Enter the 365 Mile Challenge, which I first read about over at Hike Like a Woman. Rebecca wrote, You can get miles by walking, biking, snowshoeing, hiking, cross-country skiing, kayaking, whatever “self-propelled” outdoor activity of your choosing. Walking your kids to school. Riding your bike around the block. A weekend backpacking trip. Those miles all count. You just gotta be outdoors and moving. You can do a mile a day... or 7 miles a week, or save your 365 miles for a long thru-hike. The point is just to crush 365 miles.
I have never tracked my miles over an entire year, so I didn't know if this would actually be challenging or not. However, the idea really appealed to me, in part because I have set up spreadsheets to do this very thing before (well, not to participate in a challenge, per se, just the part about tracking my miles over a calendar year). Unfortunately, I never stuck it out -- the tracking, I mean. I've always entered data for a month or two, then missed a few days and given up. I am hoping that participating in the challenge will motivate me to keep better records. I am taking the rules literally and tracking all self-propelled outdoor miles. I ride the bus to work four days a week, which means I am counting the distances I walk from home to the corner bus stop, from my downtown bus stop to the office, etc.
As the early numbers came in, it became clear that I would indeed crush this challenge, but with a lot of padding from the commuting miles. And those are not what interest me the most, of course. So I am keeping a running tally of my total outdoor miles, with separate tallies for each category of self-propelled outdoor miles (hiking vs. walking vs. biking, etc.). I will post weekly updates here to keep myself accountable. If I am successful in my record keeping, I will end the year with an understanding of just how much I am hiking. And then next year? Maybe I can hike even more.
Week 1. January 1 - 7, 2017
- Weekly Total: 16.8 miles
- Hike: 10.3 miles (NCT: Cazenovia Gorge; Woodchuck Hill Preserve; NCT: Lenox Basin to Canastota)
- Walk: 6.5 miles (commute, Pokémon walk w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 16.8 miles
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| out hunting Pokémon |
Week 2. January 8 - 14, 2017
- Weekly Total: 9.1 miles
- Hike: 2.4 miles (NCT: Cheningo Day Use Area)
- Walk: 6.7 miles (commute, neighborhood walk w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 25.9 miles
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| downtown sunrise |
- Weekly Total: 18.2 miles
- Hike: 8.3 miles (Cathedral Rock Fire Tower; NCT: Lenox Basin to Durhamville)
- Walk: 9.9 miles (commute, Pokémon walk w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 44.1 miles
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| Frankie loves to play Pokémon Go with Erwin |
Week 4. January 22 - 28, 2017
- Weekly Total: 18.1 miles
- Hike: 7.8 miles (NCT: Route 46 to Stacy Basin)
- Walk: 10.3 miles (commute, Pokémon walk w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 62.2 miles
Week 5. January 29 - February 4, 2017
- Weekly Total: 11.0 miles
- Hike: 0.9 miles (Butternut Creek Trail w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Walk: 10.1 miles (commute, neighborhood walks)
- Grand Total: 73.2 miles
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| Butternut Creek Trail |
Week 6. February 5 - 11, 2017
- Weekly Total: 13.8 miles
- Hike: 6.5 miles (NCT: Circle Drive to Stacy Basin)
- Walk: 7.3 miles (commute, neighborhood walks)
- Grand Total: 87.0 miles
Week 7. February 12 - 18, 2017
- Weekly Total: 6.3 miles
- Walk: 6.3 miles (commute, Pokémon walks w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 93.3 miles
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| this walk included a stop for dinner |
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| Onondaga Creekwalk |
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| Skaneateles Lake |
Week 8. February 19 - 25, 2017
- Weekly Total: 13.4 miles
- Hike: 5.7 miles (Beaver Lake; Chimney Bluffs; Clark Reservation)
