2019 - Totaling up your mileage & reflecting back

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
Post Reply
User avatar
BigBear
Posts: 1836
Joined: October 1st, 2009, 11:54 am

2019 - Totaling up your mileage & reflecting back

Post by BigBear » December 31st, 2019, 2:19 pm

Well, another year on the trail has come to an end. It's time for all of us accounting types to tally up the spreadsheet of what we did the past 12 months. The basic questions (with my answers, since I'm starting):

Miles hiked in 2019: 779.7 miles
Elevation gained in 2019: 20,056 feet (I had a few medical issues that kept me grounded)

Favorite new hike: Crown Zellerbach Trail (Cedar Creek to Scaponia Park)
This was actually the only new trail for me this year

Favorite hike of the year: Memaloose Hills (the flowers, the sun)
Last edited by Bosterson on December 31st, 2019, 2:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: typo in subject line

Aimless
Posts: 1922
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:02 pm
Location: Lake Oswego

Re: 2019 - Totaling up your mileage & reflecting back

Post by Aimless » December 31st, 2019, 4:32 pm

According to my rather rudimentary spreadsheet, I hiked a total of 374 miles this year. I have no idea about elevation gain. The most memorable hikes were several I took in Eagle Cap wilderness during the first week of August and a hike on Cast Creek trail in Mt. Hood wilderness, right after an early fall dusting of snow on October 2, where I saw a kestrel but no people and I was feeling unusually exhilarated to be out there.

To stay in shape for hikes, I walked another 600 miles in my neighborhood, mostly on a nearby nature trail with some decent uphill. It helps.

User avatar
jessbee
Posts: 877
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Contact:

Re: 2019 - Totaling up your mileage & reflecting back

Post by jessbee » January 1st, 2020, 3:54 pm

This is my favorite post of the year.

I hiked 654 miles with 113,000 feet of elevation gained.

Those numbers don't reflect neighborhood hikes, backcountry ski trips or vertical gained while rock climbing (just approaches included). I surpassed last year's total of 518 miles, which made me very happy.

Favorite hike? Pretty sure I can't pick one. I discovered some pretty incredible highpoints while traveling off-trail in various wilderness areas. And I was completely blown away on my visit to Carlsbad Caverns. Seriously, if it's not yet on your bucket list, add it now.

What surprised me the most about this year's tally was the friendships that grew on some of my wacky off-the-beaten path hikes that I planned. Normally I tackle them on my own but I put out feelers to my community and was delighted that a few people wanted to join me. We had some really memorable times and I'm looking forward to sharing even more of those experiences in 2020.
Will break trail for beer.

Blog and photos

User avatar
Chip Down
Posts: 3037
Joined: November 8th, 2014, 8:41 pm

Re: 2019 - Totaling up your mileage & reflecting back

Post by Chip Down » January 1st, 2020, 4:12 pm

miles hiked: Heck if I know.

cumulative elevation gain: Couldn't even guess.

tick encounters: None that I recall. That's a nice change. Less time in the gorge this year, and I avoided the worst places.

highlights: Partly inspired by Goaltech Mike and his Hood Circum part ii, I did some exploring in semi-new places, got back to some long-standing goals, explored some places I always wondered about but lacked the temerity to attempt. Specifically:

- Finally completed a Newton Clark Prow to Cooper Spur hike, having done most of it in bits and pieces.

- Explored Eliot Glacier a bit, having previously been no higher than the terminus.

- Explored Coe Glacier higher than before, and its east moraine.

- Finally figured out the Gladd area (needed one more trip to tie the pieces together in my head).

- Gained a better understanding of the lower Sandy Glacier and the headwaters of Muddy Fork.

- A few failures trying to find a satisfying route from Paradise Park to Yocum Ridge, but learned a lot and had a little fun along the way (and a great deal of misery to boot).

User avatar
retired jerry
Posts: 14398
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: 2019 - Totaling up your mileage & reflecting back

Post by retired jerry » January 2nd, 2020, 7:01 am

there must be some way between Paradise and Yocum

500 miles, 45,000 feet elevation gain - a bit down from previous years, maybe because it rained so much in September

User avatar
teachpdx
Posts: 395
Joined: January 21st, 2014, 4:45 pm
Location: Hillsboro, OR

Re: 2019 - Totaling up your mileage & reflecting back

Post by teachpdx » January 2nd, 2020, 8:45 am

I was only in the neighborhood of 250 miles this year, which is down from last year but still not that bad for somebody who works 45+ hours per week.
My hiking goal for 2019 was to avoid hikes I've done before and search out new ones. 220-ish of these miles were on trails that were brand new to me.
Highlights were hiking the mountain jungles of northern Thailand in early January, 55 miles in the Wallowas in late July, and many new trails around Jefferson and TFJ (exploring before all the fees/quotas happen).
For 2020 I want to up the mileage a bit more, and I'm looking forward to doing the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island this year as well.
instagram: @remyodyssey

Post Reply