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We went for a hike this afternoon, before the obligatory Halloween stuff; luckily I keep an ongoing list of hiking options in a spreadsheet on my phone (yes, I do love spreadsheets) – the first place we tried was so crowded that there was a line of cars backed up out of the park, so I just referenced my list and rerouted us to a backup option nearby. It was a shorter hike, only 3.5 miles, but it was one we hadn’t done before…and it was extremely muddy from all the rain we had last week; so it worked out to get done and back home to get cleaned up with plenty of time to spare still.

I’m already prepping for next year’s challenge – the 52 hike challenge. I’m not sure we can manage (tho I said the same thing about this year’s challenge and we’ve already surpassed our goal, 2 months early), but it will be a good challenge either way. It will keep us active, keep our time outdoors a continued focus, and keep us exploring new places.

I had never really been a fan new year’s goals previously (in fact, I feel like I remember specifically speaking out against them in an entry years and years ago) – but I’ve grown to see them as opportunities for growth and change or even just a reset of focus/priorities…I guess I had just never seen that successfully modeled by anyone in my life before, so it just seemed vain. I’m learning there’s a bigger world out there and while staying in your comfort zone feels safer, it doesn’t afford much in the way of growth.