- Walk: 7.7 miles (commute, Pokémon walks w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 106.7 miles
Week 9. February 26 - March 4, 2017
- Weekly Total: 8.6 miles
- Hike: 3.0 miles (Green Lakes)
- Walk: 5.6 miles (commute, basketball game, Pokémon walks)
- Grand Total: 115.3 miles
Week 10. March 5 - 11, 2017
- Weekly Total: 14.1 miles
- Hike: 5.9 miles (NCT: West River Road to Cortland 9 Road)
- Walk: 8.2 miles (commute, neighborhood walk w/Frankie, Pokémon walk w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 129.4 miles
Week 11. March 12 - 18, 2017
- Weekly Total: 8.4 miles
- Walk: 8.4 miles (commute, walk to drugstore w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 137.8 miles
Week 12. March 19 - 25, 2017
- Weekly Total: 7.7 miles
- Snowshoe: 2.2 Miles (BLNC: Southern Exposure Trail)
- Walk: 5.5 miles (commute, neighborhood walk w/Frankie, Pokémon walk w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 145.5 miles
Week 13. March 26 - April 1, 2017
- Weekly Total: 16.2 miles
- Hike: 8.8 miles (NCT: Circle Drive to Erie Canal Village)
- Walk: 7.4 miles (commute, Pokémon walk w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 161.7 miles
Week 14. April 2 - 8, 2017
- Weekly Total: 12.1 miles
- Hike: 6.9 miles (Three Rivers; NCT: Cheningo Day Use Area)
- Walk: 5.2 miles (commute, neighborhood walks w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 173.8 miles
Week 15. April 9 - 15, 2017
- Weekly Total: 33.5 miles
- Hike: 11.6 miles (Jones Hill & Tinker Falls; NCT: Cheningo Solon Road to Wiltsey Glen)
- Walk: 12.0 miles (commute, neighborhood walk w/Frankie, Pokémon walks w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Bike: 9.9 miles (neighborhood, solo)
- Grand Total: 207.3 miles
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| Volcano!! |
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| fig buttercup (Ficaria verna) |
- Weekly Total: 6.2 miles
- Hike: 1.6 miles (Woodchuck Hill Preserve; neighborhood woods)
- Walk: 4.6 miles (commute, Earth Day clean up w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 213.5 miles
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| mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) |
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| "fishing" |
Week 17. April 23 - 29, 2017
- Weekly Total: 10.9 miles
- Hike: 3.7 miles (Great Bear; Beaver Lake)
- Walk: 7.2 miles (commute, neighborhood walk w/Frankie, Onondaga Lake Park)
- Grand Total: 224.4 miles
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| we walked to the drugstore to get prints made |
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| Onondaga Lake Park |
- Weekly Total: 9.7 miles
- Hike: 1.6 miles (Clark Reservation)
- Walk: 8.1 miles (commute, work, morel foray w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 234.1 miles
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| katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) |
Week 19. May 7 - 13, 2017
- Weekly Total: 19.6 miles
- Hike: 9.7 miles (Green Lakes; NCT: Telephone Road to Cheningo Day Use Area)
- Walk: 9.9 miles (commute, morel foray w/Frankie, Pokémon walks w/Erwin and Frankie, Howe Caverns w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 253.7 miles
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| Howe Caverns |
Week 20. May 14 - 20, 2017
- Weekly Total: 13.0 miles
- Walk: miles (commute, walk home from car shop, Pokémon walks w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 266.7 miles
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| Barry Park |
Week 21. May 21 - 27, 2017
- Weekly Total: 13.0 miles
- Hike: 2.2 miles (Pinery Provincial Park: Riverside & Wilderness Trails)
- Walk: 10.8 miles (commute, neighborhood walks w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 279.7 miles
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| Seneca snakeroot (Polygala senega) |
Week 22. May 28 - June 3, 2017
- Weekly Total: 10.4 miles
- Hike: 3.6 miles (Pinery Provincial Park: Cedar and Carolinian Trails)
- Walk: 6.8 miles (commute, Pokémon walk w/Erwin and Frankie, Onondaga Lake Park w/Frankie, Erin, and Alden)
