Thru-hikers and other endurance athletes typically get media attention for going ever faster and farther. While their exploits certainly can be inspiring, they aren’t always relevant to the weekend hikers and backpackers who have to squeeze in backcountry adventures between family and work commitments. For them I offer up Ken Grant of Liberty, S.C., a 58-year-old high school teacher who recently completed the Appalachian Trail after 17 years of section hiking.

An average AT thru-hiker can cover the trail in five or six months and a record-breaking speed hiker can do it in less than 48 days, with support. But Grant proves that you don’t need huge blocks of time or an uber-level of fitness to accomplish big things, just determination. He typically used his spring vacation and a week or so each summer to hike 130 to 140 miles a year on his way from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine.

So what do you want to accomplish now, or 17 years from now? Make a life list of your own outdoor goals (trails to hike, mountains to climb, parks to explore) and then start knocking stuff off it. Because 17 years from now you can either have attempted (and hopefully achieved) your goals, or you can just be 17 years older. What’s on your list?

Read more about Grant's hike in the Greenville Online.