https://www.facebook.com/749987151529250/

Hiking Over 50, Boise, ID (2026)

09/29/2026

🥾 DON’T MEASURE TODAY’S EFFORT AGAINST YOUR BEST

This is something I've had to remind myself of lately.

Before my surgery and the time away from training, I was averaging 50+ miles a week. A 10-mile training day wasn't unusual. Fifteen miles wasn't unusual. There were days I'd go 20 miles or more.

Now I'm easing my way back into it.

And here's where your mind can mess with you.

You go out and walk six miles and instead of thinking:

“I just walked six miles.”

You think:

“I ONLY walked six miles.”

Why?

Because you're comparing what you did today to what you were capable of doing at your best.

I think we all do this.

Maybe you used to hike 15 miles and now five is tough.

Maybe you used to climb mountains and right now you're walking around your neighborhood.

Maybe you were in great shape a few years ago and life got in the way.

Maybe you're just getting started and see other people posting 20-mile hikes and wonder if your two miles even count.

They count.

I've realized there's a much better comparison.

DON'T MEASURE TODAY'S EFFORT AGAINST YESTERDAY'S BEST.
MEASURE IT AGAINST DOING NOTHING.

Six miles versus the 15 miles I used to do?

Doesn't sound very impressive.

Six miles versus sitting in the recliner?

That's a pretty damn good day. 😂

And tomorrow maybe it's another six.

Then eight.

Then ten.

Eventually I'll get back to those longer training days.

But I'm not going to beat myself up because I'm not there today.

Progress doesn't always mean doing more than you've ever done before.

Sometimes progress is simply getting back out there.

So if you're starting over, coming back from an injury, rebuilding your fitness, or you've just fallen out of the routine...

Stop comparing yourself to the best version of you.

Do what you can today.

Then do it again tomorrow.

Because something is still a whole lot better than nothing.

🥾 What did YOU do today instead of doing nothing?

09/28/2026

⏳ YOU BLINK… AND ANOTHER MONTH IS GONE

We've talked quite a bit about starting.

Starting the walking program.

Starting to exercise.

Planning the trip.

Taking the hike.

Doing that thing you've been telling yourself you're going to do.

And one of the biggest reasons we put things off is because we're waiting for the perfect time.

When work slows down.

When the weather gets better.

When we lose a little weight.

When we have more money.

When life isn't quite so busy.

But there's something else I've really started noticing as I've gotten older.

TIME GOES INCREDIBLY FAST.

Seriously.

You blink and it's Friday.

You blink again and another month is gone.

Then somehow you're taking down Christmas decorations that you swear you just put away about three weeks ago. 😂

And the older I get, the faster it seems to happen.

That's what makes waiting for the perfect time so dangerous.

Because saying “I'll do it next month” doesn't seem like a big deal.

Until next month becomes next spring.

Next spring becomes next year.

And eventually you look back and realize you've been talking about doing something for five years.

I've become much more aware of this since retirement.

There are places I want to see.

Trails I want to hike.

Things I want to try.

And at 62, I'm not going to pretend that I have unlimited time to get around to all of them.

None of us do.

That doesn't mean we should panic about getting older.

I think it means exactly the opposite.

USE THE TIME YOU HAVE.

Make the reservation.

Take the trip.

Start walking.

Call the person.

Learn something new.

Put the trail on the calendar.

And if the big thing isn't possible yet, start doing the little things that move you toward it.

Because there's probably never going to be a morning when everything magically lines up and life announces:

“Okay, today's perfect. You can start now.”

Sometimes you've just got to start while life is still messy.

Because whether you start or not...

the month is going to pass anyway.

And lately, that may be one of the biggest motivations I've found.

I don't want to keep saying:

“Someday I'm going to…”

I want to be able to say:

“I'm glad I did.”

🥾 What's something you've been saying you're going to do “someday” that you need to finally put on the calendar?

09/25/2026

🥾 WEEKEND CHALLENGE – THE ONE-MILE, ONE-INTENTION CHALLENGE 🥾

This weekend, before you take your first step, pick one thing you want to leave behind on the trail.

Maybe it's stress.

Maybe it's something that's been worrying you.

Maybe it's frustration from a long week.

Maybe you simply need an hour where you're not thinking about everything that needs to be done Monday morning.

Then hike your first mile without trying to solve anything.

No checking your pace.

No worrying about your mileage.

No trying to beat yesterday's time.

Just walk.

When you reach that first mile, stop for a minute.

Look around.

Take a drink of water.

And ask yourself one simple question:

"Am I carrying the same thing in my head that I was carrying when I started?"

Maybe the answer is yes.

Maybe it's no.

Either one is okay.

Then keep hiking.

