written by: Glen Warcholphotos by: Natalie Simpson
An intrepid trio sets out on an epic, some might say tedious, challenge.
As Bryan, Natalie and Frank round a snowy curve on Millcreek Canyon’s Pipeline Trail, they find themselves facing a startled moose. Without hesitation, Frank charges off into the underbrush to challenge the 600-pound ungulate to a chest-bumping contest.
“Frank just went after this huge moose,” Natalie Simpson recalls of the crisp adrenaline-charged February afternoon. “I was terrified.”
It’s important to point out that Frank is a dog, a Rottweiler-and-Corgi cross, who has the jaws and heart of an attack dog—but unfortunately, stumpy 8-inch legs. “He’s chasing the moose, and I’m screaming at him ‘Frank! Come here!’” Natalie says. But Frank was determined to get a piece of the retreating moose. “Then, the moose stopped and started kicking at Frank,” Nat says. “I was sure he was going to get killed.”
Finally, Frank, deciding his chances of reaching the moose’s throat were slim to none, reluctantly turned back towards the hikers. “Then, the moose headed our way!” says Nat. “And we started running in the other direction down the trail.”
Frank’s brush with death would put the hike on the couple’s list of worst/most-memorablehikes. Still, it was only a heart-thumping glitch in their long list of daily hikes—295 and counting—during what Simpson and Bryan Richard call the Neverending Hike.
Mountaineering Lite
We need to get some things out of the way up front: Natalie Simpson and Bryan Richard are not adventurers of the epic sort, just a couple of Salt Lakers who started on a quest to get in shape while enjoying the Wasatch Front’s mountainscapes. “I knew some changes had to be made,” says Bryan (“Bry”) of his sedentary lifestyle and love of beer.
“And I was complaining about me, too,” says petite, blonde Natalie. Though she was a runner, Bry, a ginger blot on the landscape, didn’t enjoy jogging with her.
Finally, Frank the Dog was overweight and had a belligerent attitude toward other dogs and some humans. In taking stock of their situation, they decided regular hiking could be the answer for them all.
“We have a unique life—we work primarily from home,” says Bry, an “aspirational entrepreneur.” Natalie is a professional photographer. “Hiking is a low-impact exercise and we’re a 15-minute drive from Millcreek Canyon,” he says. Millcreek and other Wasatch Canyons have no fewer than 50 hiking trails spanning the spectrum of challenges, many of them offering spectacular vistas.
To establish a habit, Bry and Nat set themselves a 30-day challenge to hike every day. No biggie.
They hit the first trail, Burch Hollow to Elbow Fork in Millcreek Canyon, on Sept. 29, 2016. Thirty days later, they could feel a definite improvement in their fitness and decided to keep doing a hike a day indefinitely. “You don’t want to break the chain,” says Bry. “I figure if you take three days off, you break the habit.”
Natalie agrees: “I really didn’t want to break our exercise habit by missing a day.”
The Neverending Hike began. When it will end is an open question.
outdoor fun or grind?
Let me recapitulate: Nat, Bry and Frank aren’t spring-steel-muscled risk junkies—though Frank can become an adrenaline-fueled wolf-like dude when faced with a wild mammal. The trio just wanted to get some exercise and found themselves, they’ll admit, a bit obsessed with taking a hike every day, day after day. But they emphasize it’s not about distance or speed or even checking off a list of trails. Their mission statement says it all: “We hike. Every day.”
“The accomplishment is just the consecutive days,” says Bry. “Not the distance.”
Nat, who Instagrams and Facebooks photos from every hike, says, “sometimes people [on social media] are shocked that we aren’t hiking a different trail every time. If they want to hike every trail in Utah, fine—that can be their thing.”
The bar, in some ways, is low. “We hike at least three miles every day,” Bry explains. But distance varies wildly with the season and weather. “Our thinking is that we’re moving every day, so we’re getting good exercise,” says Nat. It adds up—they have hiked more than 900 miles to date, Bry estimates.
“The hiking itself isn’t hard anymore—it’s making yourself do it every day,” Bry says.
And what about Frank, who has to take a dozen steps for each of Bry’s? “He loves it—can’t wait to go,” says Nat. “Frankie has lost weight, and he’s a lot more socialized in getting along with other dogs.” Amazing what a standoff with a moose can do.
Even when they travel, which they do quite a bit of, they fit in hikes. So far, they’ve laid down tracks in 14 states. “Except New Orleans because it’s so urban,” says Bry. “But we did the equivalent amount of walking.”
Despite their lassez-faire attitude, it isn’t always a sun-dappled stroll in the woods. “It was a long winter,” says Bry.
“I don’t want to do another winter,” groans Natalie with a frown. “You have to prepare yourself. You need poles, ice treads, gloves and layers. And sometimes, your clothes are still wet from the day before.”
“We had to cut short a couple of hikes because of white-outs and wind,” Bryan says. But they cover a few miles of trail, no matter how cold or wet—even when ill.
“Hiking sick is tough,” Bry says.
“I hate hiking sick,” Nat agrees.
