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Virginia Outdoor Adventures: Hiking, Camping, Kayaking, Local Travel and more!
From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia is a mecca for outdoor travel and adventure. Virginia Outdoor Adventures Podcast is your local guide to hiking, camping, kayaking, travel and so much more. Get the information and the inspiration to plan your own adventure, right here in Virginia. Lets Go!
Virginia Outdoor Adventures: Hiking, Camping, Kayaking, Local Travel and more!
Conquering Resolutions: Setting Outdoor Goals and Challenges for the New Year with Alejandra Villanueva, Girls Who Hike Virginia (Ep 67, Part 1)
It’s that time of year when we set intentions for the future. Will your resolutions be outdoorsy?
Alejandra Villanueva of the hiking community, Girls Who Hike Virginia, shares the story of her ambitious pursuit to hike Old Rag Mountain 36 times before the end of 2024.
Her remarkable journey beautifully intertwined her love of hiking with the transformative power of nature.
Alejandra’s adventures on Old Rag are a testament of resilience and profound self-discovery.
She offers insights into staying motivated amid unexpected challenges and harnessing the power of a hiking community in keeping her accountable.
As we look ahead to the new year, we discuss how to set meaningful outdoor goals for a year of adventure. Let’s Go!
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From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia is a mecca for outdoor travel and adventure. Virginia outdoor adventures Podcast is your local guide for hiking, camping, kayaking, travel and so much more. Get the information and the inspiration to plan your own adventure right here in Virginia, I'm your host. Jessica Bowser, it's that time of year when we set intentions for the future. Will your resolutions be outdoorsy? Alejandra Villanueva of the hiking community girls who hike Virginia, shares the story of her ambitious pursuit to hike old rag mountain 36 times before the end of 2024 her remarkable journey beautifully intertwined her love of hiking with the transformative power of nature. Alejandra's adventures on old rag are a testament of resilience and profound self discovery. She offers insights into staying motivated amid unexpected challenges, and harnessing the power of a hiking community and keeping her accountable. As we look ahead to the New Year, we discuss how to set meaningful outdoor goals for a year of adventure. Let's go Virginia Outdoor Adventures is sponsored by Virginia state parks, whether you're after a relaxing picnic or a two week vacation, leave life's daily pressures behind and reconnect with nature and family at a nearby State Park, you'll find plenty of programs, events and activities among 43 parks, plus 1000s of campsites, hundreds of cabins, More than 500 miles of trails and convenient access to Virginia's major waterways, from Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean. There's something for everyone at Virginia state parks. Discover Your next state park adventure by clicking on Virginia state parks in the show notes of your listening app. Alejandro, welcome to Virginia outdoor adventures.
Unknown:Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here, Jessica. What
Jessica Bowser:do you love about Virginia's outdoors?
Unknown:So as a new hiker, one of the things I love the most is how much there is to hike. Every single hike I go on, we talk about, like our favorite hikes and trails, and I always leave with like, a notepad on my phone full of new hikes that I've never heard of, that someone highly recommends, and it seems like the list just never ends. So that's probably my favorite thing. That's
Jessica Bowser:true, the list really doesn't ever end. I had a friend once tell me that she did all the hikes in Virginia and there was nothing left to do, and she was bored. And I was like, I'm sorry. I don't understand, because there's so many places to hike, I don't know how you could possibly run out. Yeah,
Unknown:I don't, especially there's a little of everything you have to be willing to travel to. Like I did not. I've lived in Virginia for 25 years now. I didn't understand that I could go seven hours and still be in Virginia. I didn't know that. Yeah,
Jessica Bowser:that's right, especially from Northern Virginia, like some parts of the state, are far drive, but it just means that there's always something to explore. Yes, what inspired you to begin hiking since you're a newbie?
