Exploring The Garmin Connect Expeditions

In 2023, Garmin introduced a series of challenges it calls expeditions. Some are hikes and some are climbs. Completing the climbs is a function of walking up lots of stairs. I experimented with stair climbing as a cross-training exercise back in 2010 and occasionally I have revisited it. I no longer have access to an indoor staircase tall enough to suit the workout, but the 32 steps from Chestnut Street up to McLane Elementary School might be good for intervals. Not during the school day of course; I can live with onlookers considering me eccentric but not with them suspecting me of being a pedophile. Repeats at McLane–especially if I were carrying my rucksack–could build both strength and aerobic capacity. My current Garmin watch can’t track stair climbing. Maybe I should upgrade. I kind of have my eye on a model with that capability plus other features that would be nice to have. And let me know if I’m overlooking a set of outdoor steps in West Bend that is longer than McLane’s.

Back to those expeditions … my current Garmin watch can track steps, and completing the hikes is a function of accumulating large numbers of steps over time. I have been progressing through the hikes in ascending order. Earlier today, I completed the Via Transilvanica hike, which Garmin estimates at 1.9 million steps. I started the hike on March 16. Yeah, it took a while! But Via Transilvanica is only the second longest hike on Garmin Connect. I now embark on the big one: the Appalachian Trail, which Garmin estimates at 4.9 million steps. If I get only my minimum standard of 10,000 steps per day, then I won’t finish this challenge until December 1, 2026! So, I’m not going to track this one as carefully as I typically track my fitness goals. I’ll get it when I get it. And no, I don’t delude myself that the accomplishment in any way will match completing the real Appalachian Trail, but I won’t turn down that 8-point Garmin Connect badge.

Garmin doesn’t offer cycling expeditions, though you could easily imagine them. How about global circumnavigation? Ride 24,901 miles to complete a virtual trip around Earth’s equator. For most people, that challenge would take several years. Maybe start with a virtual Tour Divide: only 2,745 miles. Many dedicated cyclists could knock that out in just a few months. Mimic the Grand Tours of the professional peloton. Ride a virtual RAGBRAI. The real world of cycling provides at least as many opportunities for Garmin Connect expeditions as hiking and climbing. Maybe we’ll see them someday.