Going for Goals and Conditioning for "The Year of the Big Trails"

I will be heading back to New Mexico to complete the 20-mile urban hike I blogged about last month. I didn't get a chance to do it then because of scheduling, but this time around I'm going to make sure it happens. I'm ready to finish the final requirement of the Hiking Merit Badge!

I'm conditioning for the hike here in Southern California's Coachella Valley, which means I'm losing the advantage of being accustomed to the 5,000 ft. elevation in Albuquerque where I'll do the 20 miler. So this week I plan on doing a day hike to Tahquitz Peak in the San Jacinto Mountains, which starts at 6,500 ft above sea level and ascends over the course of 4.5 miles to nearly 9,000 ft.

The primary reason I'm doing the Tahquitz Peak hike this week, besides the fact that it will help me progress toward my goal, is that I will get to hike along a section of the Pacific Crest Trail, one of the three powerhouse scenic through-trails of the National Trails System. When I get back to New Mexico I hope to backpack along a section of the Continental Divide Trail (probably in the San Pedro Parks Wilderness). Then, in the late spring to early summer, I am planning to do a four-day backpacking trip along 42 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Maryland.

I'm calling 2013 "The Year of the Big Trails". As I prepare for the longer hikes and backpacking trips I'll get a chance to pursue the requirements for other Boy Scouts merit badges on my list, including Wilderness Survival, Emergency Preparedness, Camping, Cooking, Backpacking, Orienteering, Personal Fitness, Swimming, Kayaking and Photography, among others.

I also will start working on Photography, Public Speaking and Citizenship in the Community as I meld this blog with other projects I'm working on.

But before I get ahead of myself, I need to focus on getting this 20-miler done. When I finish it, of course I won't be getting any external recognition for doing it, but I will be getting the satisfaction I always get from setting up goals and knocking them down! And of course I'll give myself an image of each merit badge I complete here on this blog.