Halfway

The year is now almost halfway over, which means it is time to review what I have done during the last three months since the last time I posted a “quarter-review.”  I’m a few days early for the mid-point, which is July 1st, but I will be taking a little break from hiking while I sort out a bunch of school stuff and prepare for a trip to Montana. In the meantime, here’s a summary of what I did in the second quarter of the year.

During the months of April, May, and June, which comprised almost the entirety of this year’s Spring season, I racked up the following statistics:

– I hiked 69 times
– I hiked 395 Miles, averaging 5.75 miles per hike
– I gained 54,256′ of elevation, averaging 798 feet gained per hike
– My biggest hiking week was 4/1-4/8, during which I hiked 60.8 miles
– My longest hike was 17 miles (Alta Peak)
– The greatest amount of elevation gained in one hike was 4,800 feet (Mt. San Jacinto)

Here are some of the more noteworthy landmarks of the last three months:

1. Big Basin and San Francisco

A three-day backpacking trip through Big Basin State Park and some urban hiking in San Francisco with Kelly kicked off the Spring and accounted for the largest hiking week of the year so far.

2. Mountains, Gandalf. Mountains!

I climbed my first mountains over 8,000′ in this order:

– Mt. San Jacinto, May 2nd.
– Cucamonga Peak, May 21st.
– Mt. Baldy, May 23rd.
– Alta Peak, June 10th.
– Mt. San Gorgonio, June 20th.

In my effort to scale all of these peaks, I hiked 72.5 miles and gained approximately 23,100′.

3. Traineeship

Somehow in the midst of all this climbing, I managed to secure a traineeship wherein I will work at a transitional housing facility for patients with severe mental illness. This will help me fulfill the hours requirement needed to complete my graduate degree.

4. 500 miles

I hit 500 miles at the very end of April during a hike at Volcan Mountain in Julian. This put me halfway to the goal of hiking 1,000 miles in 2012.

5. 750 miles

I hit 750 miles at the very end of June during a hike at Penasquitos Canyon in Rancho Penasquitos. This put me three-quarters of the way to the goal of hiking 1,000 miles in 2012.

I now have six months to hike 250 miles.

6. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park

I took a camping trip with friends Sean and Taylor to Sequoia and Kings Canyon. There, I/we enjoyed the following hikes:

– Redwood Canyon
– Buena Vista Peak with Sean and Taylor
– Jennie Lakes Wilderness
– Tokopah Valley and Falls with Sean and Taylor
– Crescent Meadow with Sean and Taylor
– Alta Peak 

7. Other notable hikes

– Big Laguna Trail with Kelly
– Kanaka Flat
– Volcan Mountain
– Palomar Mountain
– Santa Margarita River

8. 30 hikes in 30 days 


In the month of June, I managed to hike 30 times in 30 days in honor of Kelly completing 31 yoga classes in 31 days. Granted, my personal challenge was not as grueling as Kelly’s, since her classes all run at least one hour at a time, and some of the hikes I took were less than one hour. Although, I shouldn’t scoff either, since I spent 54 hours hiking during June.

That sums it up for Spring. For the next three months, I intend to scale back the hiking quite a bit. I want to devote as much energy and attention to school and traineeship as possible, which means that, coupled with the heat, there will be fewer and fewer destination hikes and more and more local hikes that are close to the coast.

However, that doesn’t mean I’ll be sitting around on my butt. I have a trip to Montana with Kelly coming just around the corner, where I hope to do a little hiking in Yellowstone. In addition, there’s another trip to Yosemite with Kelly in September that looks to offer plenty of great hiking. And, whenever I get a chance, which may not be for a while, I may take a shot at Mt. Baden-Powell and/or Mt. San Bernadino.

Of course, there may always be surprises. All kinds of things pop up unforseen. Besides, given the work I’ve already done, there’s a good chance I may hit 1,000 miles during the summer.

June: 132.8Miles
Year-to-Date: 754.4 Miles