60 Hikes in 2012

As part of my effort to live a more healthy lifestyle I wanted to set a fitness goal for 2012. My friend Cheri inspired me when she set a fitness goal in 2011 to bike, walk, or ellyptical her way to her sisters' front door steps out-of-state.  What an accomplishment when she reached that goal! I thought to myself, I need a fitness goal to get myself more active again, but what could it be...? While Christmas shopping at a book store I came upon the book 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Cincinnati by Tamara York.  This is it! I have my fitness goal.  I will hike all of the recommended hikes in the book in 2012.  I purchased the book and got to reading. Then reality set in! Thoughts started running through my head: 60 hikes! That's more than one hike a week! What about the winter months and bad weather? I don't know anything about hiking. What makes me think I can accomplish these hikes with my already crazy schedule? Are you nuts?!?!?  Then, I thought isn't that what a fitness goal is all about? Setting a goal that is challenging and seems almost out of reach, so that there is a real sense of accomplishment once you've achieved it? I started sharing the idea with friends and family. I got several offers from people saying, "I don't want to do one hike a week, but I might join you on a hike or two?"

This blog will serve as a place for me to share about my transformation from being an inexperienced hiker to hopefully an experienced one.  I will share pictures, stories, and tidbits about the different trails that I hike. As I share pitfalls and successes, I hope that others will learn from them. I also hope that readers will comment and share with me what they have learned from their own personal hiking experiences and will thus make a collective contribution to my transformation.

Today I bought my first pair of hiking boots. This was a lengthy process. I wanted something that would keep my feet dry and would also be comfortable. The first store I went to (a large sporting goods chain) didn't have a pair for under $110. Wow! This is going to be an investment. I shopped around at other stores. Many didn't carry women's shoes. I finally settled for a pair of Columbia women's hiking boots that I got for a bargain at $69. I am hopeful to be blister free! I will report back about this after my first couple of hikes!

My next task will be to create a schedule for the hikes. With my book in hand and my calendar by my side, here I go!!!!