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Mile 510.   Tortoise enjoyed the early light on this flowering bush as he passed by this morning.  It is a nice time to walk at this warm time of year!  Walking thought was by Russell Osguthorpe ...

Cheerio!

It is fun watching the light gradually change from this ...

to this.

Cows are still sleeping as Tortoise finishes up.

Today's walk was 3.32 miles, done in 58:29 minutes at an average pace of 17:37 minutes per mile. This route had an average tortoise rating of 5.3, earned by climbing 137 feet in the 1.66 mile uphill portion.  Average elevation was 3250.

Here are the overall stats so far for 2016:

510.16 miles walked, compared with Lou's goal for this date of 493.63.

35,119 total feet climbed so far in 2016, compared to a year-to-date goal of 30,380.  Lou hopes to climb more than the 61,316 feet he climbed in 2015 -- but in less time each day than his 1:07:04 hour per day average in 2015.  So far in 2016, Tortoise's walks have averaged 58:13 minutes each.

His average pace so far in 2016 has been 17:41 minutes per mile, compared with his 18:25 minute per mile pace in 2015.

Lou has walked 356 consecutive non-Sundays since his 8 missed days May 2-11, 2015.  Overall he has walked on 459 of the 468 non-Sundays in 2015-16, a 98.077% consistency rating.

One step at a time can lead to great things!

And now for today's walking thought ...

"I recently saw a young man in a youth Sunday School class discover truth for himself.  When I noticed that he was having difficulty relating the Atonement to his own life, I asked him if he had ever felt forgiveness.  He responded: 'Yea, like that time I broke a guy's nose when we were playing soccer.  I felt bad about it.  I wondered what I needed to do to feel better.  So I went to his home and asked him to forgive me, but I knew I needed to do more, so I prayed, and then I felt that Heavenly Father forgave me too.  This is what the Atonement means to me.

"When he shared this experience in class that day, he read from John 3:16 -- 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son' -- and then testified of the power of the Atonement.  This doctrine was no longer an abstract concept to this young man.  It became part of his life because he asked his own question and then exercised his agency to act." 

-- Russell T. Osguthorpe, "One Step Closer to the Savior", October 2012 LDS General Conference"

The tortoise is smiling!