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Chapter 2

Mile 401.  After his aforementioned break at the Maverik at 3400 West State in Hurricane, it was a new day for Tortoise.  What better thing for him to do than to carry on ... so that is what he did.  His objective was to get to St. George Shuttle for its 4 am departure to Las Vegas.  He was equipped with two packs, one a day pack, the other a sling over the shoulder

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Chapter 1

Mile 391.  Tortoise's walk this evening took him from his home to this fine establishment pictured above, where he took off the 2 small packs he was carrying, and  happily enjoyed a bottle of cold water and a Clif bar after a longer than normal walk.  This is a one time trek, because even though he was on his way to see his sweet lady, she was less than pleased with the time of day involved.  Very sorry, dear.  It made sense to Lou, but he won't do it again.  For the rest of the story, please check back tomorrow for Chapter 2.

(Is this the shortest chapter you've seen, or what?)  

There's a thought to go with this walk, by Bruce Porter ...

Cheerio!

16-132

Mile 361.  Tortoise wanted to do something special for this walk, for a couple reasons.  Today completes a full year of walking six days a week, Monday to Saturday, without taking one of those days off.  Also, he is finally getting near to catching up with his walking goal at this point of the year.  Yesterday's walk put Lou within 2.14 miles, and he thought the year mark would be a good day to pass the goal too.

It was the first day of a three day business trip.  This one started on Los Angeles's Westside, a place of many memories for Tortoise of days long passed in life's rear view mirror.  Before embarking on a career at a desk, Lou used to do a lot of walking.  More even than he has resumed doing in these past five years of walking and blogging.  He wanted to go to seminary, held before school at his church, sufficiently to enroll in a high school near the church pictured above.  This meant providing his own transportation ... on foot.  Tortoise actually had a college degree before a driver's license, but then, that is a story for another day.

This day's story is recreating that daily walk that occurred from February 1968 through June 1970.  Lou hopes you enjoy it.  The walking thought is by Kent Richards ...

Cheerio!

16-128

Mile 347.  Lou went to lunch with his mom to celebrate Mother's Day a day early, then took her on a drive to show her some of the places Tortoise walks, just because she wants to know what her son is doing.  Very nice.  Following this, Lou did a walk of the La Verkin Scenic Circle trail, this time starting at the La Verkin Creek trailhead in Confluence Park, heading from there to the La Verkin Overlook, then down the old road that used to go to Zion and through Wanlass Park and some La Verkin streets to return to his starting point.  There are lots of pictures here, so enjoy, mom!  Walking thought today is by Gerrit Gong ...

Cheerio!

15-329

Mile 989.  Tortoise caught a little break today.  The weather forecast for the last week showed a major storm coming in for today and tomorrow, complete with rain, wind, and cold.  Lou welcomes all gentle, healing rains, but realizes that would have impacted where and how much he walked.  As it turns out, the storm hit hardest to the north of us.  Southern Utah got plenty of wind, and the temperature dropped 15 degrees from yesterday, but no precipitation.  Tortoise bundled up and headed out on a most excellent walk, the halfway point of which is shown above at the new Confluence View trailhead at the top of Hurricane's Main Street.  From there, Lou continued down to the river and then back up by way of Tortoise Track.  It also includes today's walking thought by Robert Hales ...

Cheerio!

15-261

Mile 751.  It was a near perfect evening for walking.  Last Monday and Tuesday there was steady rain, which cleaned everything up and added moisture to the sandy places.  This was followed by three days of warm, dry weather that eliminated the muddy spots.  Today the skies were a crystal clear blue.  So ... around 6 pm Lou headed out for a 10k loop walk.  Now you runners won't be impressed as he didn't set any speed records, but Tortoise did get some beautiful views along the full length of the Cottonwood Hills trail before returning to his starting trailhead by way of the Spanish Wash and Prospector trails.  There are lots of pictures today, so if you click below to continue reading, there is bound to be something that will catch your eye ...

Cheerio!

15-154

Mile 431.  Tortoise paused on his way home from taking dear Becca to the airport en route to her receiving excitement from Rachel and all the Jacksons .. and returning it to them!  An early June morning is a good time to enjoy the splendor and varied colors of the Red Cliffs, so Lou parked his car at the Grapevine Trailhead just off I-15 Exit 13, and began a loop walk on the dirt road that continues west when Washington Parkway turns to begin Buena Vista Park. 

His route continued along the Millcreek, Bone Wash, Sand Hill, and Grapevine trails back to his point of beginning.  For some nice pictures, a video of the panoramic view atop Sand Hill, a map, along with additional details and the day's walking thought by David B. Haight, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 418.  Tortoise previously walked The Strand in Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach, then discovered it was part of the Marvin Braude Trail that follows the coastline as far north as Santa Monica, so he started making his way that direction.   Today he was closer to Torrance, so it was a good day to find the beginning point of the trail adjacent to Miramar Park, pictured above with the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the background.  From there, Lou walked through the Redondo Beach Pier up to the starting point of The Strand before returning.

