Saturday, January 4, 2014

Hiking: Is 2014 the year to hike my first fourteener?

Wow, I can't believe it's already 2014! I haven't posted here in a while, as I've been getting adjusted to my new home here in Southeastern Pennsylvania for the past eight months, hiking up a storm in the nearby Appalachian Mountains. In fact, I figure I did between 60 and 75 hikes this year.

The Catoctin Mountains, part of the Appalachians in Maryland
The first four months were spent hiking Sandia Mountain and other geological formations of central New Mexico. I hiked Pinnacle Mountain in Arkansas on my road trip back east, and the rest of the year was all about the Appalachians, from Western North Carolina to Northern New Jersey. I still haven't completed my goal 20-mile hike in a single day, but plans for it are in the works. Meanwhile, I'm thinking beyond that goal to another hiking goal I have in mind: hiking my first fourteener!

Although I absolutely love hiking the Appalachians, I am often inspired to research hikes out West. Ever since returning from New Mexico and Southern California, I've been thinking I really missed out by not hiking the Rockies in Colorado. Well, this year is the year. How epic would it be to hike my first fourteener in 2014!

I'm not sure how the details will all pan out, but I'm hoping that in either August or October to make the trip to hike either Longs Mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park or perhaps one of the Collegiate Peaks. I need to do more research, but meanwhile, my mind and my heart are soaring in the Rockies tonight. I hope my body will be able to joint them soon.

For inspiration, John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High"!



 Happy Trails! And check out my blog HikeyHikey for info on great hikes from East Coast to West! And for more info on me, check out my splash page.