- Grand Total: 290.1 miles
Week 23. June 4 - 10, 2017
- Weekly Total: 14.1 miles
- Hike: 7.6 miles (FLT/NCT: Baker School House State Forest; Three Rivers)
- Walk: 6.5 miles (commute, Pokémon walk w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 304.2 miles
Week 24. June 11 - 17, 2017
- Weekly Total: 15.7 miles
- Hike: 2.8 miles (Rocky Mountain, Bald Mountain)
- Walk: 12.9 miles (commute, Munich, Mittenwald)
- Grand Total: 319.9 miles
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| Fischbrunnen |
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| view of Munich from St. Peter's Church tower |
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| Mittenwald |
- Weekly Total: 39.4 miles
- Hike: 23.4 miles (Hoher Kranzberg, Neuschwanstein, Karwendel, Wank, Leutasch Gorge, Nordkette)
- Walk: 16.0 miles (Mittenwald, Neuschwanstein, Innsbruck)
- Grand Total: 359.3 miles
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| Mittenwald |
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| Innsbruck |
- Weekly Total: 30.2 miles
- Hike: 22.4 miles (Civetta, Lagazuoi, Cinque Torri, Puez-Odle Altopiano)
- Walk: 7.8 miles (Innsbruck, Santa Fosca, Venice)
- Grand Total: 389.5 miles
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| Goldenes Dachl, Innsbruck |
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| the Giant, Swarovski Kristallwelten |
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| Crystal Cloud, Swarovski Kristallwelten |
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| Labyrinth, Swarovski Kristallwelten |
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| dropping off recyclables on the way to dinner, Santa Fosca |
- Weekly Total: 19.0 miles
- Walk: 19.0 miles (Venice, commute, neighborhood walks w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 408.5 miles
Week 28. July 9 - 15, 2017
- Weekly Total: 25.4 miles
- Walk: 12.0 miles (commute, Cascadilla Gorge & Cornell w/Erwin and Frankie, neighborhood walks w/Frankie)
- Bike: 13.4 miles (neighborhood, solo)
- Grand Total: 433.9 miles
Week 29. July 16 - 22, 2017
- Weekly Total: 17.7 miles
- Hike: 4.6 miles (Hoxie Gorge State Forest, Clark Reservation)
- Walk: 13.1 miles (commute, neighborhood walks w/Frankie, Pokémon walks w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 451.6 miles
Week 30. July 23 - 29, 2017
- Weekly Total: 33.0 miles
- Hike 5.4 miles (Black Bear Mountain)
- Walk: 6.6 miles (commute, Pokémon walk w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Bike: 21.0 miles (neighborhood bikes rides, solo and w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 484.6 miles
Week 31. July 30 - August 5, 2017
- Weekly Total: 16.7 miles
- Hike 2.1 miles (Stillwater Mountain Fire Tower)
- Walk: 7.1 miles (commute, neighborhood walk w/Frankie)
- Bike: 7.5 miles (neighborhood bike rides w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 501.3 miles
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| Jigglypuff rode on the backpack |
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| waiting for a milkshake |
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| Seneca River |
- Weekly Total: 20.1 miles
- Hike 15.8 miles (Butternut Creek Trail, solo; Gothics, Armstrong & Upper Wolf Jaws; Three Rivers)
- Walk: 2.7 miles (commute; walk to Stewart's w/Frankie, Bruce, and Daisy)
- Bike: 1.6 miles (neighborhood bike ride w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 521.4 miles
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| Butternut Creek Trail |
Week 33. August 13 - 19, 2017
- Weekly Total: 8.6 miles
- Hike 3.6 miles (Fellows Hill Loop)
- Walk: 0.8 miles (work breaks)
- Bike: 4.2 miles (neighborhood bike ride w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 530.0 miles
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| low mileage week due to carpooling these two from camp -- totally worth it! |
- Weekly Total: 8.6 miles
- Hike 4.1 miles (work delineation; Great Bear)
- Walk: 4.5 miles (commute, neighborhood walks w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 538.6 miles
Week 35. August 27 - September 2, 2017
