Wrapping Up 2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

In 2019, I took over 5,000,000 steps, walking an estimated 2,470 miles.  Of this, 422 miles were hiking on trails, the first time I've ever hiked over 400 miles in a year.

Some other stats: I hiked 384 miles as day hikes, and only 38 miles while backpacking.  It was not a good year for backpacking.  I cancelled two trips when I got sick, another to go to my step-mother's memorial service, and at least two more when our cat got sick.  Maybe I'll manage more in 2020 - that's my goal at least, once I start hiking again.

I hiked 100 miles by myself, and 322 miles with groups, including 159 miles with the Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club.  I went backpacking once with a group and once by myself.  I finished most of the trails in the Southern District of Shenandoah National Park.  I have about 200 miles left to hike in the entire park, which probably means hiking closer to 400 miles, since so many are out and back, or I have to repeat some sections I've already done to get to a trail that I haven't hiked yet.

My favorite hikes of the year?  The Grayson Highlands backpacking trip, my November backpacking trip over Rockytop, the ODATC hike on the AT from Stony Man to Thornton Gap, and the three Road Scholar hikes for June, July, and October - which I got paid for!

Out with the Old, in with the New!

I was lucky enough to retire during 2018, and thus got to hike more.  To summarize:

27 hikes total for 356.6 miles.
5 were backpacking trips of two to nine days for 238.1 miles
The other 22 hikes were day hikes for 118.5 miles.

I haven't thought much about goals for 2019.  I would like to hit 400 miles though, and maybe half of that backpacking.  I'd like to get out backpacking more often but maybe not for as many long trips.  Of my backpacking trips, two involved a total of four nights, and the other three involved a total of 20 nights.

I'd like to complete all of the miles in at least one section of Shenandoah National Park, probably the southern section.  I hope to do that by camping out more so I can hike several days for each trip all the way up to the mountains.

I'd like to go on at least one week-long backpacking trip.

I did more hiking with groups than solo, and I'd like to continue that trend.  And I led a number of hikes last year, including 3 of the backpacking trips.  I want to keep leading hikes, but would like to get some first aid training.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

193.8 Down, 318.1 to Go!

I recently decided that hiking every one of the 511.9 miles of trail in Shenandoah National Park would be a fine goal for me.  I downloaded a spreadsheet that lists the mileage of each trail, and I've spent several hours today pouring over maps and my blog posts, and figuring out exactly which trails I've hiked.  And the total miles of trail hiked in the park by yours truly are: 193.8!

I'd taken a rough guess that I'd hiked somewhere between 100 and 200 miles of the trail in the park, and it turns out that I was closer to the larger number (of which I am glad).

It will be a challenge to make up the difference.  In many cases, it will mean covering ground I've already hiked to get a tiny section that I'd ignored.  In other cases, the trails are out and back - meaning you hike the miles twice - and in still others, multiple trails radiate and loop through sections, meaning one has to hike through the same areas 2 or even 3 times to get every trail.

Here is a perfect example of this, a section in the Southern district around Brown and Rockytop Mountains.  I've hiked the purple trails but not the orange.  (The AT is marked in yellow, and I've hiked some of it here.  The Skyline Drive is in red).  Note how the orange trails meander and merge all over the place?  I'll have no choice but to hike some of them twice or even three times to complete every trail.

SNP is divided into three sections, conveniently enough Southern, Central, and Northern.  I think I will mostly focus on one section at a time, maybe trying to complete the Southern Section first since it is the closest to me.  Doing some backpacking would be a good idea because I can camp in an area of the backcountry and try to bag all of the trails in that area.

Well, I plan on having fun with this goal over the next couple of years.

My Hiking Goals for 2016

February already, and I have not been hiking this year.  I still have the behind-the-knee pain, and it I can't get past that, then maybe I won't hit any of my major goals.  But, one will not make goals unless one establishes them, so time to get out there and state some goals.  On the plus side, my rotator cuff tear is tremendously better than last year at this time, and my sore left ankle is not nearly as sore.

