52 Hike Challenge

2020 was the first year I did this challenge. I signed up for it that year but in 2021 I did it by myself. Their whole premise is to get out and take a hike at least once a week for the whole year. This gave me great motivation to get out and hike.

I started the challenge in March as I found the website too late in the year to start in January. I did hikes as I could. I would do a few one week and if I had a busy work week I'd skip a week or two. I finished up in October. My personal rules were no hikes shorter than one mile, and no repeating a hike. So I found 52 different hikes! I have to say it got me outside and moving in a year that will be remembered for lockdowns. There were days I had off and knew I really should go take a hike even though I had no motivation. Not once did I regret getting out on the trail.

I downloaded the AllTrails app and sprung for the Pro version. It's been a great app to help me find hikes wherever I happen to be. I have a list of hikes I want to take saved in that app!

52 different hikes. Some were very memorable and some were not but it gave me a purpose, exercise and a sense of accomplishment. I think my favorite hike that first year was the Cornish Estate. I'll be doing a separate post on that hike. Some photos of my 2020 52 hikes:

New River Gorge G. Washington Bridge, NYC Percival Island Lynchburg

Cliff Dale Mansion, NJ Minewaska State Pk, NY High Point, NJ

In 2021 I started my 52 hike challenge in January. I am not a big fan of winter hiking but I got out of my comfort zone and did just a few in the winter. I finished up in the end of September. My goal was to do 52 different hikes but I repeated one from 2020 only because my phone was stolen right off the front seat of my car (while I was in it - gotta love NYC) and I had not backed up my pictures. One important lesson learned... I'm not a fan of the cloud but now all photos are backed up automatically to goggle photos. I redid the Cornish Estate hike to get new photos.

I found it easier to get out and hike this year. There were less days of no motivation to hike and more days of anticipation of hiking one of the many hikes I would like to do at some point in the future. I also challenged myself and did more challenging hikes and longer hikes. I would like to be a 46er at some point which is a person who has hiked all 46 of the High Peaks in the Adirondacks. I hiked two of those this year! There are many of this kind of group. In the Catskills it's the 3500 club - climbing all 35 peaks but with the added twist of hiking four of them in the winter.

Here are a few pics from 2021:

Vernon Boardwalk, NJ Ft. Raleigh, NC Goblin Valley St Pk, UT

Grand Canyon of the Gunnison NP, CO The Narrows, Zion NP Devils Bathtub, VA

Next year I plan on doing 52 different hikes. If I repeat one that I've done in the past two years I will not be counting it as one of my 52. I plan to do more National Parks, continue to hike more challenging and longer hikes. My motivation for this is one of my bucket list items - hike the Appalachian Trail. I will have to section hike it because of responsibilities at home but it's a goal!!!

So if you want to do something different, accomplish something you can brag about, or need motivation to get outside the 52 Hike Challenge is definitely an avenue to consider whether you join officially or just keep track of your own hikes! Looking forward to hearing great things from you!

What I'm drinking today:

White Christmas from Wegmans - an east coast grocery store chain that started in Rochester, NY

I look forward to this flavor every Christmas season!