My 2015 Hiking Goals

Here we are, a month and a half into the new year, and I have yet to take a hike. I was planning for a little hike today, a day off from work, but our cat just had some surgery, so I decided to stay home with her for the most part.

Here are my hiking goals for this year.  I have a couple challenges going on right now - a moderately sore left ankle that I cannot figure out, and partial tearing to my rotator cuff.  The latter has been a problem for 8 years, but was made a lot worse in late September when I took a very hard fall while hiking in West Virginia.  I probably should have had surgery, but am trying a lot of exercising to strengthen the shoulder and stabilize the joint.  That won't heal the torn tendons, but maybe I can make it for a while longer.  The ankle is just a mystery - it started suddenly but not after any traumatic event that I can remember. 

My goals:

1. Hit the trails for 200 miles.
2. Go backpacking at least three times.
3. Join my friend Dick for his annual hike - at age 90 this year - up Mount Washington in New Hampshire.  This will be scheduled at the last minute by Dick, and I will join him if at all possible.  There is thought that Dick may be the first nonogenarian to summit Mount Washington, the highest mountain east of the Mississippi and north of North Carolina.
4. Take a week-long hiking vacation - I have scheduled one in Oregon for this coming summer, a state that I have never been to.
5. Lead at least two group hikes.
6. Master my (fairly) new DeLorme Inreach Explorer.  This one will be a little difficult to measure, but it has a lot of capabilities that I don't know how to use yet.
7. Take hikes in at least five of Virginia's wonderful state parks.

This seems like a pretty good list to me, with some challenges.  Among the backpacking trips, I would love to see if I can get into Ramsey's Draft Wilderness, McAfee Knob, and/or False Cape State Park.