The Life And Times Of Lou, The Smiling Tortoise: 15-297

"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!

Saturday, October 24, 2015

15-297

Mile 869. Today's mission was to find a fun, hilly path to get from Coral Desert Rehabilitation at the bottom of Foremaster Hill in St. George to Golden Corral and time it as close as possible to a dinner date 1 hour 24 minutes away. Lou has another nice selection of photos to show you the features of the route he chose ...

Cheerio!

You can see Zion on a clear day coming down Foremaster Ridge

This picture is especially for Ethan, Riley, and Kate. Do you see
anything that looks familiar?

Once down Foremaster Ridge, Tortoise began climbing the Middleton Wash trail

Floryne, this picture is for you. :-)

Beginning a loop around the exterior of the mall.

As it turned out, Tortoise had a few extra minutes to walk once he reached his
destination, so he meandered through the large parking lot and even found this
nice mini trail behind some of the stores!

And here is today's path.

Today's walk was 5.13 miles, with a 4.5 tortoise rating earned by climbing 456 feet in the 2.57 mile uphill portion. Average elevation was 2788. This walk burned 755 calories in 1:30:38 hours.

Here are the overall stats so far for 2015:

869.78 miles walked which is 86.80% of Lou's 2015 goal. On this day in 2014, Tortoise had walked 852.99 miles.

266:26:25 hours walked which is 85.12% of the 2015 goal (which is to walk 1 hour a day on the 313 days other than Sunday in the year).

46,463 total feet climbed, compared with 41,976 feet on this day in 2014.

130,385 calories burned.

81.47% of the year has passed.

Lou has walked 143 consecutive non-Sundays since his 8 missed days May 2-11. Overall he has walked on 246 of the 255 non-Sundays in 2015, a 96.47% consistency rating. This compares with 242 days walked in the same period in 2014 (a 94.90% consistency rating).

The purpose of the percentages is to have a higher percentage of both distance and of 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 walking record up until 2013 with 2014 or 2015 ... for him, it is what it takes to be consistent. He hopes you find what works for you).

And now for today's walking thought ...

"Perhaps there is something in your life that you have a question about. Perhaps there is a problem you do not know quite how to answer. Today I would like to share some thoughts that may help you obtain the answers or help you are seeking. The process begins with being converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Receiving revelation depends on the condition and intent of our hearts."

-- James B. Martino, "Turn to Him and Answers Will Come", October 2015 LDS General Conference

The tortoise is smiling!

2 comments:

UnknownNovember 14, 2015 at 9:41 AM
Grandpa, this is Kate. I know that place it is our home in the picture. Thanks for taking it of us! Love you❤️
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UnknownNovember 14, 2015 at 10:33 AM
I love you too, Kate. I know your house was a little dot in the picture, so I'm extra glad you could see it. I was thinking about you!
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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 :-)