August Review of Outdoor Goals

After camping at the end of July, I think we were all a little burnt out at the beginning of August. We took a little break from hiking and spent a few days mostly indoors. It took us a bit to get back into our groove. Now, as I look back on the month, I see a lot of quality family time that was much needed as our schedules are about to change dramatically.

My husband is returning to work after 6 months of unemployment at the same time that D is starting school again. I’m about to go from having everyone in the house with me to just N for a few hours. It is going to be hectic and we will all have an adjustment period. This makes me so grateful that we were able to make so many wonderful memories outside this month.

If you remember, we also started a family hiking goal during July to try and complete the Catskill 3500 challenge. This consists of hiking up all 35 peaks in the Catskills that are over 3500 feet tall and then climbing 4 of them again in the winter. We realized that we won’t be able to complete many of these peaks carrying N. That is why we are going to push forward (when possible) on our own while we hike train N. In a couple of years, we will be able to start repeating the peaks with the kids so they can earn their patches too. You can follow this journey more closely by following @CaliffLifeCreations on Instagram.

In case you need a reminder of my goals:

1. Spend an average of 1 hour/day outside with my kids. Setting this as a daily goal motivates me to make an effort every day instead of getting behind and then trying to play catch up. I’m hoping that we will surpass this goal, but for now, I am keeping this as an attainable goal. Plus, I made the goal in the winter and my youngest does NOT enjoy the cold.
2. Hike/walk the year in miles. That is 2,020 miles during the year, an average of 55 miles/day. I am recording my miles every day to keep track of this.
3. 52 hikes in 52 weeks. This includes the trail runs that I have started to enjoy. 

These outdoor goals are helping me on my journey to achieve better mental health after postpartum depression and better physical health. I feel so much better when I am on track so I continue to pursue them. Are you ready to crush some goals?

Goal #1: 1/hour outside every day in August

August started with a bang, quite literally, as Tropical Storm Isaias blew through and knocked out the power in our entire town for a few days. Trees were down everywhere. The boys were so helpful picking up the sticks and cleaning up outside. They helped in many ways including washing random objects for various projects, planting some carrots, and painting a new bookcase for the basement.

There was a lot of play in the yard, of course. While we were doing trips to the Catskills, we didn’t have much desire to do many other big outings. We made mud cookies, and played baseball, explored the world, and got dirty, played in the pool, and made potions from plants we found. I watched my kids’ imaginations and abilities expand as they discovered new ways to play together.

As I thought about school approaching, I decided to incorporate a little more learning into our natural outdoor play. Going on a bug hunt became a very popular activity. The magnifying glass in general was a hit. D loved looking at anything, including the sight words that we were trying to learn. Check out that game here. I introduced D to paper mache outside and we counted and organized sticks by length. These activities are building up to school starting in early September and are helping me prepare in case we end up needing to homeschool at any point.

You can read more about the benefits of a bug hunt in Ela Wild’s “What Nature Can Teach Us”

The boys went out for the first time to go somewhere other than the woods. I took them to a local farm to meet up with friends to play. It was great to do at least one “normal” summer activity and the kids all had a great time. They ran, jumped, and played together. We got to see farm animals and ended the day with ice cream (which I’m pretty sure N liked a lot more than D). While it was weird for me to watch them running and playing while wearing masks, it also reminded me of the fact that this is normal to them. I know different, they don’t. That is ok. They are still having all the best parts of childhood.

Total time outside in August: 73.42 hours

Daily Average for the month: 2 hours 22 minutes

Total time outside for the year: 724.4 hours

Daily Average for the year: 2 hours 58 minutes

Goal #2: Hike/walk 2,020 miles

August is the first month I didn’t hit my daily average goal of 5.5 miles. I spent more time this month working on my computer and writing. Instead of getting up at the end of the day and marching, I would sit and relax. Mornings were a struggle, I just didn’t want to wake up to go for a run. Another reason I think this was the case was that after a big hike or a long day, I was resting. It wasn’t exactly a focus on self-care but I was listening to my body and trying to give it the rest it needed. This has never been something I was that good at but I’m trying to improve. This past month has made it clear to me that I need to find some way to balance this more as the movement is part of taking care of my body as well.

