rivera.keith•14d agoProlific Poster

Hit 500 trail miles this year without even realizing it until I checked my GPS

I was just looking at my hiking log from last weekend on the Pacific Crest Trail section near Mount Hood and noticed I crossed 500 miles for 2024, which surprised me since I never set a goal or tracked it closely - has anyone else accidentally hit a milestone like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

lunawilson14d ago

My hiking buddy and I were just talking about this on the Mount Si trail last Tuesday (that steep part near the top always gets me). I hit 350 miles without meaning to back in 2023 and it felt like finding a twenty in an old jacket pocket, honestly. There is something nice about not obsessing over the numbers, you know? Like the miles just add up because you actually enjoy being out there.

ryan_kim6314d ago

Yeah that steep part is brutal but worth it for the views?

luna_jackson287d ago

You said "the miles just add up because you actually enjoy being out there" and I think that's the real secret nobody talks about in those "how to hike more" guides. Don't people realize that if you're forcing yourself to log miles like it's a chore, you're gonna burn out faster than a cheap camp stove? I'm curious what your hiking buddy thought when you hit that number, did they even notice you were racking up that many miles or were they just as surprised as you? Because for me, the best hikes are the ones where I'm not even thinking about distance until I'm back at the car and my legs feel like jelly.