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Mile 192.  Late Saturday afternoon walk along the San Gabriel River trail during a brief interlude in a stormy day.  It really felt good!  There is a plentiful array of pictures awaiting you when you click below to continue reading, along with a map, other details, and today's walking thought by Thomas S. Monson ...

Cheerio!

Mileage markers start at zero at the south and are painted on the pavement
in both directions at most quarter mile points.

The sun and clouds made for beautiful walking weather!

The triangle sign explains the intermodal usage of this trail.

Fun how the view changes from one quarter mile point to the next.

Today's turnaround point.

Tortoise completed today's 5.51 mile walk in 1:28:27 hours.  Tortoise rating was 6.5, based on 111 feet climbed in the 2.76 mile uphill portion (average elevation 356).  As an over 5 mile walk, it earns the Benjamin Category Override to a Tortoise rating of 5.  861 calories were burned along the way.  

Here is a map of today's route, which started in a parking area adjacent to the convenience store/gas station at the corner of Live Oak Avenue and Rivergrade Road in Baldwin Park, CA, then crossed a bridge over the San Gabriel River to access the adjacent multi-modal trail (equestrian, walk, bike).  Tortoise walked a little more than 2 1/2 miles south on this trail, then retraced his steps:

 And here are the overall stats so far for 2015:

192.98 miles walked, which is 19.26% of Lou's 2015 goal. On this day in 2014, Tortoise had walked 179.51 year-to-date miles.  

56:26:50 hours walked, which is 18.03% of the 2015 goal (which is to walk 1 hour a day on the 313 days other than Sunday in the year)

10,272 total feet climbed, compared with 9,666 feet on this day in 2014.  

28,961 calories burned

16.29% of the year has passed

Lou has walked 59 consecutive non-Sundays since his last missed day on December 22, and overall has walked on 349 of the 364 non-Sundays since the beginning of 2014, a 95.88% consistency rating.

The purpose of the percentages is to have a higher percentage of distance and time walked than of the year. This tells Tortoise that he is on track. Yes, this is more numbers than you are likely interested in, all Tortoise can say is he's really good at setting high goals and having them slip away because he doesn't do them every, every day.  (If you doubt this, compare Tortoise's 2013 walking record with 2014)

And now for today's walking thought, initially presented in October 1996:

“There are so many lessons here for me—for instance, always listen to my wife—but for me the most important is that the prayers of people are almost always answered by the actions of others.”

To watch, listen to, or read this message in full, please visit https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/10/be-thou-an-example?lang=eng #ShareGoodness

The tortoise is smiling!