For more pictures, a map, and the day's walking thought by Dallin Oaks , please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-38

Mile 116.  Tortoise is lonely, missing his sweet lady who is far away in the frozen tundra of Boston doing good things with our family.  After a weekend day fighting the tax preparation wars, Lou headed out for a walk with a little bonus length -- from the office down to the Virgin River, then back up the steep Tortoise Track hill (that's the real name of the trail!) on his way to complete this scenic loop.  It was a nice time of day to capture some pictures, so please click below to keep reading, then let our friend Tortoise know which of them is your favorite.   Thank you and ...

Cheerio!

15-33

Mile 93.  Walked the final 3.16 miles of the Pacific Electric Trail (at least for now) from Tokay in Fontana to Maple on the Rialto border, then retraced my steps. It was a 10k walk, and a little extra, if you prefer metric measurements.  This completes Tortoise's walk of the entire trail from the Claremont-Montclair line to the Fontana-Rialto line, done both directions for a round trip distance of 36 miles. 

For more on this walk, including plentiful pictures and today's walking thought by Janette Hales Beckham, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

14-32

Here's the view as I passed the one hundred mile mark for 2014 near the end of today's walk ... the La Verkin Overlook and Scenic Circle.  7.42 miles with 847 feet climbed in 2:40:45 hours.  Tortoise rating average throughout the uphill half of the walk:  3.7.  Calories burned 1209.

For an aerial view and more pictures, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

13-348

I walked to pretty much every home in the La Verkin 1st Ward today, hoping to spread a little Christmas cheer.  Interestingly, I have done a couple Winterfest 5k walks in the past, and was considering doing the new Winterfest 10k walk last Saturday ... then we got the 37 year record snowfall and I talked myself out of it.  Well, it was 37 degrees when I started my walk today and 45 degrees when I finished ... sunny and gorgeous throughout, but as you can see, after a week there is still more snow than not.  And I did my 10k, plus about 0.3k extra.  Or 6.40 miles, if you prefer that measurement system.  I averaged 28 minutes per mile while walking and stopping at doors.  Including conversations along the way, it took me 3:58 hours to do the whole thing.  Tortoise rating:  5.5, including a half point for the snow and ice I walked through about half of the time.

Please click below for a map, an overhead view with the many twists and turns of my path, a 34 second video, and food info for today:

Cheerio!

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My walk today was in three segments supporting me checking out a path new to me.  First segment was leading to the path, second is in the following Garmin adventure (click here for details and lots of pictures):

http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/dougbeechersr/alewife-greenway-to-mystic-river-paths/#.UYWCocrJV_Q

The final segment was a shorter, uphill stretch returning back to my starting point.  Total was 6.4 miles, with 397 feet climbed in 2 hours 5 minutes. Overall path rating 5.8 tortoises. Average heart rate was 105 with a peak of 132.  Feeling great!

Cheerio!

13-122

I finished my round trip of the Minuteman Trail today.  14.2 miles in 4 hours 48 minutes on a 5.9 tortoise path ... enjoy the pictures:

http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/dougbeechersr/minuteman-trail-lexingtontown-ctr-to-bedford-stn-back-to-arlington-lake-st/#.UYafssrJV_Q

Moleskin saved my feet.  I developed a large blister on the ball of my left foot yesterday.  When I went to bed it hurt enough I was seriously considering a rest day today.  Sleep and moleskin are wonderful things ... here's to the tortoise's idea of a rest day :-)

Here are some bonus pictures from me ending my walk by surprising Becca and walking to her school.  It was a treat to see her world ... it is great!

After school we went to a nearby park with a great view

Here we are :-)

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 So Rachel and I had 50 minutes before she had to pick up Maggie from school.  I was going to start today's walk, and she came with me for the first 25 minutes, then retraced her steps.  I kept going from there to one end of this trail at the Alewife station at the end of Boston's red line subway near the Cambridge-Arlington town line.  On the way, we passed this fabulous statue of Uncle Sam.  Turns out he is a real person, I hadn't realized that.  I knew this would be a good walk ...

So then I started up the path just because I was enjoying it so much.  I wound up near the town center of Lexington ... the colonial style Baskin Robbins/Dunkin Donuts combo shop had some nice tables where I could wait for Rachel, who was nice enough to drive out and pick me up.

Totals:  8.7 miles with 336 feet climbed in 2 hours 48 minutes on a 5.9 tortoise path.  I have a Garmin adventure here if you'd like lots more pictures and details:  http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/dougbeechersr/minuteman-trail-arlington-town-ctr-to-alewife-t-station-to-lexington-town-ctr/#.UYRlc8rJV_Q

Cheerio!

4-1

A high quality 10k walk on the Virgin River and Middleton Wash trails this morning, as illustrated in the Google Earth clip above.  If you prefer traditional distances, it was 6.26 miles in 2:04:46 hours.  152 feet were climbed along the way.  Exhilarating!

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Pushed myself a little extra today by doing a 7.47 mile walk with 164 feet climbed in 2:00:04 hours along the shoreline on a beautiful fall morning in Long Beach, California.  Tortoise rating:  6.8. 

Update:  This not only qualified as a Benjamin Category Upgrade walk, it was a full 10 kilometers and then some.  :-)

Please click below for a map, pictures, and more ...

Cheerio!

235

A 6.2 mile walk delivering surprises all over La Verkin this morning.  Brought great job to the tortoise!

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