How I Started the 52-Hike Challenge

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most anywhere counts as a hike.Excited about spending time with my sister out in the woods, and the user-friendly format of the challenge — I committed. Then I panicked.While I have a pretty steady exercise history, I tend to eat my emotions, and with a BMI of 33, my feet have hurt on and off for a few years. Can my body handle hiking every week? What had I gotten myself into?<h2 id="7da9">Hike #4 Maryland Heights Trail, Part I</h2>Located just off the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, in Harper’s Ferry, WV, this trail starts steep — and stays that way. This was my fourth hike of the challenge.There are essentially two options. Hike 2.25 miles (one-way)directly to the overlook, a spectacular view of the converging Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers — and a bird’s-eye view of Harper’s Ferry.Or, hike 3.1 miles one way, to the “Old Stone Fort” remnants of the fortress built by Union Soldiers during the Civil War, to the overlook. We chose this longer option, a 6.2 loop and 652 feet elevation gain.<blockquote id="b46b">Less than half a mile in, I was breathless, bent over, repeatedly stopping to rest, at least 20 yards behind my sister. Despite the just above freezing temperature, sweat soaked through my t-shirt and fleece, into my army gree

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n jacket.</blockquote>Head down, I leaned in. Periodically, my sister stopped to wait for me. I couldn’t quit — the trail along a narrow stream that gurgled gently, was gorgeous. I could boost myself or berate myself — my attitude was my choice.“This is hard. This is my ‘I love me’ hike. I love myself for being out here on this mountain. I’m not fast. I’m overweight. I am not wearing the latest hiking fashions and I don’t look like I belong. But I’m here — doing the work. I see the beauty around me and in me.”About 31/2 hours in, we reach the top, hiking among the large, rocky remnants of the fort, the balls of my feet sting. How did Union soldiers get up here in their stiff-soled shoes, dragging cannons, food, and water?They believed in their cause — the preservation of the Union.I channeled their determination and claimed it for my own. I believe in myself. This is my “I love me” hike. I’m not perfect, but I’m here.As we continued, marching over rocks and roots, I picked up a sturdy stick for a hiking pole. Leaning on it took some pressure off my aching feet, helped me balance, and kept me going.I didn’t realize then, that the hardest parts of Maryland Heights were yet to come.</article></body>

Over-fifty, overweight, over-my-head?

In December 2020, my sister and went on a short hike on an old trolley trail in Ellicott City, Maryland. Afterward, we got breakfast and talked about how nice it was to be outside in the woods just putting one foot in front of the other.

The challenge format is flexible; you can hike multiple times in a week to make up for missed weeks, just get out regularly for 52 hikes in one year. Walking at least a mile almost anywhere counts as a hike.

Excited about spending time with my sister out in the woods, and the user-friendly format of the challenge — I committed. Then I panicked.

While I have a pretty steady exercise history, I tend to eat my emotions, and with a BMI of 33, my feet have hurt on and off for a few years. Can my body handle hiking every week? What had I gotten myself into?

Hike #4 Maryland Heights Trail, Part I

Located just off the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, in Harper’s Ferry, WV, this trail starts steep — and stays that way. This was my fourth hike of the challenge.

There are essentially two options. Hike 2.25 miles (one-way)directly to the overlook, a spectacular view of the converging Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers — and a bird’s-eye view of Harper’s Ferry.

Or, hike 3.1 miles one way, to the “Old Stone Fort” remnants of the fortress built by Union Soldiers during the Civil War, to the overlook. We chose this longer option, a 6.2 loop and 652 feet elevation gain.

Less than half a mile in, I was breathless, bent over, repeatedly stopping to rest, at least 20 yards behind my sister. Despite the just above freezing temperature, sweat soaked through my t-shirt and fleece, into my army green jacket.

Head down, I leaned in. Periodically, my sister stopped to wait for me. I couldn’t quit — the trail along a narrow stream that gurgled gently, was gorgeous. I could boost myself or berate myself — my attitude was my choice.

“This is hard. This is my ‘I love me’ hike. I love myself for being out here on this mountain. I’m not fast. I’m overweight. I am not wearing the latest hiking fashions and I don’t look like I belong. But I’m here — doing the work. I see the beauty around me and in me.”

About 31/2 hours in, we reach the top, hiking among the large, rocky remnants of the fort, the balls of my feet sting. How did Union soldiers get up here in their stiff-soled shoes, dragging cannons, food, and water?

They believed in their cause — the preservation of the Union.

I channeled their determination and claimed it for my own. I believe in myself. This is my “I love me” hike. I’m not perfect, but I’m here.

As we continued, marching over rocks and roots, I picked up a sturdy stick for a hiking pole. Leaning on it took some pressure off my aching feet, helped me balance, and kept me going.

I didn’t realize then, that the hardest parts of Maryland Heights were yet to come.