Unknown:So this was at the end of, I think it was 2022, I had spent the entire year trying to hike old ride because I had hiked it before in my early 20s, and I remember just loving how it felt. You know, coming out of the pandemic, I did not want to go back to the gym, but I wanted movement in my life. I was trying to get back into, like, a healthy group. I just remember, like, hiking felt really good, and I had spent all year trying to hike, and just throughout my friend groups, was not able to accomplish it, because they wanted to hike during, like, the perfect weather and things like that. And I think all I wanted to do that year was just hike it once. But the fact that I wasn't able to somehow became like, this goal of, like, I want to hike more. So I remember, I'm big into New Year's, and I just wrote down in my new year goal that I was making hike more. And I didn't know what that meant, at the time, I had no clue that I would become an actual, like, avid hiker. I just knew that I wanted to hike more, and I just wanted to move and be happy doing movement, and that's what got me started into it. So
Jessica Bowser:you just mentioned the first time that you hiked old rag was long before you set this goal for yourself. Do you remember what that experience was like? I mean, it must have had an impact on you if you decided you wanted to set this big goal for yourself. So
Unknown:I first hiked it October of 2013 that was my first time hiking it. I don't remember all of it, but I remember a few parts. The most impactful one was, I think this is probably the moment I fell in love with hiking. I just didn't know it. We were going up the first two and a half miles, which is just like the steep incline, and I was going on this hike with a friend. It was her birthday, which I did not know this until I looked it up that we went for her birthday. It was right after my first big heartbreak. So I was like, you know, in that grieving state, and it was my first time hiking. And anything that challenging. As we were going up and my legs were on fire, my calves were hurting like I remember looking at her and being like, oh my god, this is so painful. I love it. And I told her that for the first time, my body was matching the way I felt on the inside, because I was grieving. And something about that, I'm not a sports person. I've never played sports. I've never been athletic, so I had never experienced that before. It was my first time, and I really enjoyed it. It was very like cathartic for me. So I remember that. I also remember we made protein pancakes, and that's what we had for food. I also remember, now looking back on it, that I was not prepared at all for the hike that I did. I wore sneakers. I barely had, like, a water a one little water bottle with me. Like, now I look back on it, I'm like, Oh, that's cute. I would never hike it like that again. But that was the first time, and I only hiked it. I actually looked through my Instagram and I only hiked it three or four more times in the following two or three years, and then never hiked it again until two three years ago. I
Jessica Bowser:can believe that, because I think I first hiked old rag I don't know, more than a decade ago at least, and I was with a group of guy friends, and my recollection was that it took all of them to pull me and lift me up through the rock scramble, because I'm pretty short, like I've got short arms and legs, and as you know, there's some challenging parts in that rock scramble. And I remember thinking, I don't know if I would have made it through without these guys there helping me. After that, I kind of had it in my head that I couldn't hike it by myself, and that I had to have people with me who are going to help me through now, I know now that that's not necessarily true. You know, you do it and you have a certain recollection of it, and then it's not until you start to push yourself on your own that you realize you can do it on your own. Yes, and
Unknown:you know, I think my memory blocked the scramble out, because I have no memory of the scramble that first time. It was probably very hard a gap that you do it towards the end of the scramble. When I went back few years ago, I remember the first time that I recall doing it, it was a huge struggle for me. So I'm like, How did I do it in my 20s? Like, I have no clue how I did it in my early 20s, so I think I just blocked it out. And probably required a lot, a lot of help too, because looking back with the picture, there was a group of us, and we did have, like, several guys with us. So, like, I'm sure they helped us through it, because I don't remember, I
Jessica Bowser:believe it. And so what was the impetus for setting a goal to hike old rag 36 times? That's a big number for one year.
Unknown:Yes, all right, so there was two parts. A decision came in two parts. The first one was and I actually looked it up. It was May of 2023, I was hiking old rag with a group. As we were hiking it, we started talking about another fellow hiker who has hiked it over 300 times. Now she, at the time, lived near it. I'd hiked it over 300 times over 10 years. So as we were walking and talking about this. I'm a numbers person, so in my head, I was like, oh, you know, like, if she does, she hikes it like three times a month. That's like 36 a year. That's like 360 in 10 years. I can see how that's doable right away. I was like, Oh, my God, 36 in a year. I'm turning 36 in 2024 and as I'm like, hiking, and I think of this, I'm like, Oh, I have to do it. I have to, like, the numbers align perfectly. And this was in May. So in that moment, I was like, I can figure out how to do it by next year, right? Like, how to challenge myself to do it. So that was the moment where I was like, came up with the idea, and then we did the hike and everything. And then I got home and I went to the shower. And when I was in the shower, I was like, just brainstorming, like, the logistics of this, like, can I realistically do this? And I was already, at that point, hiking three times a month, so I was like, Okay, now I'm just hiking the same mountain three times a month. Like, no big deal. And I remember the question that came up for me was so old rag, especially now in my late 30s, every time I've hiked it afterwards, I ride this high of feeling like an absolute badass. It's very empowering for me. It challenges me, not just physically, but also mentally, even emotionally, at times and afterwards, when I go back to work on Monday, I can deal with the world in such a different way now, like nothing feels as hard as it did on Friday, right? I said in the shower. I was like, what if? What if I could feel that high for a whole year? What would that do for me? What would that do for my mental health, for my healing, for just my development? And the moment that question came up, I just, I was like, Oh, well, now I have to do it. I have to answer that question. What would this challenge do for me? And I remember, as I'm in the shower, I shout out to my fiance, Aaron. I was like, and he had to come. And I was like, I'm gonna hike gold rack next year, I think 36 times. So I'm gonna need you to support me through this. Okay? Hey, because it's gonna require a lot. And you said this to him from the shower, from the shower, I just knew, like, at the bowl, rolling right away, and I knew the first thing you had to do was let him know, because this was gonna require a lot of time and commitment. And he knows me. He knows I'm crazy like that. I'll just do things randomly. And he was like, okay, he just walked away, and that's that's how it started. That's
Jessica Bowser:so funny, you can even wait till you got out of the shower to tell him your plans.