My goals are going to be based on my (largely unrealized) 2015 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 91 this year - up Mount Washington in New Hampshire.  This will be scheduled in June by Dick, and I will join him if at all possible.  Since I work, we will have to pick a week and hope that the notorious weather up on the Mountain will let us do it, and that there will be vacancies in the Appalachian Mountain Club huts.
4. Take a week-long hiking vacation.
5. Lead at least two group hikes.
6. Continue to master my 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.  I also would love to hike the 70 mile Laurel Highlands trail in Pennsylvania, and actually I would love to continue my hike of the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park - which I aborted two falls ago when my friend injured his knee just two days and 28 miles in.

How Did I do With My 2015 Hiking Goals?

I did not do very well with my 2015 hiking goals.  From January 3 on for the entire year, my left ankle has been sore.  It varied between extremely sore to only a little bit sore, and has not been bad the last few months.  I’ve gotten used to it.  Then, starting in June, the back of my left knee has been quite painful.  I’ve recently been doing some physical therapy without a lot of improvement.  I hate to make excuses, but when you want to hike a lot, it is hard to do so when your “wheels” are bad.  So here is how I did last year, aches, pains and all.

1.      Hit the trails for 200 miles.  Nope, I only hiked 141 miles.  (But I did put 2,145 miles on my feet last year, despite chronic left joint pain).

2.      Go backpacking at least three times.  Nope, I only went twice, and the second time, I had to wrap my knee in a bandage to even continue hiking.  And after the first one, my ankle throbbed for days.  And both trips were short - one overnight each.

3.      Join my friend Dick for his annual hike - at age 90 this year - up Mount Washington in New Hampshire.  There is thought that Dick may be the first nonagenarian to summit Mount Washington, the highest mountain east of the Mississippi and north of North Carolina.  Nope, Dick is obviously retired, and scheduled his hike with days to spare.  Being a working man, I can’t take off and drive to New Hampshire at the drop of the hat.  But I did cheer for him from afar.

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.  Yes!  I had a great week of hiking in Oregon in August.

5.      Lead at least two group hikes.  Nope, I only lead one, and cancelled another due to ankle pain.

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.  I’d have to say no – I learned more about it but have not mastered it.

7.      Take hikes in at least five of Virginia's wonderful state parks.  Nope, I only hiked in two.

So obviously, while what hiking I did was wonderful, I fell well short of my goals.  But I did get out there as much as I could.

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.

How Did I Do With My 2014 Hiking Goals?

Happy New Year!

At the start of the year, I set some hiking goals for myself for 2014.  How did I do?

Hike 8 new places this year - I did 13 new hikes last year!  That goal is reached.

Hike 5 times in Shenandoah National Park or the area.  I did 8 hikes in SNP or in the Blue Ridge.  That goal is reached,

Hike in two states not hiked in during 2013, and one of these must be a state I have never hiked in.  I hiked in West Virginia in April and again in September, a state I never have hiked in before.  But I never got to a second state, at least the way I measure it.  To qualify as a hike for this purpose, the trek must be at least four miles long.  I did three short hikes in Maine and they totaled more than four miles, but no single hike was that long.  So, I will count that as partially attaining that goal.  I took hikes in Virginia, Michigan, West Virginia, Maine, and New Jersey.  I think that is it.  The Maine and New Jersey hikes were too short to qualify towards this goal.

Hike in a foreign country.  I went hiking in Scotland in May.  That goal is reached.

Volunteer to lead a hike.  Nope, not last year.

Go backpacking three times.  I did four trips, a one-nighter by myself in Laurel Forks, a three nighter in the Cranberry Wilderness of West Virginia, two nights solo around Matthew's Arm, and two nights (should have been eight nights) on the Appalachian Trail.  So, that goal is reached.

Practice navigation (without a GPS) and orienteering.  No progress on this goal.

Hike at least 110 trail miles.  I hiked 195 non-urban trail miles, so that goal is reached.

Keep this blog going.  Yup, doing that, clearly.  I've documented every hike I have taken since mid-2008 on this blog.

So, all in all, I attained most of my goals but failed completely on two goals, and only partially attained one more.  I think I am especially happy with how many times I got out backpacking and the number of trail miles I did.  One thing that is clear - I get out a lot more for hiking when I am not training for a half marathon or other long race.