Nat, Bry and Frank have many followers on social media and most are cheerleaders, pointing out benefits the trio never thought of. Such as the Japanese concept of “forest bathing.” It’s the idea that hikers benefit physically, mentally and spiritually from being amid the chemicals released by the trees and foliage. (Not to mention being above the valley’s air pollution.) But while they mostly find solid support and fans online, a few of the trio’s social-media followers may be looking forward to the second winter of the Neverending Hike for a dose of schadenfreude.
“A lot of people want us to fail—just miss one day,” says Nat.
“Sometimes, it’s our friends,” Bry says, laughing. The most subversive attacks come from alleged well-wishers who say, “Don’t be so hard on yourself; you can miss a day.”
“That’s the worst,” Nat says.
Now as the end of September looms, the initial informality of the Neverending Hike—the name was initially a joke—has become a problem. An end point—a date or a distance—was never spelled out. “We never said it was for one year,” Bry says. And with the anniversary approaching, that’s an issue.
“We could stop one day short of a year,” Natalie jokes.
Or go just one day more. Then, one day more and one day more …
Worst Experiences
“Almost all were a result of poor planning.” —Bryan
— — — — —
Mt. Olympus Bry: “It was one of our first hikes. we weren’t in shape, and we started late.”
Mt. Wire-Big Beacon Trail Bry: “It got dark, and we forgot our headlamps.” Nat: “I fell 20 times, yelling and swearing.”
Desolation Lake (also a best) (An overnight hike)
Nat: “Our hands were so frozen, we couldn’t even start a fire. We just huddled in the tent with the JetBoil stove.”
PipeLine Trail-Burch Hollow to Church Fork Frank CHARGEs a moose—terror ensues.
Mount Aire Bry: “I was breaking trail [in the snow] but FRANK’S legs are so short he was doing faceplants and hurt his leg.” Nat: “Bry had to carry Frank back. Frank doesn’t like being carried.”
Equipment List
Nat and Bry (sadder but wiser) advise you leave it all in a pack in the car so you never forget.
— — — — —
Quality hiking boots with ankle support
Hiking poles
Indispensable in the winter and will reduce downhill stress on your knees and ankles in the summer
Headlamps
You never know when a hike is going to stretch into darkness.
Winter additions:
Over-the-shoe ice cleats
Snowshoes If the snow is deep enough
Hand warmers Nat recommends getting a family-size box.
Layers of thermalwear
You’ll get sweaty—even in the winter.
A lightweight windbreaker To break the wind and less-than-torrential rain.
If you've never been to @dokidessert, I can assure you- you're missing out. ⠀
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Doki Doki is one of Salt Lake City’s most authentic Japanese bakeries. And the authenticity shows through their delicately handcrafted pastries and cakes. Plus- fluffy pancakes, can it get any better? ⠀
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Check the link in bio for a fun little write up! ⠀
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Meet 9th & 9th's newest, cutest, tastiest "hole-in-the-wall" (quite literally)! @piefightslc is serving up delicious hand pies packed with flavor 🥊⠀
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You can eat a pie and go for a walk at the same time- who knew?! 🥧⠀
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Check the link in bio for our little review!...
People used to say a group of hobbits smoked their pipe weed and padded around on their furry feet in this little cul de sac off 1300 East near Westminster. Others claimed a family of Little People lived there and would chase away outsiders and curiosity-seekers who happened in.⠀
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But, actually, the eccentric street of tiny houses are on a wooded lot once owned by George Allen, a doctor and animal lover (he was instrumental in founding @hoglezoo and @tracyaviary) He and his family lived in the log cabin and rented out the little houses to students or anyone who wanted to live in such a small space.⠀
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Check the link in bio for full story....
Our Jan/Feb issue is out on stands now! This issue means so much to us. Made with lots of love and tears. We hope you’ll grab a copy and enjoy every moment of reading it. ❤️...
This is what our NYE looks like. Staying in with a @meat_my_cheese_utah charcuterie board ⭐🤤🥂⠀
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We’re incredibly lucky to have local culinary-craftswomen here in the Salt Lake area, like @mavenoakcreative and @meat_my_cheese_utah. Handcrafting each charcuterie board and box to perfection. Making every stay-at-home birthday, anniversary, date-night and holiday feel that much more elegant. 🧀🍇🥖⠀
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Check the link in bio to meet Salt Lake's artisan charcuterie masters!...
Holding back tears, the owner of our beloved Himalayan Kitchen, Surya Bastakoti, told @fox13now that they "might go out of business" ⠀
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Himalayan Kitchen has long been one of our favorite local restaurants. A trusty go-to for lunch or after work drinks and a heart-warming dinner. A place to bring out-of-towners (veg and vegan friendly) for a special experience only found here in SLC. Always filling, with a true sense of nourishment in every bite. Food to feel good about.
