The 2023?!?! Cyclical totals discussion thread.

[Jim]

How are things progressing this year? In keeping with the idea that you are only as good as the numbers you post, I'm up to 61,436' of elevation for the year and a modest 132 miles.

Added August 2019: Looking back 10 years later, I honestly can't think of anything more offensive or unhealthy to say about one's hiking, than the above statement. Thats was my OP in 2009. Hiking should never just be about the stats recorded.

January 31, 2023: Have at it.

[JuanJaimeiii]

He ditched his old style boots and went minimal in his Merrell Barefoot trail shoes and got out of the horribly rigid concrete boots that so many of you hike in. Ankles, knees, hips, and back, all flexible and moving naturally, and he strengthened them up with lots of hiking. Well, I hope. It's a common fallacy that you need to support your ankle, so being barefoot or in a sandle that only protects your foot's sole from puncture and rough terrain is the most you need, if you want that. Liz's son did Elden completely barefoot, and ran down hill!

As far as plans go, mike does this mean you are reconsidering your 2013 goal? I basically meant, are there any other top contenders with lofty goals for next year? JJ3, perhaps?

I think my plan for 2013 is to try and hike about half as much as I did in 2012. I'm worn out! Just kidding but in all seriousness I do need to cut back and get more balanced with other priorities. The problem is that hiking is a real treat and it is easy to get out and want to stay out. I need more discipline and I am going to focus on a more balanced 2013.

I would love to hit a million AEG for the year but the thought of it is daunting. That work is better suited for someone more capable than I. Happy New Year Friends!

[kingsnake]

"I think my plan for 2013 is to try and hike about half as much as I did in 2012."

That's the problem with hobbies: You do them because you enjoy them, but then you like them so much you end up over doing it, then burning out ...

[hikeaz]

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[autumnstars]

I ended my year on a bridge over the Thames in London, and after adding an estimate of the miles I walked while there, I exceeded my 2012 mileage goal. Pleasing.

Man, people in London and Paris do a lot of walking. And every building, I mean every single one, has stairs. Lots and lots of stairs.
Very few places have lifts. It made me truly realize how lazy the average American is.

[Jim]

Maybe it's the winter, maybe it's the thought of hiking the A trail and Ortega peak over and over again, but it seems like the thought of getting the required 4,000' a week is not an attractive one. I'm reconsidering my goal of getting back over 200,000' this year. Perhaps I'll redevelop an enthusiasm when the weather warms, but I feel less enthusiasm than I hoped. I might start riding my bike more when it warms up, as I miss that a little. I figure, maybe I should just try to do a weekly 1,000' to 2,000' a week, and just enjoy being active the other times. If the AEG and mileage comes, so be it. If not, it would be nice to get back to a time when I remember enjoying the thrill of being out exploring or enjoying a fun hike, not thinking of the yearly totals.

[Jim]

I see a few top contenders pushing towards 100,000'. Who will be the first to pass the mark? Since I know at least one of them has a lofty goal for the year, do the others?

[imike]

I can not seem to settle into a focused pattern... maybe by the end of this month? Snow covering the trails this morning makes for a muddy hike; hard to want to trudge out through all of that!

Someone will pop the million mark this year....

[Jim]

Early showings for 2013 appear to be going to our own FrickNaley, who is poised to be the first to cross 100,000' for the year, beating last years top performer Johnlp, who came in with an impressive 802,208' of AEG in 2012. Imike is a distant 3rd, but he is closely followed by another top performer from last year, MrBadBern. Who will be the first to top it? The smart money is on Naley.

Updated on the 21st: it was Nick.

[Jim]

So, here is something personally important to me I want to share. It might also be an interesting feature for the analysis.

Basically, after seeing so many members reach very impressive AEG totals after my year (2008) where I logged the number one spot ( I assume others actually exceeded, but did not log their trips), and nearly reaching 300,000' of AEG in the calendar year of 2010, I had wanted to make >300,000' of AEG in a year. That figure seems like a nice reasonable number that is attainable by someone who hikes, but also does other stuff. Johnlp making >800,000' last year was nearly super human, in my opinion, given that he worked and had a life with a wife, and all the other trappings of modern living. I was on track to do so in 2011 until moving to Kayenta and falling off the face of the Earth. 2012 was a bust, and I now realize it is not a realistic feat for me to make >300,000', or if it is, it won't be this year as I find myself wanting my hikes to be more enjoyable at times to relieve work stress, and not simply a goal for AEG or mileage totals.

However, it turns out, that if you consider a year period to be more flexible than a January 1 to December 31 calendar year, and merely a 12 month, or 365 day period, I had hiked over 300,000' of AEG in 12 months. After some analysis I previously ignored, I can now proudly boast that from February 1, 2010 to January 31, 2011, I had hiked 305,043' and 910.12 miles. However, I was really happy to learn that from May 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011, I hiked what I think is a personal best in a 12 month period, of 342,419 feet of AEG, and 1000.21 miles.