How am I Doing with my 2014 Hiking Goals?

Happy Independence Day!  Hurrah for the Red, White, and Blue!

At the start of the year, I set some hiking goals for myself for 2014.  With the year now half over, I wanted to assess how I am doing on these.  Here is my report.

Hike 8 new places this year - I've done 7 and should hit 8 tomorrow!  On track!

Hike 5 times in Shenandoah National Park or the area.  I've done two hikes there this year, one in the park and one just south.  So I am little behind.  But I should reach # 3 tomorrow to get back on track.

Hike in two states not hiked in during 2013, and one of these must be a state I have never hiked in.  I hiked in West Virginia in April, a state I never have hiked in before.  So I am partway there.

Hike in a foreign country.  I went hiking in Scotland in May.  That goal is reached.

Volunteer to lead a hike.  Not yet, behind schedule.

Go backpacking three times.  I have done two trips, a one-nighter by myself in Laurel Forks, and a three nighter in the Cranberry Wilderness of West Virginia.  So I am on track with this goal.

Practice navigation (without a GPS) and orienteering.  No progress on this goal.

Hike at least 110 trail miles.  I am up to 69, so am on track to pass that mark and plan on it.

Keep this blog going.  Yup, doing that.

So overall, I am doing well but really shirking on two goals.

Trail Miles

My friend Hawkeye and I were chatting the other day about hiking and the new year, and he told me, "I've set a goal for 2014.  I want to hike at least 100 trail miles."

And that got me thinking - in all my hikes, how many actual trail miles do I get in on my feet?  I keep track of my steps, over 5 million of them last year, and that translates to over 2,000 miles on my feet.  But how many of that is actual hiking on trails?  Well, because of this blog, I can go back and see.

So I looked at each blog post, and added the miles for each hike.  I am counting only actual hikes, not miles spent beach combing, for example.  The answer for 2013 is that I took 22 hikes for a total of 90.7 trail miles.  In addition, I took seven "urban hikes" for a total of 35 more miles.

Using Hawkeye as an example, I am going to add a goal for 2014 to hike 20% more miles than I did last year.  I'll round that up to 110 miles in actual hiking on non-urban trails in the current year.  As of today, the actual number of trail miles for the year stands at 0.

2014 Hiking Goals

Happy New Year!  Welcome, 2014!

As I have done recently, I am going to start the year out with some hiking goals to expand my horizons a bit and make sure that I get out there.  Here they are.  Do you have any goals for the year, some places you would love to hike to?

1. Hike at least eight places I have never hiked to or not hiked to in 10 years. The hike must be at least four miles long to qualify.
2. Take at least five hikes in Shenandoah National Park or the immediate vicinity.  I am setting this goal because I only got there once in 2013, which is ridiculous!  I live just a two to three hour drive from must trailheads, and I finally got my lifetime National Parks pass a few months ago.
3. Hike in at least two states in 2014 that I did not hike in during 2013.  At least one of these must be a state that I never hiked in.
4. Hike in one foreign country this year.
5. Volunteer to lead a hike with a Meet-up group.
6. Go backpacking at least three times.  I have a couple of specific places I want to go, including perhaps one of the trips that I had to scrub last year: and one bigger adventure that would require a long drive heading north.  I'll see what I can do.
7. Enhance my map and compass skills by practicing some navigation and also by trying orienteering again.
8. Hike at least 110 miles on non-urban trails, which is a 20% increase over 2013.
9. Keep writing about my hikes in my Oh, To Be Hiking blog.

Wishing you a healthy and happy 2014!  Now, lace on those boots and get out there!

How I Did on My 2013 Hiking Goals

A year ago, I wrote out a set of goals I wanted to try to reach for 2013.  I did reasonably well attaining them, and here is my report.

