The Life And Times Of Lou, The Smiling Tortoise: 15-238

"The Blog Almost Too Boring To Be The Most Boring Blog in America ... for Over 5 Years!"

until it got too many red cards from Wounded Duck and the Boredom Enforcement Committee ... now the tortoise's goal is to get to 10 red cards so he can get Big Dog to drive down and take a good long walk with the tortoise

P. S. This blog listens to its readers. We have the Benjamin Category Override for 5+ mile walks and now, it humbles Tortoise to say he has been named "Lou", by Doug Jr, in memory of Mr. Consistency himself, Lou Gehrig. Tortoise can hardly type the words to think he is in any way comparable to the noble Iron Horse. Thank you!

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

15-238

Mile 680. Tortoise found a slightly new path in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve to explore on his way home from errands after work. Slightly new because he has walked portions of the Pathfinder Trail before, but not the one headed southwest from the Cottonwood Hills trail junction. To see the other pictures Lou took, along with a map, other details, and the day's walking thought by Larry Gibson, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

The trail gets quite rocky at times.

This walk begins and ends at the Cottonwood Trailhead just past narrow bridges
under I-15 accessed alongside Winkel Distributing at the north end of the
Hurricane industrial park. Interestingly, the side of the freeway Tortoise
walked is in Washington ... even though it is in a desert preserve.

This was a 2.82 mile walk, with a 4.8 tortoise rating earned by climbing 183 feet in the 1.41 mile uphill portion at an average elevation of 3302. The walk burned 418 calories in 55:07 minutes.

Here are the overall stats so far for 2015:

680.22 miles walked, which is 67.89% of Lou's 2015 goal. On this day in 2014, Tortoise had walked 677.45 year-to-date miles.

208:23:09 hours walked, which is 66.58% of the 2015 goal (which is to walk 1 hour a day on the 313 days other than Sunday in the year)

34,367 total feet climbed, compared with 31,816 feet on this day in 2014.

102,050 calories burned.

65.18% of the year has passed.

Lou has walked 92 consecutive non-Sundays since his 8 missed days May 2-11. Overall he has walked on 195 of the 204 non-Sundays in 2015, a 95.59% consistency rating. This compares with 192 days walked after 204 non-Sundays in 2014 (a 94.12% 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 ... 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:

"I know that Heavenly Father is concerned about each of us individually and has a personal plan for us to achieve our eternal destiny. He has sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to help us overcome our imperfections through the Atonement. He has blessed us with the Holy Ghost to be a witness, companion, and guide to our eternal destination if will rely on Him."

-- Larry Gibson, "Fatherhood -- Our Eternal Destiny", April 2015 LDS General Conference

The tortoise is smiling!

3 comments:

Doug JrAugust 27, 2015 at 9:21 AM
Congrats Lou on the well deserved accomplishment. You have set the standard high no doubt.
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UnknownAugust 27, 2015 at 9:41 AM
I'm with Doug, congrats on the consistency, and always great example of doing the small things each day that over time make a huge difference! Love!!
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UnknownAugust 27, 2015 at 9:54 PM
Thank you both! Feels good to be closing in on Lou's record 97 day stretch from December 24 last year to April 14 this year. With your encouragement, and maybe a big, big bundle of balloons, who knows how far Tortoise might go? Love!
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Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Segments Hiked

Total lifetime PCT miles hiked: 205.0 out of the 2,650 total.

From 1966 to 1969 segment Tortoise hiked the portion of the PCT shared by the John Muir Trail, covering PCT miles 767.0 to 942.5 (175.5 miles). (While hiking the full 211 miles of the Muir Trail from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mt. Whitney)

Tortoise then embarked on a long career at a desk, interrupted momentarily for a day hike in 1988 up Mt. Baden-Powell as a Varsity Boy Scout coach with his team. That took him from PCT miles 374.0 to 377.9, roundtrip. (There was also a second trip from Onion Valley to Mt. Whitney with the Varsity Boy Scouts in 1989. He barely made it, crying with joy and appreciation when he did. That is a story all of its own).

He returned many years later with these walks. Please click on the date for a link to that day's blog post:

June 14, 2012, hiked PCT miles 565.0 to 566.6 (1.6 miles) on both sides of California Highway 58 at the Cameron Road exit.

October 20, 2012, hiked PCT miles 341 to 342 (1 miles) mostly on the east side of Interstate 15 but also under the storm runoff tunnel just south of the exit to California Highway 138 near Cajon Pass.

February 2013, continued in two segments to do miles 342 to 347 (5 miles).

August 13, 2013, hiked miles 374.2 to 376.6 roundtrip from Vincent Gap trailhead at milepost 74.7 on California highway 2.

February 17, 2015, hiked miles 452.9 to 450.4 roundtrip from Vasquez Rocks Picnic Area.

March 16, 2015, hiked miles 341.9 to 340.2 southbound from Cajon Pass Road, then returned. Partial redo of October 20, 2012 walk ... plus a little more.

April 3, 2015, hiked miles 1089.8 to 1091.9 roundtrip from Echo Summit trailhead to near Echo Lake.

May 12, 2016, hiked miles 206.8 to 204.3 southbound from the Snow Canyon Road gate at the bottom of Mt. San Jacinto, then returned.

August 17, 2016, hiked miles 209.5 to 206.8 southbound from the underpass at Interstate 10 Exit 110 to Snow Creek, then returned.

May 26, 2017, hiked miles 369.4 to 364.4 southbound from the Inspiration Point trailhead on California Highway 2, then returned.

The tortoise may eventually set some kind of record for the longest time to complete the PCT in microsegments. You never know, but we're already at 51 years and counting since his first segment from Onion Valley to Taboose Pass in July 1966 :-)