October Hiking in 2022

While hiking is always my preferred method of exercising, it’s all I want to do from about late-August through the end of October. In my home park of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, it’s this part of the year when the heat and humidity wane, causing the bugs to disappear, and the trails remain dry and firm. You also get to watch the leaves change day-by-day which is one of the perks of living in this area.

During the pandemic of 2020, hiking was also my excuse just to get out of the house, which was especially necessary given that I live alone and work from home. The last thing I wanted to do was ride a stationary bike or lift weights in my basement. In October of that year, I set a goal to hike 100 miles over the course of the month. Since then, it’s become an annual goal, which I demolished this month by hiking a total of 132 miles.

Below is a hike my brother and I completed yesterday. The route was assembled in AllTrails with a focus on something that mostly went downhill and was at least 10 miles in length. It was a solid way to end the month.