Restless Meanderer’s 2023 Year in Review
Welcome friends!
Thank you for clicking on (and reading) my 2023 year in review post. This is where I share my blog stats for 2023 and some personal highlights from the year. My blog is not updated with real-time adventures and I like to capture just how much can happen in a year!
All of 2023 felt less busy to me than the previous years but looking back on my accomplishments I am really happy to review what I’ve been up to. I completed some big goals and fit in fun travels all while working a lot at my full-time job.
The blog was pushed to the side a little as I put my energy into other hobbies last year. Primarily, this means I was hiking and knitting a lot. Working 10 hour days as an engineer at a computer in my day to day work can make screens exhausting.
In about May I experienced some burnout which really made me step away from blog writing and focus on more soothing activities like crafting and making time for friends. Not that the blog was keeping me from socializing by any means but I wanted to be more intentional with where I was spending my time. No worries, I am happy with my decisions!
Every time I revisit my blog posts or scroll through my pictures I feel so inspired to keep writing though. I do love sharing my adventures, my photos, and my stories. I am always browsing online before I take a trip or go on a hike looking for helpful tips and images and I hope I can provide that for a couple other readers as well.
The short term goal for my blog posts would be to capture all the hiking lists I’ve been working on in the northeast United States. You can check them out on my Hiking page. It is a great niche for me to focus on since I am so passionate about it.
However, I have spent a lot of time traveling outside New England and New York as well and I want to be able to share itineraries and recommendations for a wider range of places I have visited. Anything that might be the missing piece for a fellow traveler or hiker looking to make the best of their short trips away from home. Those who are itching for new experiences but aren’t quite sure what they are looking for.
Blog Stats 2023
Even with less posting, since I focused on SEO in my earlier posts, my blog actually had a ton of traffic last year which was very exciting! If I haven’t stated it before, all of my blog setup and early post writing is based on what I learned from Laura over at Mike & Laura’s Travel Blog. Check them out if you are interested in blogging yourself!
My first post last year was published on February 18th, 2023. In total I was only able to get 4 posts up on the blog. Crazy since in 2022 I really pushed myself to write one a month and even that isn’t a lot! As I’ve said, this is a hobby for me and it was best for me to put my energy elsewhere last year.
The 4 new posts I shared had a total of 10,058 words with 8,268 of the words belonging to posts that are specifically SEO targeted. This brought the word count present on my targeted posts up to 58,262 words which I am happy with for my little blog.
In terms of blog traffic, it was crazy dealing with the sunset of Google’s Universal Analytics since I am already very inexperienced with tracking and now there are some new things to learn with GA4. I did have a huge jump in traffic halfway through the year and fairly consistent high numbers of visitors for a while! Restless Meanderer saw 3,889 users in 2023 and the most I saw in one month was October with 1,030 users! These are huge numbers to me since the biggest number of users I saw in one month of 2022 was 153 with an overall total of just over 900!
When checking my domain authority, I noticed it is still sitting at 9 but that’s ok since I wasn’t as present in 2023 as I was the year before. I was happy to see my posts were still interesting and helpful to people. The most popular posts I had were: Willard, Epsom, Santanoni, and HaBaSa.
Financially, not much to report still. The cost to renew the blog’s domain registration with Bluehost was $34.99 and there hasn’t been enough revenue from my items to see anything in return. For transparency, in the last 3 years the total cost to create and run this blog has only been $187.06.
Goals for 2024
Going into 2024, I want to make sure I can keep working on Restless Meanderer without pressuring myself to do so. I want to get back into writing but not set any hard deadlines on my hobby. I’ve explored a lot lately, yet feel like I haven’t scratched the surface.
I want to share more information on the long day hikes out there, similar to my Seward Range and Santanoni Range posts. Additionally, for those looking for a shorter hike with great views, I want to write about more mountains from New Hampshire’s 52 With a View list. It’s always fun to combine one of these hikes with a brewery visit and work on the Views and Brews lists too (read about Stinson Mountain, Things to Do in North Conway, and my other posts on NH Views and Brews as examples).
That said, there’s so many places to explore and I want those areas to be accessible to everyone! I want to share my findings, tips, and tricks from hikes I’ve done and encourage everyone to get outdoors. For a lot of people, especially women looking to get outdoors solo, sometimes it just takes a little push by seeing someone else doing the same. Hopefully readers can relate and find the confidence to pursue their adventures!
I’d definitely like to get more posts up on the blog this year than I did last year. I have been doing a lot of trail reviews lately but I want to share more lists of things to do throughout New England and little itineraries for great day trips. Day trips are my bread and butter and I cannot believe how few people take advantage of them!
As time allows I also want to reorganize the blog a little bit. In my opinion the pages are a bit fussy for readers navigating the site. When I had less content on the blog I shared a lot of my background on the various pages but that doesn’t feel very user friendly any more. By improving the visitor experience I hope readers will feel more comfortable on the website and enjoy browsing more.
If there is anything you really want to see from me (such as a hike review you know I have completed), just let me know!
Personal 2023 Year in Review
Can I just say- I love love love traveling, visiting friends, and spending time with my big extended family! In 2023 I was able to spend so much time with loved ones. There were birthday celebrations, weddings, and visiting long-time friends in their new homes. Each visit filled my heart to the brim.
A few trips happened outside New England but I made the most of local trips as well. There is so much to see and do in New England that you really can’t get bored exploring the area. I did get out to new places in Georgia and Arizona though to see some friends and family!