Unknown:I was very excited, yeah,
Jessica Bowser:and I think it's really interesting what motivated you or what convinced you that this was a great idea. Because I think for some folks, and I think this would be true for me, I'd be wondering, what else am I missing out on if I'm only hiking the same trail over and over again for the entire year? Like, what about all those other trails that I wanted to try? Or, what about new parks, or new wildlife management areas, or, you know, new natural area preserves? Like, you know, I would be thinking, Okay, now I'm committed to this one thing for a full year and I won't get to do any of his other things. Did that thought go through your head at all?
Unknown:Yes and no. Like, as you're saying it right now, I'm like, I don't think I actually, like, sat down and thought about it, but as you're saying it, I'm like, Yeah, I can see that, but I don't feel that way. So one of the reasons why I love bold drive, like, I think at this point I have a relationship with this mountain. I love it because as you drive up to it, you can clearly see it, like you're pulling up, you're like, five minutes away from it, and you see it, and it's massive, and you can see the boulders, and it's just magnificent there. And then you drive up to it, and now you can't see it anymore, and you just go into this trail, and as you start hiking it, if you do this in the winter, you can actually start to see the summit as you're climbing up, but during those first two to three miles, you can't really see what you're going to enjoy. At some point, you just have to trust and keep going. And then you start to see the fall Summit. And the fall Summit is just beautiful, gorgeous. And you're like, oh my god, this is so cool. And a lot of people, when they get to the fall Summit, they think that's it. And they're like, I think we made it. And it's like, oh no, now you're actually about to go into a one mile scramble, and it's
Jessica Bowser:really hard. Yeah, there's a lot more left after that.
Unknown:There's a lot more you're really about to get started. And to me, there's something about that that just kind of matches what life is like, right? It's like, we put in all this work for things, and we tend to think, like, okay, cool. I did all the work. I got here. We saw it. Now it's like, no, actually, a lot of times in life, that's when the fun really begins, and also when the work really begins. And then you do all the scramble, and it requires for you to do things with your body that you probably don't do in other hikes, and for you to face your fears, and, you know, work with others, and all these elements that, again, life also requires. And then when you get to the summit, it is just stunning, but you do have to climb those boulders in order to be able to get the full 360 degree view, which not everybody does when they're at the summit. And that's also kind of matching to life. And we all make it, but we all decide what we do with it. And then the way down, the way down is longer than the way up, and that also, I feel like it matches with life a lot too. This whole journey of old rag has been very healing for me, and I've had a lot of epiphanies. I've had a lot of moments where I've been maybe struggling with something in life, and I choose to go to old rag to work through it as I hike through it, I just knew that if I spent the whole year on that specific mountain, that I would not regret it. There's other wonderful hikes I've done. You know, McAfee knob is one of my favorite ones, but none of the other hikes that I've done so far do for me and my soul. What old rock does. So yeah, that's why old York was had to be the one
Jessica Bowser:that makes perfect sense to me, especially as somebody who has hiked old rag anybody who's been through the rock scramble and to the fall summit and then beyond the fall summit to the actual summit and down the fire road, probably is nodding their head right now going, Yeah, I could, I could see that. And when you and I hiked it together. A few weeks ago, you were describing to me all the different ways in which you have hiked old rag and I thought that was so smart, because you're not doing exactly the same thing every time. Sometimes you have different people with you. Sometimes you're completely by yourself. Sometimes you were doing sunrise or sunset, and you had ways of mixing it up so that it wasn't the same repetitive thing every single time. