But I'm consumed by the city. There's a more expansive palette here than anywhere else. That's why it's a great place to hike. Dressed in a fishing vest, fleece shirt, and hiking boots, Grand looks like an outing club stalwart who took a wrong turn down a Connecticut trout stream. Walking briskly, he covers the meat-packing district in concentric passes the way a Zamboni sweeps an ice rink.
Some people walk to go.
I walk to see. Grand has plotted his course across Manhattan by breaking the borough into zones. So far, he's tramped every neighborhood below 181st Street save for the affluent Upper East Side, which he dismisses as hopelessly colorless. An avid amateur photographer, he shoots six or seven photographs per hike, and he'll pull practically any stunt to get exactly the right image. I'm on safari.