This weekend's challenge isn't about how many miles you cover, how much elevation you gain, or how fast you get back to the trailhead.

It's about giving yourself one mile to clear your head.

When you're finished, come back and tell us:

🥾 What was your intention when you started your first mile?

You don't have to tell us what you were trying to leave behind unless you want to.

Sometimes just getting outside and putting one foot in front of the other is enough.

Hiking Over 50
Adventures Are What Count

09/24/2026

🥾 WHO HAVE YOU PASSED IT ALONG TO?

A couple of days ago I asked the question:

Who taught you to love the outdoors?

For me, that love started when I was a kid. My grandparents took me camping in their little travel trailer, and I spent a lot of time roaming the wooded Mississippi River bluffs with my cousin.

But that got me thinking about the other side of the question.

Have you passed that love along to someone else?

For me, I think one of those people is my sister, Lisa.

Somehow—and I'm still not exactly sure how I pulled this off 😂—I convinced her that it would be a good idea to train for months and go hike the Grand Canyon with me.

That's a pretty big leap from saying, “Hey, want to go for a hike?”

Suddenly we're talking about training miles, hiking shoes, packs, hydration, elevation, Arizona heat and preparing to climb thousands of feet back out of a very large hole in the ground. 😂

But she did it.

She trained.

She put in the miles.

And last year, when our original Grand Canyon plans were changed by the North Rim fire, we adjusted and still went.

We stood together looking into that canyon.

We hiked down into it.

We reached the Colorado River.

And then we turned around and climbed all the way back out.

That's an experience I'll never forget—and I'm pretty sure it's one she won't either.

It also makes me think about how the love of the outdoors gets passed from one person to another.

My grandparents probably had no idea when they were taking a little kid camping all those years ago that they were planting something that would still be part of my life more than 50 years later.

And now maybe I've passed a little bit of that along myself.

It doesn't have to be something as big as the Grand Canyon.

Maybe you took your child on their first hike.

Maybe you introduced a grandchild to camping.

Maybe you convinced your spouse to start walking with you.

Maybe you invited a friend who had never considered themselves a “hiker.”

Sometimes all it takes is one invitation.

And years from now, they may be the person answering the question:

“Who taught you to love the outdoors?”

And their answer might be...

YOU. ❤️🥾

💬 YOUR TURN

Who have YOU passed your love of hiking or the outdoors along to?

And even better—what adventure did you take them on that made it stick?

09/23/2026

🥾 A REMINDER ABOUT SOMETHING EVERY HIKER NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF — YOUR FEET

I wanted to retouch on something we've talked about before because my return to training has given me a pretty good reminder of just how important it is.

Foot care.

As I ease back into training after my surgery, I've taken almost a full month off from my normal routine.

Before all of this, I was averaging around 50 miles+ a week, so I was curious how much fitness I would lose during the downtime.

So far, I honestly don't feel like I've lost that much.

My legs feel pretty good. My endurance doesn't seem too far off.

But there's one part of my body that apparently enjoyed the vacation a little too much.

MY FEET. 😂

Those calluses that had built up from thousands of training miles?

They softened up in a hurry.

And now even relatively short 6-mile hikes at a very moderate pace are creating a few tender spots that weren't there a month ago.

It's something I really hadn't thought much about.

We think about losing cardiovascular fitness when we take time off.

We think about losing strength.

We worry about our legs.

But your feet become conditioned to hiking too.

The skin toughens. Calluses develop. Your feet get accustomed to hours inside your shoes, the repetitive movement and all those miles.

Take enough time off and some of that conditioning disappears surprisingly fast.

And it has reminded me of one of the simplest rules I've learned from long-distance hiking:

TAKE CARE OF A SMALL FOOT PROBLEM WHILE IT'S STILL SMALL.

If you feel a hot spot developing, don't tell yourself you'll check it in another couple of miles.

Stop.

Take the shoe off.

Check your foot.

Straighten or change the sock.

Adjust the laces.

Cover the area if necessary.

Give your feet a few minutes to cool down and dry out.

I've learned this is especially important hiking here on the Gulf Coast because I'm a heavy sweater. On a long summer hike, eventually my socks and shoes are going to get wet.

Wet, softened skin combined with mile after mile of friction can turn something insignificant into something that makes every step miserable.

And don't forget that our feet can swell during a long hiking day. A shoe that feels perfect at mile one may feel completely different many hours later.

That's why training isn't only about getting your heart, lungs and legs ready.

You're training your feet too.

Right now, that's exactly what I'm doing again.

I'm not trying to jump immediately back into 15- or 20-mile days.

Six miles.

See how everything feels.

Let the feet toughen back up.

Then gradually start adding the miles again.

Because I've learned something over all these training miles:

Your legs can be willing to keep going.
Your lungs can be willing to keep going.
Your mind can be willing to keep going.