I was really happy to see that I had made my goal of hiking over 300,000' in a year, and had actually done well more than 300,000' in a particular 12 month period. It was purely a personal goal, but one I can say I did. Much like those who want to hike an R3 12 times, mine is just way more pedestrian, or attainable.

It might be an interesting feature to be able to take a period, by entering a start and end date, which would include those days in an analysis, to see how much AEG and miles one has hiked. It can be for a year, or used to see how much someone did in a summer. Or, you could use a calculator like I did. Either way, I am glad I made my goal, even if it didn't span a calendar year.

[Jim]

I'm now closing in my 2013 minimal goal of 200,000 feet of AEG, well over last year's total. Then I can rest easy on my laurels, hang up my shoes, and wait til January 1, 2014, to get back out there. Probably not. Depending on how fall goes, I could make 300,000' if I really pushed myself, but I doubt that will happen and I have found simply forcing myself to make numbers really takes the fun out of hiking. I'll be happy to make mid 200s, but really just getting back over 200,000 is making me happy.

Anyway, I have noted that there are AEG packs. There is a top tier of those in the 400,000' range, some in the lower 300,000, then 2 guys in the low 200,000, a group in the 190,000' range, and so on. Curiously, there doesn't appear to be a lot of movement between these groups, and it looks like once a person establishes their personal hiking level early on in the year, they seem to stay consistent, unless they quit, hiking.

[CannondaleKid]

I have found simply forcing myself to make numbers really takes the fun out of hiking.

That's what I've found as well, particularly last year. Although I'm still competitive I realized getting too wrapped up in competition with others and achieving stats was not doing me any favors.

So this year I stopped logging my stats on HAZ (sorry Joe), stopped 'comparing' my stats to others and actually have been enjoying myself more. And surprisingly, with the only plan to NOT have any specific goals I find I'm well ahead of last year in miles, AEG and most important, smiles. Yes, I still track my hikes personally (as I have for 7+ years) but I'm no longer driven by what I have or have not accomplished and it's working for me.

[beterarcher]

I realized getting too wrapped up in competition with others and achieving stats was not doing me any favors.

or winning you any prizes.

[azbackpackr]

I'm resting, too, but not on my laurels...

[----]

The chart stats/analysis are useless IMO, having fun is all that matters to me. I spent one month earlier this year logging almost everything and only felt silly afterward because it didn't capture my efforts or my fun factor. To each his own though.

[Jim]

They're entirely useless unless you want to know how far you have logged, how high you hiked, or how much you did in a period of time. Sort of the way viewing your bank balance is useless, too.

[azbackpackr]

I have enjoyed it at times. It can get a bit obsessive. Or it can make you feel kind of like a couch potato, looking at other people's accomplishments! ;)

[chumley]

I love that HAZ keeps track of my stats. It's fun to see how I'm doing month to month or year to year. But I pay very little attention to other people's stats, and I sure as hell don't do anything to try to out-do anybody else in any category.

I don't keep score. So how do I measure myself with other hikers? By height.

[Jim]

With not much more of the year left, people are probably honing in on any goals they may have. In October, I put out a huge effort after buying some shoes with padding that allowed me to hike long distance day after day, without the severe, crippling pain that the minimal shoes produce on hikes longer than 10 miles. Ended up having my best month ever, for both miles and elevation, and significantly for me, it was all local hiking. Perhaps I wore it out, as I find myself bored with most local hikes now, but it is also not as nice as it was 6 weeks ago.

I sit well with in reach of my goal for the year, and might very easily make a nicely padded level of 310,000' of AEG. Probably will end up in the higher 800 mile range. Not big on that.

I noticed some, like Fraley made just over half a million, and BadBern is just over 600,000'. Will the Hammer hurt us and make 600,000? Will AZbackpackr make 40,000'? What about 50,000'?

What about next year? Perhaps it is too early to start thinking ahead, but it is dark out. My goal, if it can be said to be one, is to do what I intended to do this fall, and not hike for elevation or to reach a goal. I mostly ended up doing that once I realized how much I was doing, and that by pushing myself, I could probably finally get the 300,000' mark off my back. Something that bothered me since I got so close in 2010. Next year, I'd rather not do that at all. While I guess I would still like to get out enough to exceed 200,000' (4,000' per week on average) that basically is because I just want to hike, and hike things I like, not because I want a goal achieved. That is just me, though.

[te_wa]

i've done a whopping 40 miles in a whole year! i win biggest loser ---------------->

[BobP]

So how do I measure myself with other hikers? By height.

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