Challenges

2019. The year I do a bunch of stuff. Lol.

It’s true. I’ve set out to do a few hiking challenges to keep me moving and to prep me for a most arduous task ahead–my 500ish-mile pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in the Fall. I’ll be walking the Camino Frances from the south of France through to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. But more on that in another post. For now, I’ll focus on completing two popular outdoor challenges in the hiking world: the 52 Hike Challenge and the Six-Pack of Peaks (SoCal edition).

I fell short of 52 hikes last year, but even so, what a year it was! I scaled Half Dome and lived to tell the tale. And moreover, I got to explore so many amazing local trails I never would have known about had it not been for setting a 52-hike goal. And while I didn’t officially register for the Six-Pack of Peaks, I tackled and summited half of them: Mt. Wilson, Mt. San Antonio (aka Mt. Baldy), and San Bernardino Peak. I never thought I’d bag a 10,000-ft peak and last year I did it twice!! This year, I hope to (unofficially) complete all six and if my body will allow, perhaps all 12, including the alternates.

Lastly, we come to the third challenge of the year. The one to tie them all together: the Ultimate Hiking Challenge. I’ve set out to hike a goal of 500 miles over the course of the year, most (if not all) to be completed during my Camino. While the SoCal rain has kept me indoors more than I like, I’ve trekked local trails and managed to log just under 35 miles to date. And I’m looking forward to documenting every adventure along the way!

So that’s it. That’s 2019 in a nutshell. I’ll be walking. A lot.

Do you have hiking goals this year? Tell me all about them! ⭐︎

And in the meantime, be sure to check out my occasional hiking vlogs (and give them a thumbs up! ♡).

All images Copyright 2019 Rachelle Smith. All rights reserved.