1. Take 10 new hikes:  I got up to nine, and then things conspired to prevent me reaching 10.  If I counted hikes of less than four miles, I would have reached 10.  For example, I took three hikes in Cape May, NJ, that totaled more than four miles, but any one hike was less than four.  Here is my list -
Great Dismal Swamp - a wonderful and unique place to see, plus I saw four otters
River Bank Trail (Staunton River SP) - This park is off the beaten path and worth walking in.
Prince William Forest Park - the highlight was seeing the 17 year cicadas
Shackeford Banks - the ocean, wild horses, and great sea shells?  Who could ask for more, other than some shade and drinking water?
Mount Judah - This hike had spectacular views, plus I got to hike a few miles on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Old Indian Trail - This hike was in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and had great Lake Michigan views.
Savage River Lodge - I did three nice hikes here, and the orange loop was just over four miles.
Buck Hollow Loop - this was my only hike of the year in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and was all uphill or downhill.
High Bridge Trail State Park - Great walk along a "rails to trails" route

2. Hike in two states that I didn't hike in during 2013.  I hiked in five states in 2013, and three of them were not ones I hiked in during 2013: California, North Carolina, and Maryland.

3. Hike in one state I have never hiked in: I hiked in two, California and Maryland

4. Take two backpacking trips.  Fate conspired to make me miss this goal.  I did the Shackleford Banks trip for two nights (and 26 pounds of water carried), but I missed my planned hike to Virginia's "Triple Crown" when work interfered, and I had to cancel a solo trip to Matthews Arm in Shenandoah National Park when I hurt my back stepping off an unseen step.

5.  Keep this blog going: Obviously, I succeeded with that.

6.  Explore other writing outlets: Nope, didn't happen.

Stay tuned for 2014 (yes, 2014 - can you believe it?) goals.

Can I Reach 5 Million?

Last summer, a few days after my birthday, I thought it would be cool to see how many steps I take by the time I hit my next birthday - or, to be fair, until a few days after my upcoming birthday, which will be #62.  Since I started counting on July 19, 2012, I will end my count at the end of the day on July 18, 2013.  That gives me 30 more days, including today (which was a good day with over 21,000 steps as of 8:30) to see how many steps I can take.

So it is cool to report that I am within striking range of 5 million steps in my 62nd year.  In fact, as of the end of yesterday, I am only 375,000 steps short of the 5 million mark.  If I average 12,507 steps a day for today and the next 29 days, I will reach that mark.

I am sure I will do it, barring illness or injury.  In fact, I am going to see if I can reach it by my actual 62nd birthday, which would mean averaging about 13,900 steps a day, including today.

I am excited about my next birthday because I will be able to get a lifetime National Parks pass for just $10!  That is the best bargain going.  So I'd like to qualify for that by hitting the 5 million step count.  As I told a friend today, I am OK with being an old person, as it far beats the alternative.  But I don't want to move like an old person!

5 Million, here I come!

More on Goals...

The other day, I made a list of my hiking goals for the new year.  Since being able to hike means good fitness, you can see a list of my fitness goals for 2013 here on my other blog.

My racing and fitness goals for 2012 were kind of a flop.  Training for the 2012 Shamrock Half Marathon, which I wanted to run as a 10 year cancer survivor, ended up causing me a lot of pain in my left knee.  I did persevere and complete that race, but my knee has bothered me since, and I have stopped running at the end of March for now.  Even so, the knee pain continues to trouble me.  So I'll see how far I get with my 2013 goals.  The knee pain sure didn't keep me from hiking last year.

As I have told people, I like to run, but I LOVE to walk and hike, so if it means no longer running in order to keep walking, I am okay with that.

Thinking Ahead to 2013

I have today off from work, and had hoped to go for a short hike.  But it has rained steadily since the wee hours of the morning.  Hiking is not a lot of fun in a cold and steady rain.  So instead, I am thinking about the new year ahead and what some of my goals, hiking-wise, should be.  I'll write this out, and then head to the gym, where I can get at least some kind of a workout in.

In less than a week, it will be 2013.  That is kind of hard to believe, for me, but it is the truth.  I have been trying to come up with some things I would like to do in the coming year, and here is my list:

I hope to hike 10 "new" places - including hikes I have not done in the past 10 years - in the upcoming year.  I enjoyed trying that this current year, and making it successful.

I'll make it a goal to hike in two states in 2013 that I didn't hike in during the past year.  That means hikes in two states besides Michigan and Virginia.  My next goal complements this one.

I have a goal of hiking in another state next year that I have never hiked in.  Some leading candidates would be Maryland, West Virginia, and South Carolina.

