Finisher Feature - John Hanson: Hiking with Intention

"When I signed up to participate in the challenge in December of 2019, I had no idea that much of my challenge would take place during a global pandemic.

What I found was that the pandemic changed the frequency, location, and difficulty of my hikes, but it made each one that much more enjoyable because of the intentionality required. Because I had to be so intentional with the planning of each hike, including assessing risk factors, finding new trails closer to home, ensuring social distancing, ensuring I would self sufficient to limit my exposure, etc. I found that each hike meant so much more to me. This helped to create a new goal in my personal life of being more intentional in everything I do. Sometimes I believe we all reach a point in life where we are going through the motions on autopilot, which breeds a sense of complacency, and taking the little things in life for granted. Participating in the 52 Hike Challenge caused me to think more about this, and how I can apply it in other areas of my life. So, if you could sum up my experience with the 52 Hike Challenge, I would say that it was 100% worth it, and I would absolutely do it again. Though the Challenge has the goal of getting 52 hikes in one year, there's so much more to it than just hiking. It's all about getting outside, inspiring others, and discovering new things about yourself through introspection and reflection."