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2014 Resolution: Hike all the Trails in San Francisco!

After college, I sat at various desks at various jobs for 10 years. When I realized 10 years had come and gone, I was in a state of shock. The years were blending together and flying by with nothing too memorable about them. As time went on, I found myself grumpier and grumpier about my work and my commute. I wasn't in a good place. 

Without a real place to go afterward, I quit a cushy job in January 2012 in order to take a few months off to reflect. At first, the feeling of freedom made me giddy. But then it made me nervous. I thought, "What am I going to do with myself now?"

And then sometime in May, had the idea for Urban Hiker SF. The idea for the company allowed me to combine my love of novelty, exploration, and the outdoors with the business knowledge I've accumulated over the years. 

In February, it will be 1 1/2 years since I launched UHSF. We're running a number of tours weekly, and meeting wonderful people from all over the world.

But, while we do this, I want to keep exploring. When I initially planned my Presidio Exploration hike, I remember reading that the Presidio had over 25 miles of hiking trails. I couldn't believe that we had a trail network that extensive in a city so small -- and that was just in a single neighborhood. 

The 25 miles fact got me curious, and I started cataloging all the trails I could find  

First, I discovered that there were fours major trail systems in our city:

These trails range from 350 to 1,200 miles and are part of larger systems that extend way outside the boundaries of San Francisco.

Three hiking trails in one on the Presidio Coastal Trail

I next found sand, dirt, and paved trails in the following public parks:


The Ecology Trail in the Presidio

And then there were the Presidio Trails I had originally read about:

And then there were historic hiking trails too: 

And lastly, I found trails on islands that are part of San Francisco.
Realizing it’s never too late to come up with a New Year’s resolution, I made it my resolution to explore all of these trails! I'll be posting about them here, so we can all learn more about the nature inside the city. 
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