The new year is here, which means its time for new years resolutions.  Here are my 2019 outdoor goals for the outdoor things I want to accomplish this year.

I am going to start this with the oft used phrase, I can’t believe another year has gone by already.  It is now 2019!  I remember as a kid watching Back To The Future 2 when they went into the future and saw how crazy things were.  Our family recently watched that movie and the crazy future in the movie is now in the past!  2019 is here and these are my outdoor goals for this coming year.

Tips On Setting Goals

A couple of years ago I wrote 7 tips for setting and keeping new years resolutions.  The most important things to keep in mind is that you need to set resolutions that are specific, measurable, attainable, and realistic.

For example, rather than just say something like, “I’ll take my kids camping more.”  You should say, “I’ll take my kids camping once a month.”  Adding the time to do it makes the goal measurable and specific.  Without that phrase the goal is just kind of vague and easy to break or harder to follow up  on.

2019 Outdoor Goals

I don’t have a lot of goals this year, but some of them are things that will take a lot of work.  For example, my biggest goal is to go for 52 hikes with my family.  That is a goal that will take a bit of work all year long.  The only way that I’ll accomplish that goal and some of these others is to get into a good routine and make a habit of hiking.

52 Hikes With The Family – If you’ve read this blog much you know how much I enjoy hiking, especially with my family.  My goal is to get out once a week for a hike with the family.  To accomplish this I will take at least one hike a week.  More on this in an upcoming post.

Week Long Backpacking Trip – Yes, this is the same goal that I had last year.  I almost completed it last year, but not quite.  I’ve done week or longer trips in the past and there is just something special about being gone for so long.  You slowly strip away all worries and really connect to the natural world and the rhythms of walking each day.

This year I have one trip I want to do with the family, a week long trip around the mountain of Mt. Taranaki.  We just need to pick dates and make it happen.

Ski Powder With The Family – I miss powder!!!  Technically I guess this should say, snowboard powder since I snowboard.  My kids and wife all ski though so it’s just easier to say ski.  Before moving to New Zealand we lived in Salt Lake City and were completely spoiled with the great powder.  After spending the past few years in New Zealand I’m ready for some of that nice powder again.

Last year we did a lot of skiing as a family and had some great days and some not so good days.  This year my goal is to keep it up as a family and to find some actual powder somewhere.

Catch A 5 Pound Trout – I’ve enjoyed doing some fly fishing for quite a few years now. Since living in New Zealand I’ve done some fishing here and caught some really nice trout.  However, I have not yet caught one of those monster, trophy trout that you hear about or see pictures of.  This goal is to catch a nice trophy trout.

Climb Mount Taranaki On A Sunny Day – Last year my family hiked to the top of Mt. Taranaki.  It was an awesome climb, but unfortunately the day we did it was super cloudy.  Our views along the way and from the top were limited to about 20 feet.  Talk about bummer:(  My goal this year is to hike to the top again with the family on a day when we can really see the amazing views we have heard about.