff House, then up into Sutro Heights and east along Geary and Clement.

As we walked, it occurred to me that although I had been on many of the same streets in cars or buses at some point, I'd never before experienced them on foot. Doing so that afternoon meant seeing those streets in entirely different ways, and I figured it'd be interesting to repeat that experience throughout the city.

So here it begins: as of yesterday, my goal is to walk every street in San Francisco by the end of the year. This includes both streets I've walked hundreds of times already, like Octavia and Valencia (portions of which officially made the Walked list as of last evening), but also those I've never been on, and currently have no idea actually exist. I want to see familiar streets in a different light, and experience unfamiliar ones for the first time. Moreover, I want to get a deeper, broader sense of the city I've called home for the past 11 years.

Herewith, a few guidelines:

• My definition of "every street in San Francisco" includes alleys, dead-ends, and those tiny slips of roads that seem barely consequential enough to bear names. This definition doesn't include freeways (101 over the Golden Gate Bridge being the only exception) or major roads that don't have sidewalks.
• Any street I've walked before yesterday doesn't count. I'm starting with a clean slate.
• I plan to track my progress on paper maps, unless someone more technologically savvy than I can figure out how to customize a Google map to make my steps trackable online.
• I'll be taking photos and notes of interesting things I see, eat, drink, and experience along the way and posting them to this blog.
• If I can get on the ball, I may buy myself a pedometer so I can also tally my actual steps.

I'd love company on any portion of this quest. If there's a part of the city you've always wanted to explore, a street or two you've driven down a few times but haven't experienced on foot, or a favorite neighborhood you'd love to show off, please let me know. It would be great to have you along.

Check back often for updates on where I've been, what I've seen, and who's been along for the walk.

Onwards!