But if your feet are done...

you're probably done too. 😂🥾

So here's your reminder—take care of the two things that have to carry you all the way back to the trailhead.

🥾 What have you found works best for keeping your feet happy on long hiking days?

09/22/2026

🍂 IT’S OFFICIALLY FALL! 🥾🏈

Today is the first day of fall, and I don't know about everybody else, but this might be my favorite time of year.

Football is back.

The days are getting shorter.

The leaves will soon start changing.

And hopefully—especially for those of us who have spent the summer hiking through heat and humidity—the temperatures will finally start heading in the right direction. 😂

For hikers, fall is pretty hard to beat.

Cool mornings.

Lower humidity.

Fewer bugs.

Changing leaves.

And that first morning when you step outside and realize you actually need another layer instead of immediately starting to sweat.

After months of training here on the Gulf Coast in some pretty brutal conditions, I'm ready for that morning!

There's also something about fall that makes me want to explore. Maybe it's knowing that those beautiful fall colors only stick around for a short time. It gives you a reason to get outside while they're here.

Of course, fall creates another problem...

🥾 Hiking vs. 🏈 Football

Now we're faced with the important decisions in life.

Do you stay home Saturday and watch football?

Or do you hit the trail?

Fortunately, I've discovered there's a third option:

HIKE EARLY AND BE HOME BY KICKOFF. 😂

Problem solved.

So welcome to fall, everybody.

Get those hiking shoes ready.

Throw an extra layer in the pack.

Find somewhere you've been wanting to explore.

Because some of the best hiking weather of the entire year is right around the corner. 🍂🥾

And then get home, put your feet up, grab something to eat and watch some football.

That sounds like a pretty good fall Saturday to me.

🍁 What's your favorite thing about fall hiking—the cooler temperatures, fall colors, fewer bugs, or something else?

09/21/2026

🥾 MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY

YOU DON'T HAVE TO PROVE ANYTHING

Somewhere along the way, it's easy to start measuring ourselves against everybody else.

Someone hiked farther.

Someone climbed faster.

Someone carried a heavier pack.

Someone your age just finished a trail that you're not sure you could finish.

And thanks to social media, there's always somebody doing something bigger.

But here's something I've learned:

Their hike has absolutely nothing to do with yours.

At our age, getting out there isn't about proving that we're still 25.

It's about discovering what we're still capable of at 50, 60, 70 and beyond.

Maybe today that's 15 miles and 4,000 feet of climbing.

Maybe it's five miles on your favorite local trail.

Maybe you're recovering from an injury, surgery or illness and one mile feels like ten.

They all count.

The person you should be paying attention to isn't the hiker who just passed you on the trail.

It's the person you were six months ago.

A year ago.

Five years ago.

Are you stronger?

Are you healthier?

Are you experiencing things you once only talked about doing?

Are you still willing to challenge yourself?

Then you're headed in the right direction.

One of the great things about hiking is that the mountain doesn't care how old you are.

It doesn't care what you weigh.

It doesn't care how fast you climb.

And it sure doesn't care how many likes your hike gets.

The trail only asks that you keep putting one foot in front of the other.

So this Monday, don't worry about somebody else's pace.

Don't worry about somebody else's mileage.

And don't worry about proving anything to anybody.

Find YOUR next mile.

Then go get it. 🥾

What's one thing you're working toward right now that would make YOU proud to accomplish?

Adventures Are What Count.

09/18/2026

🎒 WEEKEND CHALLENGE – DO A PACK CHECK 🎒

The downtime after my surgery has given me some time to go through my hiking pack.

And to be honest, there are a few things in there that don't get used very often.

My first-aid kit.
My water filter.
My emergency blanket.
And some of the other gear I carry for those "just in case" situations.

That's what gave me the idea for this weekend's challenge.

🥾 EMPTY YOUR PACK.

Not just to see what's in it — actually check everything.

Open your first-aid kit. Are the supplies still in good condition? Is anything expired, damaged or missing?

Pull out your emergency gear and inspect it.

Check your headlamp and batteries.

Look over your rain gear.

And don't just look at your water filter because it's sitting in your pack — check it and make sure it's actually ready to work.

Could you imagine being miles from the trailhead, running low on water, knowing you've carried a water filter the entire time...

Only to pull it out when you finally NEED it and have it fall apart in your hands?

That's a terrible time to discover a problem.

We spend a lot of time checking our boots, filling our water and deciding what food to carry. But some of the most important things in our packs may go months — or even years — without being used.

Those are probably the things we need to inspect the most.

