52 Hikes with Mike

In conclusion…

Happy New Year. It’s 2018, and that means at least 52 more hikes from me. I finished the final three hikes of 2017 sick as a dog, and the final two in the bitter cold of a harsh winter in Michigan. I’m alive, still sick, but working on the next 52. Here are a few stats:

Total mileage: about 212

Solo hikes: 19 (which means 33 were with other people)

Canine companion hikes: 25

Unique locations: 29

Number of hikes I truly enjoyed: 46

The few hikes I didn’t enjoy were most likely due to certain trails being closed, having a busy weekend and this feeling more like an obligation than fun, or plain old laziness setting in. The challenge kept me going, however, even when I didn’t want to leave the house. I won’t sit here and say that I love the metro area so much more because of this, but I’ll certainly agree there are plenty of places to go hike that make living here more enjoyable. The mission of this challenge was to get me out and to encourage finding new places and I did that time and time again.

Looking forward to 2018 and the hikes ahead, I want to increase the length and explore a bit more out of my comfort zone. I’m going to shoot for 400 miles in hopes of getting there, but I will not beat myself up for anything above 300 as longer hikes require places that have longer trails and that just isn’t always the case around the DFW metro area. I have plans to get back to Michigan as much as possible, to both enjoy the hiking and to visit family.

Here’s to the new year, new trails, and new experiences all over again.

#hike52 – Herman Vogler Conservation Area

Location: Herman Vogler Conservation Area – Rogers City, MI

Date: 12/27/17

Distance: 2 miles

The blizzard in the Upper Peninsula really killed any plans to travel safely up there to see Tahquamenon Falls. So, I went back to the place down the road from my family’s home and took the dogs on a longer hike, further back, to fulfill the final hike for the year. It was near zero degrees, snowing, and I broke trail on half of this trek today. All in all, it was the perfect way to end the challenge for the year and encourage me for the new year. I’m battling a major head cold and so 2 miles was more than enough for my wheezing, congestion, and head pain. Here are some photos! Cheers to 2018!

Maker:0x4c,Date:2017-10-13,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-ve

Maker:0x4c,Date:2017-10-13,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-ve

#hike51 – Herman Vogler Conservation Area

Location: Herman Vogler Conservation Area – Rogers City, MI

Date: 12/24/17

Distance: 1.2 miles

Took the dogs and went to the trails! We didn’t know what conditions to expect, but there was only about 6 inches of snow on the hiking trails. The temperature was hovering near 20F, but the woods cut any wind right down making it feel a lot nicer on the face. These are the trails I did as a kid with my grandma and whatever dog we had then, so it was a special hike today to relive those memories. In the winter, we’d cross country ski here too, and seeing the tracks from others today was nice. All in all, not a very long hike, but a lot to take in and it was good breathing to cold, northern air! Hiking in winter boots is much less comfortable than hikers, just for the record Chewy the dog had to share the spotlight with Callie, my grandparent’s dog on the trail today.

Maker:0x4c,Date:2017-10-13,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-ve

#hike50 – Arbor Hills Nature Preserve

Location: Arbor Hills Nature Preserve

Date: 12/20/17

Distance: 1.5

I’m recovering from the stomach flu and thought this would be a nice easy hike. It was, but I wasn’t strong enough to go very far. The trails are a mix of paved paths and natural surface. Yesterday was an extremely wet day so all of the natural surface trails were muddy, a clay type mud that cakes on your shoes. I should have taken photos of my shoes, they were coated in with mud, leaves, and more mud. We didn’t get very far, but it was nice to get outside and take in some fresh air.

#hike49 – Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge

Location: Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge

Date: 12/17/17

Distance: 7.6

Trails: Canyon Ridge & part of Greer Island

Today, in one word, was FANTASTIC. I set out to do two hikes today, but it didn’t happen and I’ve never been more okay with it. I set out at the FWNC&R not knowing what to expect, and what I got was fantastic. Yesterday was a day of rain, into the night, and today was the recovery. The air was a bit heavy, in a good way, and the temps were below 50. The smells of this trail were loamy, earthy, and quintessential fall/winter. I was transported today, to somewhere else. Parts of this trail felt like Michigan or Oregon, while others were very much Texas. I was just so pleased. I encountered only 4 people on my out, and 9 on my way back. Today was cool, full of good smells, and scenic.