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Unknown:So again, I had a lot of time to plan this, which is good. When I started thinking about it. I was like, All right, how do I spice this up? Because I did. I did hear that, both in my head and externally from other people, like, are you gonna get bored of old guy? And I was like, I don't think so, but let's plan for it, just in case. So I knew that I wanted to do sunrise, I knew that I wanted to do sunset, which, at the time felt scary, because being in the woods in the dark wasn't something I was comfortable with back then. Now I'm very comfortable, but back then I wasn't. So I knew that, I knew that. So I'm part of an organ. Organization, you know, girls hike Virginia, so I knew that I wanted to facilitate hikes for women who had never hiked it before. That particular part of the goal came out of a friendship that I have with a family friend who's in her 60s, and during 2023 she asked me to help her hike cold drag, and I did so when I had that experience with her in 2023 and I was planning my 2024 challenge, I knew that I wanted to have that feeling again of helping someone else conquer that mountain. Because for some people, like my fiance, who grew up in Vermont, old rug, is not a big deal. They just go do it in their sneakers, shorts and like they're good to go. For other people like me, it is a big deal. It's like this big, monumental thing that you are not even sure if you can do. And so I wanted to reach out to those women in the girls like Virginia community, and tell them like, Hey, If this is your goal, I want to do it with you. So I knew that I was going to do several hikes with them. I also knew that old rack could be done in different ways. So I learned to do it from the back way. I also gave myself permission to treat the fall summit as a as a summit, because it is, it's still a very, you know, challenging hike just to get to the fall Summit. So I allowed myself to have that experience count, and then doing it to the back way is probably one of my favorite ways of hiking it now. And I didn't even discover it until halfway through the year that I could do it that way. You can actually hike it and completely avoid the scramble, which I thought was really cool too, because for some people, that may be the limiting factor, like the scramble section, and it's like, oh well, you can actually make it all the way to the assignment without even touching the scramble. You're going to deal with different challenges, but you can get there. So yeah, a lot of that. I also knew that I wanted to hike it in different formats, like, also just to have fun, I did one for Halloween. I love Halloween. And I had seen at the time somewhere on like Instagram, like the sheet ghost, where you like, put on a sheet and put on your sunglasses. So I had this idea that for for Halloween, I would want to do a hike with my friends, and we would all carry up our sheets and sunglasses so that we could do, like a photo shoot at the top. And we did so just a few different ways of like, spicing it up and making it more exciting, just hiking old drag every time,
Jessica Bowser:adventure seekers will find endless opportunities in Grayson County, where many of Virginia's iconic trails and landmarks excite hikers, cyclists, paddlers and happy campers alike. Imagine this. You're hiking on one of the most scenic sections of the entire Appalachian Trail through the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, summiting mount Rogers or white top mountain, the two highest peaks in Virginia, or strolling through the valley of elk garden, where the now extinct Eastern elk once roamed. Or maybe your perfect day is on the water. Grayson County is home to the New River, one of the oldest and most scenic rivers in the world. Enjoy a leisurely class one float with the family or adrenaline packed class three rapids. Navigate the waters using the New River float calculator to plan your trip. The app factors flow rate, water levels, weather conditions, vessel type and more to calculate flow times from point A to point B. Prefer two wheels. You won't want to miss the grace and gravel traverse a 72 mile mixed surface gravel bike route that connects the Virginia Creeper trail and new river trail over well maintained and remote roads featuring a variety of challenging climbs in the foothills of Virginia's highest peaks. This overlooked gem of Virginia presents some of the best gravel cycling in the state, mostly unwritten and undiscovered after a day of adventure, there's nothing like gathering around a campfire under a sky filled with stars. Grayson County offers plenty of spots to pitch a tent like the New River campground or cozy up in a rusted cabin at the buck wild reserve. Discover why Virginia is for outdoor lovers. Start your Grayson County adventure at the historic 1908 courthouse and visitor center, or access the visitors guide online by clicking on visit Grayson County in the show notes of your podcast listening app that is super fun. And also, when you and I were at the summit together, you busted out this hula hoop. I was like, What are you doing? But by the end, I was absolutely sold on it. Can you talk about what the hula hoop is all about?
