In 2023 we managed to complete 47 roams, a near 50% increase on the previous highest total, which was in 2022. I look forward to roaming with you, and let’s see if we can cover even more ground in 2024!
A reminder that all weekend roams start at 1:30, and weekday ones at 3:00. All roams are loops unless otherwise stated!
On the 17th a reprise of the slow lakes roam in the park. This is a wonderful antidote to Friday rush hour stress, as we stroll around the western half of Golden Gate Park and sit beside a selection of peaceful lakes. When we did this route before, on a sunny day in December, everything came together to create a memorably relaxed roam. This is more or less flat, but will involve the undulations prevalent in the park. Meet in front of the Senior Center at Fulton and 37th.
On the 18th, one of our familiar and well-loved routes, around Russian Hill. We have done various versions of this, but the starting point will be the same, at the Bay St side of the Maritime museum. As with the recent roam around Liberty Hill, what this roam lacks in overall distance is more than compensated for by the amount of climbing!
On the 26th, a new route that I thought about while checking out the trails we would take for the recent Tennessee Hollow roam, from Pacific Heights to the bay and back. We will meet at Alta Plaza Park, by the stairs at Pierce and Clay, head down to the wave organ and then we will take the Lyon Street steps on the way back, so be prepared for that climb.
On the 31st, visiting Land’s End and Sutro Heights, via the abandoned Fort Miley and the baths. Meet by the big red statue and pool across from the Legion of Honor (you can just make the statue out in the picture!) When we tried out this route in November, we were hit by some heavy rain; hopefully no such problems at the end of May.
Provisional dates for June include: 1st (along the coast from Crissy Field to Baker Beach); 14th (up in Golden Gate Heights); 16th (Bernal Heights) and 22nd (a solstice special from the Bay to the hills and back).
Bring water, snacks, and layers for whatever the weather is doing. Punctuality is always appreciated. These roams are offered by donation. They are one way I am able to pay my rent in San Francisco.
‘Shundo David Haye has probably walked through more parts of San Francisco than you have.’ I’ll take that endorsement – it came from this nice article in the SF Chronicle at the beginning of the pandemic
Camille, who I have known through Zen Center for more than twenty years, had a lovely piece on Roaming Zen published in the Bold Italic.
Corona Heights – the first picture I used to promote Roaming Zen.
Views to the Farallons from this little-known park.
If you need some prompts as to the benefits of roaming, here are a trio of articles from the Guardian:
Two-hour ‘dose’ of nature significantly boosts health – study
Woodland sounds help relaxation more than meditation apps – study
Blue spaces: why time spent near water is the secret of happiness
All of which is achievable without leaving the city limits!
And this from the New Yorker:
A small but growing collection of studies suggests that spending time in green spaces—gardens, parks, forests—can rejuvenate the mental resources that man-made environments deplete. Psychologists have learned that attention is a limited resource that continually drains throughout the day. A crowded intersection—rife with pedestrians, cars, and billboards—bats our attention around. In contrast, walking past a pond in a park allows our mind to drift casually from one sensory experience to another, from wrinkling water to rustling reeds.
Or, to put a name to it, Attention Restoration Theory.
The genesis for Roaming Zen was perhaps my shuso practice period at Tassajara in 2012, where I noticed that I derived as much energy from being on the trails or up the road, among the trees and by the creek, as I did from the hours in the zendo. It was also crystalised by a visit to Tassajara with a group from Young Urban Zen a year or two later: after the days of work, a group of us set off for a hike along the Horse Pasture trail, and at one stage, hearing all the talk of people’s pre-occupations and mundane affairs, someone in the group asked if we could all hike in silence for a while and properly take in the surroundings. Afterwards, the agreed verdict was that the silence had transformed the hike.
And so, having tried versions of it at City Center, Green Gulch and Tassajara, one of my favourite things to do these days is to gather a small group of people, sit with them, maybe introduce a little quote or theme, and lead them around a chosen route, cultivating mindful presence through walking and sitting quietly in the midst of city life.
There are so many little corners of San Francisco that lend themselves to the activity, surrounded by beauty, views, and sometimes quiet. We have visited forests, hills and canyons, creeks and beaches, staircases and alleys, lakes and hidden parks; we have listened to birds and waves, watched butterflies, bees and coyotes, smelled flowers and ocean spray. We have looked over all sides of San Francisco and to the mountains beyond.
I like to give credit to OpenStreetMap, for featuring much more detail in paths and trails than I ever get from Apple Maps or Google Maps – I would not have found some of these routes without it – and FoundSF/OpenSF History for filling me in on what used to be in the places we visit.
Leading the way along the Horse Pasture Trail near Tassajara, summer 2019. Photo courtesy of April Nemeth.
Leading the way up the Smelter Trail at Wilbur in October 2019. Photo courtesy of Laura Della Guardia.
Closer to home, leading a group around the Presidio.
Shundo David Haye - Zen Priest 