Finally, in October, I was feeling so cooped up that I convinced Ben to book cheap flights with me to Stockholm for a weekend and it was so refreshing! This was much needed time for the two of us away from home and I am so grateful to have a partner to travel with. Of course every time I leave Europe though it makes me want to immediately book flights to return.
Hiking 2023 Year in Review
See below for all the hikes I was able to do in 2023:
Jan-Mar
- Sunset Cliffs
- South Fortuna
- Mother Miguel
- Joshua Tree trails
- *Barker Dam
- *Hall of Horrors
- *Eagle Cliff Mine
- Cathedral Ledge
- West Rutland Marsh
- Horatio Colony Nature Preserve
- Pawtuckaway
Apr-Jun
- La Jolla coast
- Cranberry Peak attempt
- Azure
- West Quarry, Major
- Tremont
- Paugus
- Ellen and Abraham
- Whiteface and Passaconway
- Mt Pemigewasset
- Mt Moriah
Jul-Sep
- Pemi Loop (12 peaks)
- Wildcats A-D
- Rocky Mountain
- Owl’s Head (failed)
- Owl’s Head (success!)
- Parker Mountain
- North, Middle Tripyramid
- Bigelows- Avery and West Peak
- Cabot and Horn
- Presidential Traverse
Oct-Dec
- Mt Lemmon exploring
- Saguaro NP trails
- *Desert Ecology Trail
- *Freeman Homestead Trail
- Keay Brook Preserve Loop
- Whiteface Mountain
- Cowles Mountain
Highlights from this 2023 year in review list include:
Joshua Tree Trails: It was an absolute blast to get out to another National Park! My two friends and I enjoyed a busy 24 hours driving out to the area and exploring as many trails as we could in the park. I had no idea how varied the terrain was and how many amazing sights there were!
Ellen and Abraham: The last two of my Vermont 4,000 footers! We had absolutely no views at the summit and hiking the overgrown ski trail up was absolutely brutal. But I had the best buddy to suffer up the mountain with and we were rewarded on the way down.
Moriah/Wildcats: Both these hikes were much needed solo outings for me. The summer of 2023 was RAINY as many of you know and I was oh so sick of it. These two hikes happened to be on beautiful days and they were challenging but doable for me which gave me the confidence and excitement I was missing on my solo hikes. Also, Big Day Brewing after Moriah was a fantastic post-hike stop.
Pemi Loop: My friend and I had been talking about this for years and while it was so hard I am so proud we did it! We had to send it even with the rainy summer and man was it an adventure. Horrible downpour and lightning storm the first night led to wet boots the rest of the trip with more sprinkled rain.
We were tagging on Zealand and North Twin and honestly just underestimated the mileage so I was hurting. The views never disappoint and we met a very nice AT hiker, a crazy ultra person, and stumbled our way through. Still not sure what we would have changed but it was very eye opening for future backpacking trips.
Owl’s Head: Failed one weekend and succeeded the next. This was actually the most scared I’d ever been on a hike because I was attempting the river crossings when I really shouldn’t have (RIP my Croc 🙁 ). I had to turn around but luckily my friend came with me the naxt weekend and we took the bypass around the rivers to get this long trek over with.
Bigelows: I don’t know what it is, but every single Maine 4,000 footer hike I’ve done has been in perfect weather. The views are stunning! West and Avery Peak of the Bigelow Range were no different and I’m so happy I fit in another Maine hike in 2023.
Presidential Traverse: My NH 48 4,000 footers finish! Another hiking goal for my friend and me, I still can’t believe we finished this, the Pemi Loop, and both of our 48’s in the same year. Gorgeous views, perfect temperatures (even though we sent it again expecting rain because we didn’t have another weekend!), and pizza on Mt Washington made this a hike to remember.
Life 2023 Year in Review
Some more items that made my highlights reel for the year!
- Worked out of San Diego for the month of January
- Explored Joshua Tree National Park
- Spent time with a good friend in Savannah, GA
- Scream-sang to Taylor Swift in Philadelphia
- Played paintball with coworkers
- Had a fantastic fishing and camping weekend in Pittsburg, NH
- Attended lots of friends’ weddings including my best friend!
- Finished the Vermont 4,000 footers
- Floated down a river with friends
- Spent time with family in the Adirondacks and in Maine
- Brought friends to see Shinedown in Gilford
- Finished my NH48 which included both a Pemi Loop and a single day Presidential Traverse- two big goals of mine!
- Visited friends and family in Phoenix and Tucson, AZ
- Ben and I traveled to Stockholm, Sweden for a weekend
- Completed the process for my job promotion
My primary goal for 2024 is to finish the Northeast 111 hiking challenge! This challenge consists of the 115 peaks in the northeastern United States that are over 4,000 feet tall. There are 48 in New York (46 in the Adirondacks and 2 in the Catskills), 5 in Vermont, 48 in New Hampshire, and 14 in Maine.
After that, who knows what I’ll do with myself.
I am still exploring career options, working on knitting patterns and learning new things with my craft. Improving myself physically with various ways of keeping my body moving is always a priority as well. I’d love to try a new outdoor or fitness related hobby this year! A triathlon sounds scary but never say never?
There is a feeling of change around the corner and I’m not quite sure what that means for me yet but I look forward to the experience. Here I am reminding myself that yes that will be stressful and in the moment I might not enjoy it but it will be good for me.
I am always available for questions regarding my posts and love connecting with like minded hikers, travelers, and explorers! My social media links are at the bottom of this page so feel free to connect!
Thank you for reading! Here’s to a wonderful, adventure-filled 2024.
Sara