Unknown:So the hula hoop. I've always loved hula hooping. It's one of those things. So I immigrated here from Peru, and it's one of those things that's just been with me my whole life. I've always been naturally good at it. I've always kept it with me, like I've always owned a hula hoop. Now it's like a workout hula hoop that's weighted, so not like the traditional ones, but I've always had it. I've always loved it, and I've gone through my seasons of like, years of not touching it, and then I do right? It all depends on, like, where I am in life. And a few years ago, I did this group coaching sessions where the girl who leads it teaches about pleasure stacking, and she talks about, like, when you find something that you enjoy doing, for example, walking, if you love walking, how can you pleasure stack on top of that? Perhaps you also love learning. So you can make sure you set up, set up like your favorite podcast the night before, so you can listen to it. Perhaps you love photography, so as you're going on your walk, you bring your camera and you search for cool pictures to take. So I took that, and for me, it's more value stacking than pleasure stacking. That's just that just feels better for me. And I took that, and I've been working on that for years. So when I started hiking and loving hiking, I started applying that mindset to it, and I was like, All right, so if I'm going to eat on my hike, I'm going to eat something that I love eating, right? If I'm going to have sugar on my hikes, because it helps with my energy, I'm gonna have, like, my favorite chocolate. I'm gonna have, like, I'm gonna make myself chocolate covered strawberries, and like, really elevate the experience. And then came the idea of, like, hula hooping. I was like, Well, I love hula hooping, and I love hiking. How cool would it be to hula hoop on summits of mountains? Why not? And why not do it while the sun is rising or setting and do it with your best friends, and doing it listening to your favorite song, and it's just, it's this mindset that just allows you to continue just building and building the happiness pretty much. So that's where that came from. The first time I did it, I was nervous because I was like, people are gonna think I'm crazy. But then I think the first time I did it, I was doing it, and someone came out of like it was at the summit of old rag, and someone came out, and it was like, Oh, my God, I love hula hooping. Can I borrow it? I was like, yes. And so they borrowed it. And then some of the girls that I was with, they also started doing it. And I was like, Oh, I'm sharing the happiness that this brings to me with other people. So now I don't always bring it, but when I do bring it, I take it out. People end up enjoying doing it, and it just spreads the happiness. So that's where the hula hoop comes from.
Jessica Bowser:Yeah, that day that you and I were up there, so it was a holiday weekend, and it was a fee free day in the park, so we knew there was going to be a lot of people. And there were, there were a lot of people at the summit, and when you pulled it out, I was really interested in seeing what the reactions were going to be. And the majority of the people are so busy, you know, having their own moments, that they're not paying attention to what you or anybody else is doing, right? But there were people who came up and were like, can I try that? Or one woman said to you like she hadn't done it in years and years, and just wanted to, like, try it again, and she was so happy when you gave her that hula hoop. And whoever was with her, I don't know if they were family or friends, but, you know, they're taking pictures, and they're loving it too, and everybody was so into it. And you're right, it was just like, spreading the happiness. Yeah, because,
Unknown:I mean, you're going to be at the summit, typically, you're going to hang out there, you're going to be eating, you're going to be taking pictures. So it's like, why not bring it? I currently live in a space where, like, I don't have a lot of space in my house to be hula hooping, so I have to take it outside in order to use it. Yeah,
Jessica Bowser:that was a lot of fun. And then, of course, I got to try it. I don't think I've hula hoop since, like, elementary school gym class. I can't remember another time that I've done it. And I didn't think I would be able to, but I picked it up and it worked. I was like, Holy crap, I'm doing this.
Unknown:You are. It feels fun. It's like, yeah, yeah. So it's all the whole idea is, like, movement, you know, it's whatever feels good to you. Because I've learned for myself, like, I can't do the gym. Maybe one day the gym will be fun for me, but it's not today. So that's why hiking, hula hooping, I recently got myself a little trampoline. So I'm just like, I'm like, even in order to move, because I know that I want to move and it's good for me, it needs to be thoroughly enjoyable, otherwise it's not going to work. No,
Jessica Bowser:I totally hear you on that. I feel the same way about the gym. I mean, I go to the gym, but I'm not happy to be there. It's more like something that I'm powering through to get it over with, because I know that it's good for me, and maybe there's not another option for me that day, but anything that I can do outside completely changes the experience. Like now, I even do my yoga outside, and, you know, in the mornings, and that is totally different than doing it in my living room. So, yeah, it's like, it changes everything, and if it gets you excited to do it, then the motivation will stick too. Yeah. And another thing you did while we were there that I really loved is you talked about taking off your shoes so that you could actually, like, feel the earth under your feet and connecting in that moment. And I never thought to do that. Of all the years that I've been hiking and spending time outside, like, Sure, I'll take my shoes off if I'm at the beach or, you know, some other special place, but at a summit, like it never occurred to me to do that. What made you think to do something like that?
