I started 2016 with a goal to accomplish 52 different hikes. I also decided to track my mileage and vertical gain using the Map My Hike app. I contemplated for a few hours on January 3, 2016, whether or not I should try to cover 1000 miles in a year. After some contemplation, I decided against it and chose rather to just see how far I could go. I didn’t want to set an impossible goal, and I didn’t want to give up my life to try to accomplish it. I figured 52 hikes was a good goal, and it was best to just stick to that one.
Well, I did my normal end of the month tally at the end of October, and to my surprise, I was at 750 miles. I just finished my biggest month at a little over 100 miles. That’s when I decided I should go for it. They would be the two biggest months with the least daylight and unpredictable weather, so I didn’t tell but one person. I figured it was like quitting smoking, you don’t tell more than that one trusted person until it’s a sure thing.
I’m happy to report that I hit the 1000 mile mark several days before the end of the year. Obviously, my dogs were not going to let me stop hiking just because we met our goal, so I have actually gone beyond 1000 miles, and I couldn’t be more proud. I wish I could say that Lilly and Turner had covered each mile with me, but they weren’t able to make it along for every trek. I estimate they did at least 800.
I have to make it clear that not all of the miles I covered this year were done on hiking trails. Some were on beaches, some were on streets, some were running and some were in my rural mountain neighborhood. As a matter of fact, I have tallied 262 miles that were not done on a hiking trail. The other 750 were legit hiking miles. In the long run, I chose to make each of the 52 hikes on trails that I had never done. All miles logged toward the 1000 were simply miles that I accomplished by going out of my way. Aka, they were not miles tracked at work or home doing my normal daily routine. Those miles will happen no matter what. This was a challenge to keep myself moving, to meditate, to think, to heal in the healthiest way I knew how.
I also have to make it clear that although I hike, walk or run a lot, I am not able to eat whatever I want whenever I want to stay slender. Like anyone else, I have to watch what I consume. And, sometimes poor decisions get the best of me, and I add 3 to 10 pounds just like everybody else. Weight is a struggle because I love food. My health is a struggle because my body does not like to absorb everything it needs. I work closely with my doctor to make sure I’m doing what I need to maintain my health, and sometimes I slip. I am now the healthiest I’ve been since my pre-smoker early teens, and I don’t want to lose that. I’m also thrilled that I didn’t have to pay a fortune to a pyramid scheme to reap these rewards. I did it all by myself with a little help from the docs that I already see once a year. It made sense to me to utilize their expertise while I was already paying them for my annual physical…
Now, what will next year look like? New goals are on the horizon. At this point, I plan to keep tracking mileage, and rather than putting on the high stress from day one, figure it out as I go along. I’m hoping to work in more yoga since all of this biped movement has made me rather stiff. Time will tell… If you are looking for a place to start, begin with the 52 Hike Challenge. It’s as tough as you want it to be. Health should not add stress to your life, rather it should take the stress out of your life.
Happy New Year everyone!
The hike that put me over 1000 miles was the Veach Gap hike in the George Washington National Forest. Here are some of the photos I got along the way.
TheArtLadyHikes 