2020 has been hard, for so many reasons. Everything was canceled. My mom’s 70th birthday trip in April, our 10-year anniversary trip to Hawaii in May, our cousin’s wedding in June. The silver lining of this pandemic has been an opportunity to slow down, evaluate what’s important and spend time outside.

We’ve always made time for hiking. It’s a big part of how we plan our vacation time, and day trips to the Hudson Valley and beyond are regular events. But with the pandemic, mass transit felt claustrophobic and our regular routine of hopping the subway to a train at Grand Central or bus at Port Authority was no longer an option. So things shifted.

We spent A LOT of time exploring our own neighborhood. We’re lucky to have a park across the street and waterfront promenade that stretched nearly to Coney Island. We wandered up and down the stretch. We walked 10 miles to get pizza. We planned weekend escapes and rented cars. We tried to use Zipcar for day trips, but found they were ill-equipped to handle the increase in demand. In September, we broke down and bought a car and since then, have tried to explore a new trail every weekend.

2021 feels hopeful, though still uncertain. By this point in the year, we would typically have our “big trip” of the year narrowed down, Adirondack week picked out and booked, and several other weekend commitments penciled in. But this year, everything’s on hold.

So instead of making grand plans to explore far away places, I’m going to focus on near. In 2021, my resolution is a hike a week. In some cases, that might mean skipping a week here and there and doubling up the next. But the end goal is firm: 52 weeks, 52 hikes. And in my experience, nothing enforces accountability more than making your plan public.