I want to go backpacking at least twice in 2013.  I've managed to go one time in each of the last three years, and I'd like to step that up.

I will have a goal of keeping this blog, Oh, To Be Hiking, going.

I'll explore a goal of having another writing outlet besides the blog.  I've set up goals like this in the past and never accomplished them.  So I am unsure what this will be - but I want to set that goal and see if I can make it happen this time.

My Ten Hike Goal

Earlier this year, I set a goal of hiking 10 new places this year, to celebrate being a 10 year cancer survivor.  By new, it could be a place I had never been, or at the least not been for 10 years.  Each hike had to be a minimum of four miles long, and could not be an urban walk.  Last week, I accomplished that goal.  Here is a summary of my 10 new hikes for 2012.  Unless I mention a prior visit, I had never been on the hike before.

Bear Church Rock (June) - A nice out and back hike in Shenandoah National Park, the reward was great views from the rock itself, plus I did see two young bears, the first I have seen in several years of hiking in black bear country. 

Saint Mary's Falls (June) - This was like visiting an old friend.  I'd been to these lovely falls twice before in the 1990's, once in a steady cold rain where the group of us huddled under a ledge to eat lunch.  This was a steep out and back in Saint Mary's Wilderness in the George Washington National Forest.

Sky Meadows State Park (July) - I had wanted to hike in this beautiful park for a long times, and finally did with a Meet-Up group.  It is in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near the Shenandoah River, and was a great day.

James River State Park (July) - Another place I'd wanted to see for some time, my loop hike here was a lot of fun with views of the river, forests, and open areas.

Leelanau State Park (August) - On the northern tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula is Leelanau State Park.  I enjoyed my quiet solo walk in the northern hardwoods for the Wolverine State, with a view of Cathead Bay on Lake Michigan as a bonus.

Robertson Mountain (September) - The two times I had been up Old Rag, I had noticed the trail up this mountain and wondered what it would be like.  Then answer - steep, scenic, and fun.  This was a loop in Shenandoah National Park, and at one point, I gained 1,700 feet in 1.5 miles, so bring your lungs.

The High Country of Virginia and Mount Rogers (October) - On the first day of my four day backpacking trip, I covered the very scenic and open high country of Southwest Virginia, and hiked to the top of our highest peak.  It was my third time up Mount Rogers and I had hiked some of the rest of this route before, but not for nearly 20 years.  What can you say - spruce-fir forest in Virginia?  And wild ponies as a bonus!

Lewis Fork Wilderness and Little Wilson Creek Wilderness (October) - I am counting the second and third days of my pack trip last month as one long hike for the purposes of meeting my goal.  The wonderful autumn forests and open mountain views made this hike a joy, and as a bonus, we had a tremendous camp site the second night of this part of the hike, and I heard a barred owl call.

Rocky Mount (October) - Back in Shenandoah National Park, this hike was almost 100% uphill or downhill, and a real aerobic workout.  The bonus was the incredible views from the summit of Rocky Mount.  Just amazing, with the fall foliage at peak!

Petersburg National Battlefield (November) - This circuit hike combined a lot of forest views with some open fields, and a lot of history, as this was the siege where Grant faced Lee for nine months, eventually wearing down Lee's army and winning the Civil War.  At many points along the hike, one can see old trench works and salients, along with some monuments to the brave men who fought here.  I'd been here before but not in the last 10 years, and never on this particular walk.

I enjoyed setting a hiking goal for myself this year, am grateful to have lived these last ten years, and am already thinking about a goal for 2013.

How Many Hikes Should My Mount Rogers Trip Count For?

So, you may remember that I have this goal for 2012 to hike 10 new places, 10 years after surviving cancer. So far, before October 11, I’d hiked to six new places this year. The question I posed is: for how many hikes should last week’s four day backpacking trip around Mount Rogers count? It could be as little as one hike (30 miles long over four days) or as many as four (four separate days of hiking).

