goals

52 Hikes With Mike - The Halfway Point

It's halfway through the year, anyway... I'm not where I want to be, but I'll be just fine.

I've been drastically unmotivated since April.  I'm about three hikes behind, but I have plans in place to make them up over the next quarter.  For some reason, I've been lazier than normal and it may have something to do with the climbing temps or lack of overall sleep in my life.  I haven't wanted to go hiking at any of my local haunts and I haven't been waking up early enough on the weekends to get in the car and get a few hours away.  I was struggling with this back in March and April, with little relief on the horizon - until now.  I have plenty of opportunities this summer to make up any lost time or distances.

Click here to see my post from April on the first quarter of hiking.

Halfway Point Goals

  • hike further
  • wake up early to beat the heat
  • get out of town on weekend morning days
  • include more cardio between hikes as well as adjust diet/alcohol intake

Halfway Point Statistics - they haven't changed too much since April

  • I'm 91 miles from my 2017 total distance
  • Of 19 hikes, 12 were solo, and 4 included my dog
  • I've been to 13 unique locations, 5 Texas State Parks, 5 states, and 2 NPS units
  • Each hike in 2018 has been enjoyable, so that's good
  • Total mileage is sitting around 122 with an average hike just over 6 miles
Halfway Update.jpg

Upcoming Hikes

  • June 13:  Tahquamenon Falls, Upper Peninsula, Michigan.  I'll be in town for my brother's wedding so I'm sneaking up to the UP to hike between the upper and lower falls!
  • July 2018:  My other half and I will adventure west with the remaining vacation days and I'm hoping to hike in a couple of National Parks
  • August 2018:  It's our 2nd annual BFF Adventure and I know we'll hike somewhere, location TBD at this point.  (I'm voting for Utah, California, or Colorado)
  • August 2018:  Quick trip to Michigan because I have a flight voucher that needs to be used and I will try to hike out near our cottage or maybe sneak away to the UP

Feel free to follow along or even tag along on a hike.  I am pretty open to pacing, locations, etc.  Contact me!  Have a great summer and enjoy the blog.

Revisiting the 2018 Goals

“Goals for 2018:

-Hike more than 300 miles
-Take longer hikes each week
-Include backpacking
-Hike to Guadalupe Peak in Guadalupe Mountains National Park
-Hike in Olympic National Park”
— Me, January 2018

It's time for my first quarterly update to assess the 2018 hiking season...

Statistics:

  • 14 hikes
  • 97.8 miles
  • 9 solo hikes
  • 5 companion hikes
  • 3 hikes with my dog
  • 10 unique locations
  • 3 unique states
  • 1 unique NPS unit
  • Enjoyed all 14!
  • 7 miles/hike average
  • 202 miles to hit 300 total
  • Shortest hike: 3.5 miles
  • Longest hike: 9.55 miles
  • 114.6 miles to reach my 2017 total

I'm currently headed towards a total of 360 miles, give or take, but still hoping to reach 400 as a super goal.  Honestly, I'll be happy with anything over 300 miles as long as they were all enjoyable.  I'm running into my usual blockage - finding it difficult to hike locally without dread.  I've enjoyed every hike, but the process of getting out is becoming more and more difficult each week.  Dallas-Fort Worth has a few great locations, but most of my hiking will require a bit of a drive to spice it up.  My 2018 go-to metro location is Eagle Mountain Park with my go-to state park being Dinosaur Valley.  As always, I'm open to people coming along though I often dread it because I sweat so much and irrationally fear judgment that probably will not happen anyway.

I've hit my goal of hiking in Olympic National Park and I even climbed up 1800 ft while there.  I'm ready to attempt the hike to Guadalupe Peak before summer or in the fall.  I've been taking longer hikes, and I really enjoy pushing myself beyond 7 miles - I don't even feel it now until about mile 8.  All in all, I am hoping to up the average and find a few new places in the near future.  Looking ahead to hike 19, I'll hopefully be trekking between the upper and lower Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Looking even further forward, we are possibly returning to Alaska this summer in July around hike 28 and 29.

Moving forward, I'm hoping to make more early Saturday morning drive to places a bit further out to get some new real adventure on the books over the next few months.  I can easily drive back up to Oklahoma or Arkansas and find a variety of trails within 4-5 hours if I want forested getaways.  If I want some desert landscape, I can push myself to drive to west Texas or even New Mexico to explore over the weekend.  Either way, the theme for the future is more adventure and less dragging my feet with getting up and out.

If you'd like to hike along, or have suggestions for me, contact me!  Hike your own hike and happy trails.

Goal: Tahquamenon Falls Hike (June 2018)

Alright people, I had a brilliant idea today... This June I have to go up to Michigan for my brother's wedding, so I'm going to make the most of the trip.  Since I'll be driving, I've decided I'm going to sneak away for a day and hike the trail between upper and lower Tahquamenon Falls.  If you don't know anything about Tahquamenon Falls, here are some details:

  • When pronouncing it, think "phenomenon"
  • It's a set of 2 falls, actually, located on the Tahquamenon River in the eastern portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula
  • The upper falls are just shy of 50 feet tall and 200 feet wide
  • The lower falls are located about 4 miles downstream from the upper falls, and aren't as tall but are still gorgeous
  • There is a trail between the two falls that is part of the North Country Trail
  • The falls are a tourist attraction all year (I like them best in the winter, personal preference)
  • You can learn more on the Michigan DNR page found here

When I was up in Michigan for Christmas, I had plans to visit the falls but wasn't able to do so because of a strong winter storm.  The Mackinac Bridge (connecting the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan) often closes or requires escorts if the weather gets too bad and I didn't want to risk being stuck* in the Upper Peninsula.  I'm determined to hike this trail, though, and will go alone if I have to this summer to do the 10 mile trek there and back.  If you'd like to join me on this trail, and will be in Michigan, contact me and I'll share the dates I'll be there.  It's likely this hike will be number 24 in the journey, but that is just an estimate.

Photo taken of the Upper Tahquamenon Falls in December 2015

*Disclaimer: there is nothing wrong with being stuck in the Upper Peninsula, I just didn't want to spend the money on a hotel or extra food.

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