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May 23, 2004

Welcome

When I was younger, my mom always told me I should be outside on nice days. I protested then, but somehow her advice stuck with me.

I live in San Francisco. The weather here is usually nice enough to be outside. Since I learned the joy of going on walks from Stephanie, I've slowly become an avid walker — an urban hiker, as the moniker goes.

When I first moved here, I got to know the city in the evenings by driving to a new neighborhood and walking until I found somewhere to eat and then walking some more. It's a great way to get to know a city.

Now, three years later, I spend my weekends and sometimes weekday evenings taking urban hikes. I sometimes feel like I could eat the city up because it is so amazing and ever-changing. I'm convinced there are other people who express their feelings for their city this way.

Adah Bakalinsky does. Her book, Stairway Walks in San Francisco, opened my eyes to the endless surprises San Francisco offers. Her descriptions of walks, her historical notes, sketches, hand-drawn maps, and acute attention to every detail of a walk astound me.

I'm psyched to start this site and post all the fun stuff that happens on my urban hikes, and to hear about the urban hikes that other people take. Maybe I'll come up with some ways to get geeky about it.

I'm Blake Engel, and I'm the urban hiker. Thanks for reading!

Posted by bengel at May 23, 2004 11:27 PM

Comments

I love the Stairway Walks book! They are so much fun and a great way to get to see parts of the city that are easy to miss when driving.

Welcome to the blogging world!

Posted by: Anca at May 24, 2004 11:23 AM

This is WONDERFUL! What a great way to share your hobby with others.

Do you ever hike with others? I think about Travis's urban BIKING experiences and how much fun he has.

Posted by: Dad at May 24, 2004 03:03 PM

Now I'll know what you're up to out there! Cool idea!

Posted by: Mom at May 24, 2004 06:54 PM

Who else's parents comment to their blog? How cool!

Posted by: Blake at May 24, 2004 07:05 PM