- Weekly Total: 16.0 miles
- Hike 9.4 miles (work survey, Poke-o-Moonshine, Giant)
- Walk: 2.4 miles (commute, neighborhood walk w/Frankie, Lake Placid)
- Bike: 4.2 miles (neighborhood ride w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 554.6 miles
Week 36. September 3 - 9, 2017
- Weekly Total: 25.0 miles
- Hike 0.9 miles (Beaver Lake)
- Walk: 6.8 miles (commute, neighborhood walks w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Bike: 17.3 miles (neighborhood rides, solo and w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 579.6 miles
Week 37. September 10 - 16, 2017
- Weekly Total: 26.8 miles
- Hike 3.0 miles (Green Lakes)
- Walk: 9.3 miles (commute, work: roadside survey)
- Bike: 14.5 miles (neighborhood rides w/Frankie; Erie Canal: Ryder Park to 290 w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 606.4 miles
Week 38. September 17 - 23, 2017
- Weekly Total: 16.1 miles
- Hike 9.2 miles (FLT/NCT: Underwood Hill; Clark Reservation)
- Walk: 6.9 miles (commute, work)
- Grand Total: 622.5 miles
Week 39. September 24 - 30, 2017
- Weekly Total: 20.9 miles
- Hike 7.4 miles (FLT/NCT: Taylor Valley State Forest)
- Walk: 7.3 miles (commute, neighborhood walks w/Frankie)
- Bike 6.2 miles (Erie Canal: Manlius Center/290 to Kirkville Road w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 643.4 miles
Week 40. October 1 - 7, 2017
- Weekly Total: 11.9 miles
- Hike 8.8 miles (Clark Reservation; work survey)
- Walk: 3.1 miles (commute, Pokémon walk w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 655.3 miles
Week 41. October 8 - 14, 2017
- Weekly Total: 11.1 miles
- Hike 6.8 miles (North Pack Monadnock; work survey)
- Walk: 2.2 miles (commute)
- Bike: 2.2 miles (neighborhood ride w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 666.5 miles
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| common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) |
Week 42. October 15 - 21, 2017
- Weekly Total: 24.4 miles
- Hike 6.9 miles (FLT/NCT: Hoxie Gorge State Forest)
- Walk: 10.7 miles (commute, neighborhood and Pokémon walks w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Bike 6.8 miles (Erie Canal: Kirkville Road to Bolivar Road w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 690.9 miles
Week 43. October 22 - 28, 2017
- Weekly Total: 18.1 miles
- Hike 10.7 miles (FLT/NCT: Hoxie Gorge State Forest; Enchanted Beaver Lake)
- Walk: 7.4 miles (commute, neighborhood and Pokémon walks w/Erwin and Frankie)
- Grand Total: 709.0 miles
Week 44. October 29 - November 4, 2017
- Weekly Total: 8.0 miles
- Hike 2.0 miles (Skytop Quarry)
- Walk: 6.0 miles (commute, neighborhood walks w/Frankie and Mary, trick-or-treating)
- Grand Total: 717.0 miles
Week 45. November 5 - 11, 2017
- Weekly Total: 14.9 miles
- Hike 8.6 miles (Chittenango Falls; NCT: Constantine Bridge Road to Tioughnioga WMA trailhead)
- Walk: 6.3 miles (commute, neighborhood walk)
- Grand Total: 731.9 miles
Week 46. November 12 - 18, 2017
- Weekly Total: 15.3 miles
- Hike 9.9 miles (BLNC: Deep Woods & Lakeview Trails w/Frankie; NCT: Two Link Trail Roadwalks)
- Walk: 5.4 miles (commute, neighborhood walk w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 747.2 miles
Week 47. November 19 - 25, 2017
- Weekly Total: 16.9 miles
- Walk: 5.5 miles (commute; neighborhood walk w/Frankie; Kiawah Island w/Erwin, Frankie)
- Bike: 9.1 miles (Kiawah Island w/Erwin, Frankie)
- Kayak: 2.3 miles (Cassique Boathouse to Captain Sam's Inlet)
- Grand Total: 764.1 miles
Week 48. November 26 - December 2, 2017
- Weekly Total: 15.5 miles
- Walk: 8.1 miles (commute; neighborhood walk w/Erwin, Frankie)
- Hike: 7.4 miles (NCT: Durhamville & Cazenovia)
- Grand Total: 779.6 miles
Week 49. December 3 - 9, 2017
- Weekly Total: 17.9 miles
- Walk: 8.6 miles (commute; neighborhood and Pokémon walks w/Erwin, Frankie)
- Hike: 9.3 miles (FLT/NCT: West River Road; BLNC: Hemlock Hollow & Bog Trails)
- Grand Total: 797.5 miles
Week 50. December 10 - 16, 2017
- Weekly Total: 7.1 miles
- Walk: 7.1 miles (commute; neighborhood walks w/Frankie)
- Grand Total: 804.6 miles
Week 51. December 17 - 23, 2017
- Weekly Total: 7.7 miles