After consideration, I think my trip should count as two hikes towards my goal of 10, so that puts me at eight hikes. I’ll count these as the first day of backpacking (from the start of the hike to a camping spot, and then up and back from Mount Rogers) as the first hike, and the second and third days of backpacking (through the Lewis Fork Wilderness and Little Wilson Creek Wilderness to our third night’s camping spot on beautiful Little Wilson Creek) as the second hike. Two hikes towards my goal for 10 out of a 30 mile trip seems reasonable to me.

A New Goal for 2012

I hadn't set a lot of goals for this year.  One I did establish was to run the Shamrock Half Marathon last March in Virginia Beach.  I wanted to do this as a 10 year cancer survivor, and also as a 60 year old.  Hey, I may be slow, but I bet less than 5% of 60 year olds can do a half marathon.  And I bet the percentage of 60 year old cancer survivors who can run a half marathon is even smaller.  I had another goal of doing a marathon this year, my fourth ever, but the knee pain I experienced in my left knee all through training this past winter and continuing after the Shamrock has convinced me that the goal of being able to walk at the end of the year trumps my goal of doing another marathon anytime soon.  Even so, I felt pangs when I was out walking today and ran into a neighbor who excitedly told me that she had signed on to run the Richmond Marathon in November - her first!

But the other day, I thought of a pretty cool goal for myself, one that I am excited about.  I want to, as a 10 year cancer survivor, hike 10 new trails- or at the least, places I have not been into for at least 10 years - by the end of the year.  To count, it has to be a real hike, not just a walk (like my Pittsburgh trip), and has to be at least five miles long (which rules out my hike in Pocahontas State Park earlier this year).  I'll also consider bike rides in the great outdoors or kayaking - but I have to use my own muscles for it to count.  I don't own a bike at this point, or a kayak, by the way.

I'm off to a good start with four new hikes this year so far:

Beach Church Rock - a wonderful hike Shenandoah National Park, with the bonus of seeing two black bears
St. Mary's Falls - a rugged and scenic hike in the George Washington National Forest
Sky Meadows State Park - beautiful scenery in the Blue Ridge foothills in Northwest Virginia
James River State Park - I didn't see another person on the trails of this park during my nine-miler this past Friday.

So, stay tuned!

What to do in My “Do It Now Decade”

Here’s where I would love some reader comments.

So, I just hit the Big Six-O! My friend Betty, who is 62, calls this the “Do It Now Decade.” Her line of reasoning is that the 60’s could be the last decade of your life where you are still vital and strong enough to really enjoy life. So if there are things you’ve been putting off, things you really want to do, then you’d better do them now. We could debate whether the 60’s is the last good decade of one’s life, but that is not the point. The point is that none of us really knows how much sand is in the top of that hourglass that we call our life. Sure, we can see all the sand piled up in the bottom – sixty years and two days worth in my case – but the top of the hourglass is painted the deepest midnight black. So don’t assume how much time is left – live it!Betty and two other friends bought me lunch today to celebrate, and Betty gave me a card and a tiny notebook with 80 pages in it. The notebook is maybe 2.5 by 3.5 inches. On the cover, she wrote “Art’s Do It Now Decade Notebook.” She said “Write down sixty things you want to do in the next 10 years, any order, anything. It might be something huge, or it might be a small thing – like visit a specific restaurant, write a poem. Write one thing per page, and as you do it, write some notes about it.”

I like this idea and started writing a few things in it already. It occurred to me that even though we assume we will live a full decade at age 60, nothing is guaranteed, so I may want to prioritize my final list. I also thought that there are definite categories of things that I would love to do over the next 60 years, such as travel, family, volunteer, athletic, personal growth, and outdoors to name some.

Since I love the outdoors so much, no doubt my “Do It Now Decade” list will have at least 15-20 things of that genre. It will take me a couple of weeks to list all 60 of my ideas, but when I do, I’ll share the outdoor oriented list items in this blog. In the meantime, what types of things would you love to do in the great outdoors in the next 10 years of your life? Take into account your interests, fitness level, finances, and time availability to come up with a list that is feasible for you. Make a blog comment to this post with the things you would like to do, or send me an email. Maybe I will get inspiration from things on your list and some of them will end up on mine!

I started my list today by writing on five pages of the little notebook. One of my initial five ideas is outdoors oriented – to backpack Isle Royale National Park again. There will be many more on there when I am finished.