Patti's First Blog

This is great. Thanks Matt for setting it up. I'm new to blogging and have some questions. How do we invite people in? I know lots of folks who may be interested. Is there a way we can add a chart that people can post their hiking hours to or where we can track our hours? For example, is there anyway we can add an excel file that members can edit or perhaps an excel file that one person manages and others can view? We are motivated by visual aids.... Also, can anyone look at this blog? Do we have privacy or is it open for anyone who stumbles upon it?

Here's some ideas that we have come up with so far for the 100 hour hiking club.

• Members should seek to hike 100 hours in one year. The club gives you access to others (family and friends) who have the same goal. Hopefully, this will lead to accountability, ideas for great hikes and friends to walk with. Feel free to set higher goals (I think Teresa might hike 300+ hours this year at the rate she's going)....


• A hike could be substituted for other activities such as biking, snowshoeing etc as long as it gets you outside in nature. Walking your dog in the neighborhood doesn't do it. So take that same dog 15 minutes away where the houses, cars and stores are replaced by streams, pine trees and wildlife. Some place that allows nature to fill your spirit.


• Being that we're a bit goal-oriented around here, we thought it a good idea to set some kind of personal reward for reaching your goal (like a weekend hiking trip after a year) or maybe a trip to New Zealand (to hike the Milford Trek) after successfully completing membership for 10 years (maybe that should be five years:)) Bobby Niebauer backpacked the Milford Trek in January of 2008. It made a huge impact on his life. Hiking for ten years with that goal in mind keeps us close to Bobby.
  
• These are very loose guidelines. We ultimately hope that this kind of community would help us stay connected to something we love dearly (nature and all that it is).

Anyway, I haven't hiked in a week. Although I do have a hike planned with my friend, emma to the royal arch for later in the week.

I would also need to report that Michael (my brother) would like to claim 15 hours for walking through paris over the last week while visiting his daughter, Katie, who is spending her senior year in high school in France. Here's what he said, "I’m going to submit to the Henry Walking Committee approval for 15 hours worth of walking while in Paris. 9 hours over 3 days in Paris, and 6 hours over 2 days in Rennes."

Love to all.

Patti Henry Tussey