Our Experience with the 52 Hike Challenge

At the beginning of this year, we set a few goals to achieve throughout 2018, one of which being completing the 52 Hike Challenge, which is a challenge to do 52 hikes throughout the year (ideally 1 a week). And we’re SO EXCITED to share that as of October 21st, we are done with the challenge! Two and a half months early!

Being out in nature helps us in so many ways–it eases our anxiety and stress, pushes us physically and mentally, and it is a way for us to unplug and unwind after a long week. And completing this challenge was such a fun way for us to increase these benefits, make more time for nature, hike new trails, and give ourselves something to work towards.

We thought it would be fun to write a quick blog post sharing some photos and stats from the challenge. If you want to get outdoors more, find a way to unwind, or just love challenging yourself, we highly recommend trying the 52 Hike Challenge! Keep scrolling to read more about our experience. 🙂

Before embarking on your adventure, please review the Leave No Trace principles to ensure you leave every place better than you found it, so that others can enjoy these beautiful places for many years to come!

These seven principles include planning ahead and preparing, hiking and camping on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly (pack out what you pack in!), understanding campfire rules and always fully extinguishing your fires, respecting wildlife, and being considerate of other visitors. 

Our 52 Hike Challenge Stats

Miles hiked: 287

Number of unique hikes: 52–We didn’t repeat any trails which is crazy!

States we hiked in: Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, and Utah

Countries we hiked in: Canada (British Columbia + Alberta) and Scotland

Favorite hikes: It’s very hard to choose a favorite, so here are our top 10, in no particular order. Click the bolded hikes to read about our experience hiking them!

1. Mount St. Helens (Washington)
2. Panorama Ridge (British Columbia)
3. The Narrows (Zion National Park-Utah)
4. Old Man of Storr (Scotland)
5. Plain of Six Glaciers (Banff National Park- Alberta)
6. Observation Point (Zion National Park-Utah)
7. No Name Lake (Oregon)
8. Pipiwai Trail (Haleakala National Park-Maui)
9. Navaho Peak (Washington)
10. Mailbox Peak (Washington)

So now that we have completed the challenge, what’s next? Well, since we’re big fans of pushing ourselves, we decided that we didn’t want to stop the challenge this early, so we are now upping the challenge and shooting for 65 hikes for the year. We have about 8 weeks left in the year, so we have some work to do, but we can’t wait to crush our next goal!

So who’s ready to try the 52 Hike Challenge? Let us know below! We’d love to cheer you on 🙂