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Mile 402.  Entered the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve this evening at the Millcreek Trailhead, which is 1.3 miles up a path walkers and mountain bikers share with ATVs.  Tortoise continued to the point pictured above, which was a quarter mile past the junction with the Bone Wash Trail, then he retraced his steps to his parked car while there was still light.  For more pictures, maps, and today's walking thought by James Faust, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

The access to the Millcreek Trailhead begins at the north end of
Main Street in Washington, UT

The gated entrance to the trailhead, allows walkers and cyclists access
while keeping desert tortoises in.

A map and information greet you just inside the gate

along with a couple benches 

and a trail sign

Bone Wash trail heads off to the right a third of a
mile in from the Millcreek Trailhead

Lou completed today's 3.71 mile walk in 1:08:19 hours.  Tortoise rating was 5.0, based on 233 feet climbed in the 1.86 mile uphill portion (average elevation 3013). 546 calories were burned along the way.  

Here are some maps of today's route:

This map was produced by the Map My Fitness app and shows the route, with mile markers
up and back.  You can see the path location with respect to the surrounding city of Washington.
The green area is the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve.

This is a map prepared by the City of Washington and includes some of its own trails
along with those of the Desert Reserve, whose boundaries are shown with the red
striped lines.  Tortoise did not pass a junction with the Sand Hill Trail, which in
the map below is shown departing from the Bone Wash Trail, likely the correct routing.
Today's turnaround point was well before the junction with the Middleton Powerline Trail.

This is a trail map prepared by the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

And here are the overall stats so far for 2015:

402.62 miles walked, which is 40.18% of Lou's 2015 goal. On this day in 2014, Tortoise had walked 410.01 year-to-date miles.   

121:15:59 hours walked, which is 38.74% of the 2015 goal (which is to walk 1 hour a day on the 313 days other than Sunday in the year)

20,467 total feet climbed, compared with 19,064 feet on this day in 2014.  

60,272 calories burned

39.94% of the year has passed

Lou has walked 13 consecutive non-Sundays since his 8 missed days May 2-11. Overall he has walked on 116 of the 125 non-Sundays in 2015, a 92.80% consistency rating, the same as after 125 non-Sundays in 2014.

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 ... for him, it is what it takes to be consistent. And Tortoise feels much more vibrant when he is consistent.  He hopes you find what works for you)

And now for today's walking thought, initially presented in April 1999:

"This solitary figure, Jesus of Nazareth, without position or status or wealth, changed the world. So far as we know, during His life He owned no land nor any worldly things except the simple clothes He wore.

"His message was also simple: “Peace be to this house.” ⁷“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” ⁸ “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” ⁹ With these and other simple principles, He introduced a new way of life. He taught of love, the doctrines of hope and salvation, the pathway for peace in this world and the world to come. He spoke of the Resurrection, when spiritual darkness would be removed and the bright light and hope of eternal life given to all mankind."

To watch, listen to, or read this message in full, please visit https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1999/04/this-is-our-day?lang=eng  #ShareGoodness

The tortoise is smiling!