- Hike: 2.1 miles (Woodchuck Hill Preserve w/Erwin, Frankie)
- Walk: 5.6 miles (commute; zoo w/Frankie; neighborhood walk w/Erwin, Frankie)
- Grand Total: 812.3 miles
Week 52. December 24 - 30, 2017 (+ December 31)
- Weekly (+1) Total: 5.7 miles
- Hike: 0.9 miles (Beaver Lake)
- Walk: 4.8 miles (commute; neighborhood walk w/Frankie, Mary)
- Grand Total: 818.0 miles
And that's a wrap! With a cumulative total of 818 outdoor self-propelled miles, I definitely feel like I crushed this challenge. I am proud of myself for sticking with the mileage tracking; I developed a good system and tracked my miles through a combination of the free Map my Ride app and a spreadsheet I created. Despite my original perception that the 365 Mile Challenge might be more difficult than the NCT 100 Challenge, actually getting the miles turned out to be a cinch - it was almost too easy for me! I surpassed the 365-mile mark, without even noticing, on a hike in the Dolomites in June. Once I got home and entered all my miles into my spreadsheet, I decided I would stick with the tracking the entire year even though I had already officially finished the challenge. I thought it would be fun to see if I could get to 730 miles, thereby officially completing the challenge twice. I hit that milestone in November, again with ease.
By activity category, the mileage breaks out to 295.6 hiking miles, 400.0 walking miles, 117.9 biking miles, 2.2 snowshoeing miles, and 2.3 kayaking miles. June, July and September were my highest mileage months. The increased June mileage was driven by being on vacation; I definitely have more time for outdoor activities when I am not at work. Plus, we were on an awesome trip in Europe, and did a lot of incredible hiking and a good amount of city walking, too. The July and September mileage spikes were driven by increased biking. Bike miles add up fast! December was my lowest mileage month, but that was no surprise. The holidays always manage to consume far more time and energy than I would like.
However, because 365 miles was so ridiculously easy for me, I was seriously questioning whether I should bother enrolling again in 2018. I started to think that maybe this isn't the challenge for me; maybe the target was supposed to be new hikers, people just getting started? Older people? People doing all their hiking with babies or toddlers? [Because I know how that goes... just a few short years ago, I would never have been able to rack up 818 miles.]
Ultimately, I did sign up again for 2018. I think it will encourage me to keep going, both (1) to keep tracking, and (2) because I have a baseline now, to try to beat some of those 2017 mileage numbers. As I said, I don't really care about the commuter miles (i.e., my walks to bus stops), simply because they are so routine. I do count them, though, because they are outside and self-propelled, and intentional. I don't count shoveling and yard work and other incidentals, because they aren't intentional miles, and I definitely don't count anything indoors. However, I could very easily drive my car to work and park in a garage right across from the office and get zero commuter miles. I count those miles because I choose to ride the bus and get that mile a day of walking each day.
The numbers I want to beat are all the others. Hiking? Hell, yeah. Obviously! 295.6 miles is so close to 300, which sounds better simply by virtue of being a round number. I would love to do a full 365 miles just of hiking, but I don't know if that is feasible because I'm already hiking most every chance I get. Biking, snowshoeing, kayaking? Yes, more of those, please! And I would like to introduce a few different activities, as well, particularly canoeing and cross-country skiing, which I haven't done in years. I am not competing with anyone but myself, but why not do more? Being active outside is what I like best in this world, after all, along with traveling and reading books. Plus, I convinced Erin to sign up for 2018, too. So it will be another fun year of tracking miles in 2018. Woot woot!
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