The Great Saunter

For the past 25 years, the Shorewalkers have held their largest fund-raising event on the first Saturday in May. Called the Great Saunter, the 32-mile walk around the perimeter of Manhattan raises money for the group's projects, including increasing shore access for walkers and bikers, creating linked trails, and generally popularizing walking around the city.

It was great. We began at South Street Seaport at 7.30 am, and finished there at 6.07 pm. We got to see 20 parks for $20, ranging from the familiar (Riverside Park, East River Park) to the unfamiliar (Jackie Robinson Park, Isham Park), as well as such wonders as Sea Shepherd's Steve Irwin, Clyde freshening his tag, and the rock where, allegedly, Peter Minuit bought Manhattan. We got praised by bicyclists in Battery Park ("oh man," they said when they heard what we were doing, "you guys are troopers") and applauded by young ladies in Sugar Hill. We had some old men tell us that just the thought of the walk made them want to take a nap. We discovered the magic of shaved ice.

It was also insane. By mile 20, we developed 'zombie brain,' or the inability to communicate beyond the occasional grunt or think anything other than 'left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot.' We elected not to take pictures of our feet post-walk. We met someone who's done the walk 23 times, and we thought, 'What is wrong with that person?'

We're super-glad we did it, and super-glad we never have to do it again.