Unknown:I went on a hike with a fellow. Ambassador for girls like Virginia, and she actually hosts one of my favorite hike. Her boyfriend is a geologist. So they host geology hikes across Virginia. And I went on their old rag geology hike, which was amazing. But when we were at the summit, I had already, for some reason, I've already, I've been into grounding, which is, you know the practice of having your feet touch the bare earth for a while? And I asked her we were at the summit. I was like, hey, you know all this like scrambling that we just did with our bare hands, does that also do the same thing as grounding? And she said, No, it doesn't, because it has to be through your feet. And I was like, Okay. And she goes, but you can take off your shoes right now. And I was like, I can't. I was like, Oh yeah, I can. We're gonna hang out at the summit anyway. She explained to me how, like, even though you are on top of the mountain, you're still grounding because it's directly connected to the earth. So I did it for the first time, and I actually ended up climbing boulders barefoot, which was again, as I'm doing and I'm like, What am I doing? Is this is crazy, but it actually became really, really fun. Again. It elevated the experience. And now I do it pretty much every time. I haven't done it the last few times because we're in the middle of winter and it's really cold, but if the temperature is decent, I'm taking off my shoes, and then I spent like, you know, 1520 minutes up there, sometimes hula hooping, well, barefoot, I've gotten some of my friends to start doing it, too, and what ends up happening is one, you're grounding, and people can look up the all the benefits for that, but when you put back your shoes, it almost feels like your feet got like a massage or something, and they're not as tired as they were before, and now you're ready to go on the way down. And I've actually also done it on the way down in old rag towards the end, you pass a few little creeks, and we've done that before in the summer, where we take off our shoes and go into the creek. That also feels fantastic, because you're right right before the car. So again, your feet, if you like water there, is always going to be cold. So it's just like, fantastic. It feels phenomenal. And then you just walk to your car and your feet just feel really good. Oh,
Jessica Bowser:yeah. So you're having a spa experience too, before you get in your car to go home. Yes. So what challenges have you faced in reaching your goal? I'm sure there has to be several. The
Unknown:first one that comes to mind is the summer. The Summer kicked my butt. So I've learned again, I've only been avidly hiking for the last two years now, I've learned that I do not like hiking in the summer. Mosquitoes love me, and the ticks and all the bugs, and it's uncomfortable, and there's only so much you can do. Your water doesn't stay as cold as you want it to be. I need my water to be ice cold all the time, so I hate it, and I did know that ahead of time. I knew that summer was going to be rough, so I planned for it, and I planned on doing a lot of sunrise hikes for summer. But what I didn't understand was that I didn't currently have a good process for sleeping the night before sunrise, and actually still don't have a good process, because I did this yesterday and only slept two and a half hours. As I started going into summer and planning all the sunrise hikes, I was doing them, and within, like, a few weeks, I burnt myself out. I was exhausted. I had some great pictures, but like, I just couldn't do it. So then I got overwhelmed with work, just a bunch of different things happen, and I stopped hiking for like, two months. So then I was already a little bit behind, like the goal of hiking three times a month. I think I only did that for the first two months, two three months of the year, and then, boom, I fell behind. There were fires that happened in Shenandoah in March, so those affected my hiking. Then the summer came and affected my hiking. Honestly, just dealing with the stressors of life, I realized that when life gets stressed, when work gets stressed, all that stuff happens, hiking tends to be one of the first things that I put on the back shelf. You know, when you're having a hiking challenge, it's like, really hard, because it's like, Oh wait, no, but it was good. Actually, the hiking challenge made me be more aware of the fact that I was putting hiking in the back shelf, and pushed me to take it out. But yeah, so managing my scheduled hikes and having to restructure it whenever life would happen and continuing trying to reach the 36 that was that was the challenging part. Was just not being able to hike for certain periods of time, and then realizing how behind I was, and then working on catching up,
Jessica Bowser:I'm sure, especially, okay, so you live in Northern Virginia, and so how long is the drive for you to get to old rags like, an hour and a half. Yeah,
Unknown:it's an hour and 20 minutes, but I always want to stop and get gas and do all that stuff. So yeah, hour and a