Daily Average for August: 5.37 miles

Total Miles Walked this month: 166 miles

Total Miles Walked in the year: 1424/2020

Goal #3: 52 Hikes in 52 Weeks – August Hikes

It took us a couple of weeks after camping to get back out on the trails. That was part of being a little burnt out. We went for a very short hike locally. It was too late by the time we hit the trail and the heat was intense. We barely went 1.5 miles and had a major breakdown from D. While it was pretty miserable, it broke the cycle and got us back out.

I also got one good trail run in when I had gone for a long run up the mountain and saw the trail head on my way back down. It felt good to get back to that too. I worked up a big sweat and came home with a smile on my face.

Panther Mountain

Then, we got back to hiking in the Catskills. Our second peak was Panther Mountain (3724ft) via Giant Ledge. It was filled with amazing views, which is exactly why we picked it. The hike was about 7 miles out and back with just shy of 2000 ft elevation gain. It was filled with rock scrambles and climbs that D loved. He amazed us with his ability too!

Blackhead Range

While it was fun to hike Panther Mountain as a family, my husband and I decided (for the sake of my knees) that we would go for some of the peaks on our own until N can hike better, and then we can always re-do them with the kids. The first chance we had, we went up to hike Blackhead (3940ft), Black Dome (3980ft), and Thomas Cole (3950ft) to make 3,4, and 5 out of 39 and then continued to complete 12 miles and about 4000ft elevation game. It felt so good to do just the two of us. I love hiking with my kids, but this is my kind of date!

Balsam Lake Mountain

Before then end of August and school and work start, we wanted to try and fit as many trips to the Catskills. Balsam Lake Mountain (3720ft) was the shortest hike we’ve done there at only 3.5 miles and about 1000ft elevation gain. Even though it was short, I think the fire tower at the top made it one of the kids’ favorites so far. There was a wide-open summit that N could run around and get his energy out more before going back into the pack to hike down. It was a great peak for the kids.

Now our schedules are changing and we will have to figure out when we can hike. I think there will be many short local hikes in our future to strengthen N’s hiking legs and increase his mileage while D gets the chance to explore more. Our lives will probably so crazy for a bit here that I’m ok with that.

 

Total Hikes in August: 6

Progress Toward Goal: 38/52

Mental and Physical Health June Check-In

My anxiety and stress throughout August felt like it was through the roof. I think it was all because of school starting soon. I’m nervous that it would work out and things will have to close. Even with his school moving almost entirely outdoors, I’m still nervous. That motivated me to try and be prepared. I spent hours planning different projects to make our home even more learning-friendly. 

This started by re-organizing and transforming our basement. I’m opening up the floor space more and organizing the toys into sections to encourage independent play. Everything is finally going into bins so that the boys can learn to take one out and put away another. Being in motion helps my anxiety. The projects help my brain to focus on moving past what is causing me stress by working on a solution. 

I’ve slacked on yoga and strength training during August, relying mostly on hiking for physical exercise. Since the intensity of my hikes will be vastly reduced right now, I know I need to return to a better workout routine. I’m thinking of doing HIIT or strength training in the morning and yoga at night. I plan to shift my sleep schedule so that I wake up earlier to get my work done in the morning rather than at night. The plan is that this will also open up time for me to fit in a quick morning workout. I’ll check back on this next month and let you know how I did!

That was my outdoor goals review of August. I hope that some of what we have done to inspire you to get outside. For more, check out my Instagram or Facebook pages. 

January Goal Review

February Goal Review

March Goal Review

April Goal Review

May Review

June Review

July Review

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