Most people make New Year’s resolutions. Around here, however, we view such promises as cliché and ordinary.
You won’t catch my friends and me vowing to lose weight. If I want to get in better shape I will get more exercise, and I will have so much fun doing it that I will hardly notice the effort.
In fact, I am going to head to Sleeping Giant Ski Area on my next day off. I also always think there is plenty of time later to head to that hill, and the next thing I know I have gone weeks without skiing. Therefore, I will set a goal of skiing five days by the time President’s Weekend arrives. There, was that so hard?
Since our area has the highest concentration of frozen waterfalls in the Lower 48 states, it would just be a complete waste to not climb some of them. I promise I will call my old friend Kenny Gasch (Ladies, don’t even think about it) and ascend five falls by the end of March.
I have a pretty good record of hiking and riding the trails around here, but the reality is that I have barely scratched the surface when it comes to new areas to explore and discover. I am going to hike 100 new miles of trails, ride another 200 and find at least six new overnight backcountry camp sites.
Here we sit just 50 miles east of the world’s first – and I believe greatest – national park, and we just don’t go there often enough. It seems that I only visit Yellowstone when guests come to see me. Whenever I watch Old Faithful (or Lone Star or Castle or any number of other geysers) erupt, I figuratively kick myself for not getting there often enough. I will visit Yellowstone this winter and then every month once the roads are plowed in the spring.
I love to fly fish, and there are just about as many blue ribbon streams around here as there are hottie fly fishing guides. I will hike to a new stream at least twice each month after the spring runoff slows down enough.
I have never been mountain biking, but several of my friends have become hooked. They keep asking me to join them, and this summer I will do just that.
In order to be prepared for all of this activity, I better do some “pre-training.” All three of the communities in Park County have fine indoor recreation centers with swimming pools and workout centers. I will visit all of them and make good use of the facilities.
I will cut down on the calories I consume.
Between all of that exercise and watching what I eat, I will be in much better shape this year.
Good thing I do not make New Year’s resolutions.