Jessica Bowser:half. Yeah. So I'm sure that just that alone would be for a lot of people, enough to make them think I'm not going to bother because I'm going to spend three hours in the car today just to do this hike. So I guess you must have to factor that in. When you're deciding to do this. Are you willing to spend that time going back and forth as well? Yes,
Unknown:the time also, and then the. Ticketing. So, you know, old rag requires tickets. I believe it's from like March to November, that when they first started with the ticketing process, I completely, and I still fully support it, but it became a struggle for me, because what I realized was, let's say, I had plans with friends on a Sunday, so I wasn't going to hike old rag that day, and then the plans fell through on that Friday. Well, guess what? The tickets are already sold out, so I can't go hike it. So that was another issue. Was there were days where I could have gone to hike it that I wasn't able to because I didn't have the tickets. So that became a thing. There were also times where, like, I would buy tickets and then not be able to hike it, but then I learned you could actually transfer your tickets to a different date. So that was good, because I learned something about their system. Yeah, I did get a few tickets driving to old rag at the beginning of the year, and I also did have a minor bump in with a little deer that he did get up and walk away. But that happened like the tickets and the deer happened in the first month of hiking old rag this year. And I was like, oh my god, is this house gonna go? But thankfully, it didn't. That was all that I saw that was negative when I was driving there. Well,
Jessica Bowser:luckily that wasn't enough to make you throw up your hands and say, forget it. I'm not doing I mean, did any at any point? Did you ever think you might not reach your goal? No,
Unknown:because I know myself, and I know that I'm pretty stubborn, and especially when it has to do with something where the world is aware. Like if I had done this challenge and no one had known that I was doing it 100% I would have thrown the towel probably 10 different times. But I knew that about myself, so when I was planning my challenge, I went ahead, and I was like, Alright, how am I going to create accountability for myself? And let's not pretend we're not who we are, because we are. So I knew for myself that when it comes to accountability, I need somebody else to be aware of what's happening. So for me, I made sure, like I was telling everybody in my life that I was doing that also through our group of girls like Virginia, we have a Facebook group, and I went ahead and I posted it there. When I went on my first hike of the year, which I did it on the first day of the year, I posted it, and I was like, here's my first hike of the 36 and I, like, told our 30,000 members that I was doing this challenge. So that made it so that I had that peer pressure, and I knew that I was gonna have to figure out how to do it. I think around September, I was really stressing because I was really behind on my hikes, but I knew that I had to do it. I went on a hike with a friend, a different hike, not not old drag. And I remember her being like, oh, what number are you at? And I was like, I'm really behind. I'm at this number. And she goes like, oh, but that's okay, you know, if you don't need it, it's still really cool that you've hiked it this many times. And I looked at her, and I was like, no, like, I have to do it. I have to do it. I will not. I could not live with myself. I've told the whole world I'm doing this, which to me, you know, my whole world is that, that group that I have. I was like, I cannot. I cannot live with that shame. It's just No, I couldn't. It got to the point where I was like, All right, how am I going to do this? I actually ended up hiking it one time twice because I needed to catch up. That's
Jessica Bowser:so crazy. I can't. I still can't believe that you did it twice in one day. It
Unknown:was not that bad. So as I started at first, old rag used to be one of those hikes where I would do it, and I was going to the couch the rest of the day like I was not moving, and I was so sore for
Jessica Bowser:the next few days. I think that's most people.
Unknown:That was neat at first, and then the hike still challenging for me. But then I realized, I was like, Oh, I get home and I'm fine now. I'm not sore at all whatsoever. So then I was like, I think physically, I'm able to do it. I didn't go into it blindly. I have hiked before. I think the most I've hiked is 18 miles. So I've done the mileage before. Now that was just not, didn't have a scramble or anything like that, but I knew that I could do the mileage. And then I found a friend who was crazy enough to attempt it with me, and then we went ahead and scheduled it out. And it was really cool. It was a really cool experience. It's really cool to be able to say that I did that and actually, like I was sore the next day and the day after that. But it actually did not end up being that much harder than doing it. It was more mentally hard than anything else. Physically, I think I was fine mentally. I was questioning my life decisions to hold me unique
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