So that's your challenge this weekend:

🎒 Empty the pack.
🔦 Check the gear.
🩹 Restock what needs restocking.
🔋 Replace what needs replacing.
🗑️ Get rid of the junk you've been carrying for no reason.
🥾 Repack it knowing that if you need something out there, it's ready.

Then tell us in the comments:

What did you find hiding in your pack that needed replacing — or that you completely forgot was in there? 😂

Hiking Over 50
Adventures Are What Count

09/17/2026

🥾 WHO TAUGHT YOU TO LOVE THE OUTDOORS?

I've been thinking about where my love for hiking and the outdoors actually started.

And for me, it goes back a long way.

My grandad and grandma had a small travel trailer, and during the summers they would take me camping with them. They traveled to numerous national and state parks, and my grandad took thousands of slides along the way.

Some of my favorite memories weren't even from the trips themselves.

I can remember staying with my grandparents and pestering the heck out of them to get those slides out so we could “go on vacation.”

They'd set everything up, turn down the lights, and suddenly we were traveling again.

Those pictures took me places.

But there was another person who helped turn looking at the outdoors into actually exploring it.

I grew up in a town of about 25,000 people, but I had a cousin who lived in a small town just a few miles away, up on the Mississippi River bluffs.

I spent a lot of time “spending the night” at his house.

And spending the night usually meant we weren't spending much time in the house. 😂

We'd disappear into those wooded river bluffs.

Hiking. Exploring. Rappelling. Seeing where the next trail went.

We didn't have GPS watches. We weren't tracking mileage or elevation gain. We weren't calling it training.

We were just kids outside having an adventure.

Looking back all these years later, I wonder how much those experiences shaped the person I eventually became.

Today I can travel somewhere like the Grand Canyon, the Smokies or Idaho and spend an entire day exploring a trail by myself.

But maybe that desire to see what's around the next bend started decades ago on those camping trips and Mississippi River bluffs.

Sometimes the things we love as adults have roots that go much further back than we realize.

So today I want to hear your story.

🥾 Who taught YOU to love hiking and the outdoors?

Was it your parents or grandparents?

A brother or sister?

A childhood friend?

Maybe a Scout leader?

Or maybe nobody introduced you to it at all, and you discovered hiking later in life.

Tell us who it was—and if they're still around, maybe today would be a pretty good day to tell them what they gave you.

Adventures Are What Count.

09/16/2026

🥾 A HABIT IS STRONGER THAN A SETBACK

We've all heard the old saying that it takes 21 days to create a new habit.

Turns out, that's more myth than science.

Research has found that it often takes considerably longer. One well-known study found a median of about 66 days, and a recent review of the research suggests health-related habits commonly take 2–5 months to really become established. There's also a huge difference from one person to another.

That got me thinking this morning as I was sitting here looking through my mileage on my COROS app.

July — averaged over 50 miles a week.
August — averaged over 50 miles a week.

September?

Just a little over 6 miles for the entire month so far.

It's been a rough few weeks.

What I originally thought was severe back pain eventually resulted in surgery last week to remove a kidney stone. I'm still recovering and currently have a ureteral stent that should be removed this week.

And I'll tell you...

It's absolutely been killing me not being able to get back out there.

Especially because the weather here is FINALLY beginning to change.

Yesterday the feels-like temperature was still around 105°, but cooler, drier air is moving in and our highs should finally be around 90.

Perfect timing to start putting some miles down again.

But I've had to keep telling myself:

Don't push too hard, too quickly.

That's not always easy for me. 😂

Looking back now, though, I think taking the time off has been the right decision.

And that's when something else occurred to me.

I started this journey almost exactly two years ago.

Two years of getting up and walking.

Two years of adding miles.

Two years of training when it was hot, cold, humid, raining, or when I simply didn't feel like doing it.

Somewhere along the way, this stopped being something I was trying to make myself do.

It became something I do.

It became a habit.

And there's no way three slow weeks are going to erase what I've spent two years building.

In fact, the research gives us another interesting lesson: missing an occasional opportunity doesn't necessarily derail the habit-building process.

Maybe that's something some of us over 50 need to hear.

An injury doesn't erase your progress.

An illness doesn't erase your progress.

A bad week doesn't erase your progress.

Life getting in the way for a little while doesn't erase your progress.

Sometimes taking care of yourself is part of the training.

The trail will still be there.

The miles will still be there.

And when my body tells me it's ready...

I'll be back out there.

Not starting over.

Picking up where I left off. 🥾

Have you ever had an injury, illness or life event force you away from hiking for a while? How hard was it for you to stay patient until you could get back?

Adventures Are What Count.

Hiking Over 50

09/29/2026

09/28/2026

09/25/2026

09/24/2026

09/23/2026

09/22/2026

09/21/2026

09/18/2026

09/17/2026

09/16/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Listing takedown request