Hiking Dude Blog

The past couple years, I've had a hiking buddy on my big trips but I had no idea he was so popular! I thought he was just another old guy like me that liked to walk.

He didn't talk much but was always prepared for bad weather. Here's some of our favorite hikes from our recent adventures, starting with the one above which is Bernie and Me contemplating life on the Kekekabic Trail.

Summit of Eagle Mountain in Minnesota

On the Pacific Northwest Trail

Climbing Kilimanjaro in Tanzania

On the France/Spain border in the Pyrenees

So, what did Hiking Dude accomplish in 2020?

• Earned my Hike 100 NCT patch by hiking over 100 miles on the North Country trail. You can Join the 2021 Challenge.
• Hiked over 1,000 miles on my almost-daily morning local hikes. Most days, I hiked 5 to 6 miles.
• Hiked 62 miles, circling the Cloud Peak Wilderness on the Solitude Loop trail in Wyoming.
• Yo-yoed the Kekekabic Trail in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for an 81-mile trip.
• Picked up and disposed of or recycled over 600 pounds of trash and litter on my hikes.

As a participant in the 2020 Groundskeepers program put on my Granite Gear, I got to try out some new gear while I was out on the trails. There were 30 of us in the program and we removed around 7,000 pounds of trash in total. If you love the outdoors and would like to do a bit more in 2022, keep an eye on TheGroundsKeepers.org for your chance to apply in the fall.

I hope you got out into the wilds during this past year, and are preparing for an adventurous 2021.

Hike On!

PS: I'm working on my 3rd book, but since it isn't finished, I can't really claim it as an accomplishment. :-) I really think it will be a fun, useful read for all my hiking friends and you can be sure I'll be mentioning it more when the publication date gets closer.