The Life And Times Of Lou, The Smiling Tortoise: 15-339

"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, December 5, 2015

15-339

Mile 1,026. Tortoise visited his long lost friend Terreeeblay, that most trusty treadmill, to start his day. Wounded Duck would be well pleased. Later on Lou was treated by several of the women in his family to a heartwarming performance of Christmas Around The World by the BYU International Folk Dancers. That's what Tortoise would have liked to have shared pictures of ... the costumes were colorful and delightful, and the dancing and music were better than that. However, no pictures are allowed, so you'll just have to trust Lou's opinion on this.

After the performance, the group took a short walk through various parts of campus as shown on today's map ... ending with a generous scoop of caramel cashew ice cream at the Creamery on Ninth. Today's walking thought is by David Bednar ...

Cheerio!

Tortoise drank plenty of water to replenish his fluids after this visit with Terreeeblay

Lou's first visit to BYU campus was for a 4 day conference in 1971. He spent
much of his time there from 1974-78, and has returned from time to time since.
The one constant is construction cranes. Sarah, let's just say Heritage Halls
has gotten quite a facelift since your day ... And yes, the Tortoise is smiling!

Today's walks totalled 2.99 miles and had an overall 1.7 tortoise rating earned by climbing 899 feet in the 2.13 mile uphill portion. Average elevation was 4695. These walks burned 633 calories in 58:54 minutes.

Here are the overall stats so far for 2015:

1,026.25 miles walked which is 102.42% of Lou's 2015 goal. On this day in 2014, Tortoise had walked 959.23 miles.

315:59:33 hours walked which is 100.96% of the 2015 goal (which is to walk 1 hour a day on the 313 days other than Sunday in the year).

56,400 total feet climbed, compared with 46,855 feet on this day in 2014.

154,222 calories burned.

92.97% of the year has passed.

Lou has walked 179 consecutive non-Sundays since his 8 missed days May 2-11, Overall he has walked on 282 of the 291 non-Sundays in 2015, a 96.91% consistency rating. This compares with 278 days walked in the same period in 2014 (a 95.53% 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 ...

"My message is directly specifically to individuals who are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will address a fundamental question many of you may have: 'Why are Latter-day Saints so eager to tell me about what they believe and to invite me to learn about their church?' ...

"The Church of Jesus Christ always has been and always will be a missionary church. The individual members of the Savior's Church have accepted the solemn obligation to assist in fulfilling the divine commission given by the Lord to His Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament:

" 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen' (Matthew 28:19-20)

"Latter-day Saints take seriously this responsibility to teach all people in all nations about the Lord Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. We believe the same Church founded by the Savior anciently has been reestablished on the earth by Him in the latter days. The doctrine, principles, priesthood authority, ordinances, and covenants of His gospel are found today in His Church.

" ... we are not attempting to coerce you to believe as we do. We are inviting you to hear the restored truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ so you can study, ponder, pray, and come to know for yourself if the things we are sharing with you are true."

-- David A. Bednar, "Come and See", October 2014 LDS General Conference

The tortoise is smiling!

2 comments:

RachelDecember 10, 2015 at 4:32 PM
I still can't believe the new dorms, it sincerely changes the look of campus, almost all the old school buildings are gone or updated I think at this point
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UnknownDecember 10, 2015 at 10:32 PM
The new dorms are beautiful, but I for one miss all the trees they had to cut down to build them. Can you imagine what it will look like in 20 years when the new trees mature?
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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 :-)