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A continuing slow effort to catch up on posts from past days when walks happened but writing didn't.  This one is from March 11, 2015 ...

Mile 229.  Tortoise went for an extra serving of hill climbing today, parking his car at Hurricane's Main Street trailhead and heading down the Confluence View trail, pictured above on its way down to the Virgin River.  This positioned him for the steep climb up Tortoise Track.  Lou then walked a couple miles on city streets to head up a shorter steep hill on 860 North street.  Got his blood pumping for sure, felt good!  

Today's walking thought includes a famous story by Dallin H. Oaks ...

Cheerio!

Some excellent views of LaVerkin can be had from the opposite side
of the canyon created by the Virgin River.

Climbing the Tortoise Track hill

A couple deer have been running quickly up the hills.
Lou was lucky to catch them with his camera at all.

Tortoise completed today's 4.39 mile walk in 1:30:49 hours.  Tortoise rating was 3.5, based on 435 feet climbed in the 1.57 mile uphill portion (average elevation 3183).  657 calories were burned along the way.

And here are the overall stats so far for 2015:

229.66 miles walked, which is 22.92% of Lou's 2015 goal. On this day in 2014, Tortoise had walked 201.06 year-to-date miles.  

66:56:55 hours walked, which is 21.39% of the 2015 goal (which is to walk 1 hour a day on the 313 days other than Sunday in the year)

11,811 total feet climbed, compared with 10,379 feet on this day in 2014.  

34,604 calories burned

19.17% of the year has passed

Lou has walked 68 consecutive non-Sundays since his last missed day on December 22, and overall has walked on 358 of the 373 non-Sundays since the beginning of 2014, a 95.98% 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 April 1997:

"My brothers and sisters, I begin by sharing an event from a large ward in Provo about 20 years ago. During a sacrament meeting, a little boy made a big disturbance. After several minutes of trying to quiet this noisy three-year-old, the mother desperately handed him to the father, who was seated on the aisle close to the front of the chapel. By this time the noise distracted the speaker and audience, and everyone was very conscious of the parents’ plight. The father’s patience was much shorter than the mother’s. In a few moments he put the little boy over his shoulder, stood up, and started for the back door. Looking back over his father’s shoulder and sensing his determined steps, the little boy became quiet and apprehensive. Just as the father approached the rear door of the chapel, the little fellow reached his arms out toward the stand and shouted, “Bishop, help!”

"There are times in the lives of all of us when we must reach out to our bishop or his counselors for help. Perhaps we need inspired counsel and direction to help with our families or our occupations. Perhaps we seek increased understanding of the gospel or the duties of our callings. We may need temporal assistance in a time of stress. We may even reach out for discipline to assist us in getting back on the path of growth. Always we benefit from their stalwart examples. Thank heaven for faithful and inspired bishops and branch presidents and their counselors!"

To watch, listen to, or read this message in full, please visit

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1997/04/bishop-help?lang=eng #ShareGoodness

The tortoise is smiling!