I had been getting bored with sea kayaking of late. As much as I love the smell of the ocean, and the lap of water against my boat, paddling in the same waters, again and again, was becoming monotonous. So, I decided to spend a bit more time on the trails. In the early part of 2017, I stumbled on the Anza-Borrego 5 for 50 Challenge. The Anza-Borrego Foundation was celebrating its 50th anniversary by inviting folks to complete 5 hikes throughout the park. So I laced up my boots and headed out. I was able to convince a few friends to tag along for some of them.
I then began looking through my worn copy of Afoot and Afield in San Diego for new places to explore. It was then I learned about Derek’s 100 Peak Challenge. So now armed with a completely insane opportunity, I set out to see what I could accomplish. Now, the ‘official’ challenge is supposed to be in a calendar year, but I am opting to see what I can complete within 365 days (give or take). Plus, some 30+ hikes are all located in Anza-Borrego, so when I started this adventure, the heat made this highly prohibitive. My initial goal was to hit 50 by year’s end (Spoiler: I did ). I am going to use this blog, to serve as my hiking register for this challenge. So, lace up the boots, grab your poles and let’s summit a peak!