Maker:0x4c,Date:2017-10-13,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-ve

Nearing the end of the year…

0630171842 — Chugach National Forest – near Portage, Alaska

Well, I’ve hit 200 miles, finally! I kind of thought I would have done more, so that’s the goal for next year – do more, hopefully at least 350 miles. I know it’s not about the distance, but I can’t help but think I could do more for both my brain and body.
Hikes 49 & 50 are happening this weekend ahead, at two state parks in Texas Hill Country. I’m technically one week behind, but this weekend will finally level it all out and get me up to date. It’s not about the weeks so much as getting 52 hikes in.
Hikes 51 & 52 will happen in Michigan to wrap up the challenge, around Christmas! I’m hoping to to Hike 52 at Tahquamenon Falls State Park, but we’ll see how the weather and time go.
I recently discovered that some people do 52 unique hikes and I’m a little bit jealous. Embarking on 52 unique hikes where I live, and with my lifestyle, just isn’t feasible. Future goals, however, will be to do 52 unique hikes – maybe after a relocation or if I sit down and map out the year in advance.
I’m working on a more consistent format for the blog next year – more for my own record keeping purposes than anything else. A cleaner look, streamlined photos, and some statistics.
Remember, I take and share photos to help me remember things as well as to show off how beautiful the world is. I don’t use my DSLR too often and I don’t really edit them unless it’s clicking the “auto” in Google Photos before importing them to the blog or social media. I love people that take pro photos, but that’s just not something that is likely to happen here.
Anyone wanting to do a hike with me next year, let me know! Maybe we can get together on a trail somewhere near or far. My other half and I love to travel and will plan to include some hiking away from Texas, so I’ll keep this blog in the loop.
I’m so thankful for this year. I was able to hike all over the country – from Alaska to Texas. I didn’t make it to Washington, but that fuels the fire for 2018.

#hike48 – Dinosaur Valley State Park

Location: Dinosaur Valley State Park

Date: 12/9/17

Distance: 4 miles

Trails: Some of Cedar Brake Outer Loop, Rocky Ridge

Chewy the Dog and I headed south to Dinosaur Valley State Park to get some quality hiking in. They had done a prescribed burn the previous two days, so much of the grasses were scorched and the smell of campfire lingered in the air. We got to the trailhead parking lot and found only ONE other car – what a great start. From the trailhead, we crossed the river as usual, and headed out along the Cedar Brake Outer Loop. We connected to the Rocky Ridge trail and then back to the river crossing/trailhead. It was a beautiful, cool morning with temps no higher than 50. The sun was out, the hills provided enough challenge, and we only encountered a couple of people. My attitude about hiking has been relatively negative as of late so this was a really nice reinvigorating moment. I can’t wait to get back out to a trail.

Maker:0x4c,Date:2017-10-13,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-ve

#hike47 – Cedar Ridge Preserve

Location: Cedar Ridge Preserve

Date: 12/3/17

Distance: 2.4 miles

I’ve been having a real internal struggle with getting out to the trail lately and I don’t like it one bit. Aside from moderately busy weekends, household chores, and shorter days, I am so anxious about going hiking and it’s all-consuming on weekend mornings when I have the time to go. But, thanks to Chewy the Dog, I got my self together and we went to the ole standby for some nature time. It was busy, so busy, and it was overwhelming at first but leveled off. There were a lot of dogs, a lot of people, and a lot of trail runners.

I was going to do the Fossil Valley Trail with a mix of others, but in my desperation to get out of the way of the trail running folks, I turned without looking where I was turning and went down the Cedar Brake trail. Cedar Brake is my favorite one there, it’s the most woodsy and further from the highways so there is less noise, so this was a happy accident. I started to get lost in the trees and the way the light was dancing on the ground when it peeked through the clouds. My body was happy to get exercise and my brain was happy to get a tiny break – though most of the hike was thinking about things and stopping to take notes about those things.

Here’s to you, old standby, not too far and usually not too busy…I started WAY too late in the morning. I’m still ONE hike behind, which I really need to make up – either this weekend or next.

#hike46 – Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center

Location: Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center

Date: 11/26/2017

Distance: 3.0 miles

Decided to head up to the Clear Creek trail today north of Dallas-Fort Worth for a change of pace and it was well worth it. The trail wasn’t too busy and it was the perfect day to be outside. The weekend got away from me with various things that came up so today was much needed. I’m a week behind on my hikes, but will be making that up over the next couple of weeks, pending any OTHER random happenings.

Today’s adventure took us down the Wetlands trail, the Bois d’Arc Loop, and back via the High Trail. Here are some photos. Happy Hiking.

#hike45 – Cedar Ridge Preserve

Location: Cedar Ridge Preserve

Date: 11/12/2017

Distance: 2.1 miles

I had been avoiding going hiking all weekend – despite needed to get moving. It was a gray, rainy morning but that wasn’t going to stop us. We went to Cedar Ridge and it was damp. The rain picked up as we arrived, which was fine. The trail was slick, but passable, and there weren’t that many people out. It was quick hike, but a solid couple of trails as usual. So glad Cedar Ridge is so close.

Rainy, misty, wet hikes are officially my thing. I am ready for winter!

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