EVERYTHING on their menu is full of flavor and authenticity. Himalayan Kitchen’s cuisine is required to be authentic because it’s a gathering place for the Salt Lake City Nepali and the local climbing community. They know Nepal.⠀
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COVID-19 has completely devastated our local restaurant community—these are our friends and family. Help them out. If you have the means, order something yummy for NYE dinner and support Himalayan Kitchen or any of your favorite local restaurants. ⠀
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Go to saltlakemagazine.com and look in the Eat & Drink section for a list of what restaurants are serving and then make a phone call, order online, etc. ⠀
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Go to the link in bio to order online now!...
Here's one from our upcoming Jan/Feb issue out on stands in just a few days. We hope you’ll grab a copy and enjoy every moment of reading it.
Mary photobombs Lisa Barlow at the premiere party for Real Housewives of Salt Lake. Below is a snippet from Mary's last editor's letter:
"It’s all a little crazy.
Sometime in 2020, the world stopped making sense for a lot of us. Between one of the ugliest election cycles the U.S. has ever been through and the most mysterious disease most of us have ever experienced, normal was canceled. We can’t get together with friends, hug our loved ones, be in the room with them when they die. But somehow we have to go on, right? Somehow we have to continue to work and love and laugh. This issue of Salt Lake magazine holds a lot of frivolity, the main one being an extremely silly TV show, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. There I am in a pink fur coat in a car with our cover housewife, Lisa Barlow and her boys."
Pick up our Jan/Feb issue at your local grocer and read the full letter. ❤️
Link in bio to subscribe....
Merry Christmas Eve-Eve. We absolutely loved seeing all of your gingerbread homes! Thank you for sharing!⠀
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The winner of a 1 year subscription to Salt Lake mag will be announced in our story!...
Skip the milk and cookies this holiday and leave out something that Santa really wants 🍺😉🎅
Check out our local holiday beer round up for last minute gift ideas! Link in bio!...
Mary's last-minute holiday gift ideas from last year are still as true and relevant today...
"The planet we live with and the creatures on it need all kinds of things. Polar bears need presents, tree frogs in the Amazon need gifts, our Utah canyons and our national parks need help."
Check the link in bio for full write up....
🎶On the LAST day of giveaways Salt Lake mag gave to me...🎶⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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$100 to @slcharbor 😋🍪☕️
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🎶On the 11th day of giveaways Salt Lake mag gave to me...🎶⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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$100 to @streuselslc 😋🍪☕️
Streusel Bakery located at 67 w 1700 s! Support local and get pastries, cookies and a little bit of sass at this beautiful judgement free bakery!
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⭐ Entry deadline will be at 10PM. The winner will be announced at 11:59PM and a new prize will be posted in the AM each day!...
🎶On the 10th day of giveaways Salt Lake mag gave to me...🎶⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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1 Free month at Maven Create @mavencreate
Maven Create is a unique, open office space designed to inspire and empower!
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⭐ Entry deadline will be at 10PM. The winner will be announced at 11:59PM and a new prize will be posted in the AM each day!...
🎶On the ninth day of giveaways Salt Lake mag gave to me...🎶⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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1 box of @maddoughslc doughnuts for 4 weeks!! 🍩
We’re so excited to have teamed up with @maddoughslc for this awesome giveaway treat! Mad Dough launched back in April! Mad Dough serves up top quality Bismark style doughnuts with flavors inspired by favorite childhood treats 💖 The perfect gift to brighten someone’s day (or brighten your own day)! Support this awesome small business this holiday!
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⭐ Like this post and tag a friend who you believe should win the giveaway item! The person you tag is then entered to win! (Friends can tag one another) 💑⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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⭐ Entry deadline will be at 10PM. The winner will be announced at 11:59PM and a new prize will be posted in the AM each day!...
🎶On the eighth day of giveaways Salt Lake mag gave to me...🎶⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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A beautiful essential gift set from the wonderful @acrelyfarms 🌿
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Here's the idea: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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There was never a time there wasn’t Mary Malouf. Until now. Today, Mary died when a rogue wave swept her out to sea off the coast of Northern California. Only she – perhaps the world’s foremost lover of Bronte, BBC mysteries and, of course, Moby Dick – would appreciate such poetic drama.
“I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing.” — Mary Brown Malouf. Ooops. Herman Mellville....
🎶On the seventh day of giveaways Salt Lake mag gave to me...🎶⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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⛳️ (2) 9 Hole Rounds at @saltlakecitygolf 🏌️♀️⠀
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⭐ Like this post and tag a friend who you believe should win the giveaway item! The person you tag is then entered to win! (Friends can tag one another) 💑⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. Winner announced in the story. see you tomorrow.
🎶On the sixth day of giveaways Salt Lake mag gave to me...🎶⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🍽️ $100 Gift Card to @la_caille_utah 🥂⠀
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Located at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon, La Caille bring us an upscale, French-Belgian restaurant experience.⠀
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⭐ Like this post and tag a friend who you believe should win the giveaway item! The person you tag is then entered to win! (Friends can tag one another) 💑⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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⭐ Entry deadline will be at 10PM. The winner will be announced at 11:59PM and a new prize will be posted in the AM each day!...