Daunting, crazy, and just plain scary…for me this year it was the WordPress 2011 Post a Week Challenge. This challenge was organized by WordPress to encourage bloggers to blog more and on a regular basis. I was a purist and chose to blog once a week, not just an average of once a week throughout the year. This year I managed to post 92 blog entries. Success, but honestly I have to admit I am selfish. I found that by documenting and writing once a week I became more focused and motivated to move, make goals, and get out. But the biggest benefit I found by documenting travels and ideas on this blog was I now have an organized history of memories and facts from the last 2 years.
I will never forget a conversation I had with my kids a couple of years ago. We were looking at piles of unorganized and unlabeled photos in shoe boxes. Many of the photos were from my 20 years of backpacking and climbing trips. Yep, before digital. I distinctly remember my daughter looking straight at me saying “Mom all these photos of you at the top of mountains look the same, you could be anywhere. If something happens to you we will have one picture after another and will not know anything.” This sounds funny I realize, but so true. From my kids’ point of view they did look the same… smiling woman standing on top of a bunch of rocks with blue sky behind and there she is on another walk. 🙂
Thankfully this overwhelming project of photo labeling with descriptions of trips now has a good start. So I’d like to propose a new idea for this year, the Hike a Week 2012 with just 1 easy and simple rule.
Easy and Simple Rule:
-Hikes must be on a natural surface (dirt, snow, grass, rocks, water, sand, etc.) and once a week.
That’s it. Sounds easy, right? Maybe and maybe not. So who is up for it? Do it. Sign on. It will be fun.The benefits are huge: fresh air, exercise, vitamin D, and overall well-being. Sign-up here or clicking on the icon in the menu on the right. Just write on the page comments, “I’m in,” or “I’m committing,” or “I will do it,” or “it will be great.” We will be in this together. Simple, sign-up. Quit reading and sign-up. Get out and explore your neighborhood, climb a peak, hit the dirt, feel that grass, and breathe fresh air. I’m in. Are you? Everyone, sign-up. You CAN do it. NOW.
Need accountability? I’ve added the page “Hike a Week 2012” to record your hikes and also to get motivation, encouragement, and ideas from other readers.
Need more motivation? That gentle push? Here are some pics to get you going…do it! Sign on.
Hi Rockin’, I especially like that last shot. Hardcore!
I (Chris) have been looking into ways to get photos from an SD card to my iPhone. I remember you commented on your difficulties with that. After a bunch of research, I’ve bought an AirStash and it seems to work well. It’s an SD card reader combined with a WiFi hub, in a small package. There’s an iPhone app you can use to grab photos from it (over WiFi) and put them in your camera roll. Then you can blog the photos from there.
I tested it with RAW files, and it almost works, but I think the photos are too large for the iPhone to handle. With JPEGs it works well though. I think I will set my camera to save RAW+JPEG files for each shot. That way I can upload the JPEG files to the blog during the trip, and after the trip I will have my RAW files for further processing. Anna will be taking only JPEGs, and she’ll be able to upload those with the AirStash too.
Anyway, you might want to check out the AirStash, it’s pretty cool.
Oh man… I thought my next gear purchase was that new Ursack, a warmer sleeping bag or to replace my worn trail shoes. Now I am saving up for an AirStash. Expensive, but so useful. Your research of new technology has paid off.
Can’t wait to see your photos from the trail. Thank you for posting this important new tool for thru-hikers.
Yeah, it seems like it should be cheaper, but I can’t find anything else like it, so…
If you get a chance to try it, I’ll be curious to hear your experiences. I can’t wait to get out there!
Will do. Thanks again for the info.
Oh my gosh! I’m sitting her trying to cut back and put closure to my journaling and now this! I admire your dedication and look forward to the posts. I’m both happy and sad to say that I will be signing off in February and returning to non-Wired ways…that is, until possibly the CDT in 2013…
Hey Wired. Come on join. You already are a hiking machine. No problem for Wired.
So I have a proposition for you. Would you consider writing a guest post on this blog? No non-Wired ways for you. Think about it and let me know. Join.
Great hiking pictures and awesome idea! I’m midway through an effort to hike/run/walk/bike/paddle 1000 miles in one year over on my blog, and cause I guess that wasn’t enough now I’m doing one backpacking trip per month this year. One hike a week though, eh? Ok, I’m in!