driftwoody
Trail Wise!
Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
Posts: 15,004
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Post by driftwoody on Mar 18, 2023 17:17:16 GMT -8
After a half century of playing slowpich softball, my body is telling me to hang it up. At age 50 I played more then ever with Senior tournaments. In 2018 at the World Masters Championships in Vegas we swept the 60AAA bracket of 46 teams, but then two major injuries sidelined me and I haven't regained my old prowess.
Hiking has taken on greater importance, which I hope to continue for as many years as I can.
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RumiDude
Trail Wise!
Marmota olympus
Posts: 2,361
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Post by RumiDude on Mar 18, 2023 18:14:19 GMT -8
I hope the day comes when you forget that you're recovering or not doing so fast enough, and find yourself just living your life. I am 70 years old and I know I am on the downside of life in the physical sense, but I have strangely come to grips with that fact and can say that "currently" I am content with my life as it is in the physical realm. I say currently because I could slip into melancholy or even depression over it depending on circumstances and mindset. But there are two main things that happened in my life that have brought me to this contentment of sorts. The first reason is the close time frame of the death struggles of my father and younger brother, both of which I was the legal healthcare point person for them. The second is my own health issues, becoming legally blind being the primary one. My father was a STRONG man and physically active his entire life until his body just would not let him do anymore. When he reached his mid 80's he began having trouble with shortness of breath due to pulmonary fibrosis, which is a progressive disease. This man that could will himself to do anything progressively lost his ability to walk more than twenty feet without stopping to catch his breath. Eventually his will was broken and he didn't have the strength to leave his chair, even to use the toilet. Though his body and will were broken, in his head he STILL had things he was planning to do. And because of that, the last decade of his life was frustrating for him, especially the final five years. It caused him to lash out in anger towards me on several occasions. I took it without complaint as his dutiful son and caretaker of sorts. But I noted that I did not want that attitude to be my mindset when that stage of life came to me. My younger brother, for whom I was also caretaker and the designated healthcare decider should he become incapable of his own decisions, was simultaneously coming to the end of his life as well. In his mind he was going to be ok, even as his liver and kidneys were not functioning and he was in dialysis three or four days per week. When my father died he was angry with me because I refused to take him back to Illinois for the memorial. And then the trauma of two huge strokes finally forced me to decide to put him into hospice, which immediately ceased his dialysis treatments. Again, I decided that I did not want to face death in denial, but instead face it bravely when my time comes. As some know, over a decade ago I started losing my eyesight due to glaucoma. I quickly lost enough vision that I became classified as legally blind. As the term indicates it is a classification for legal purposes, and does not mean I can't see at all. I don't drive anymore, and my spouse won't even let me push the shopping cart in the store for fear of crashing into others. (For you people from the South, shopping cart = buggy.) So despite being legally blind, I can still do many things. I gave up skiing not only for my sake, but for the sake of other people on the slope. I also rarely go snowshoeing because it is difficult for me to see the surface of the snow. I have run into limbs that were basically right in front of me when hiking. I am also unsure of myself crossing streams on logs, and a couple times I have fallen off logs. I have trouble going down steep slopes of all sorts. One of the most humbling experiences was when I was in camp after dark. I went down to the river to get water and despite having a relatively bright headlamp, I could not find my way back to my tent. I called out for my spouse and she rescued me from the darkness. I collapsed in camp and sobbed from that feeling of helplessness. But in 2019 I embarked solo on the Oregon section of the PCT, 435 miles. I made sure I made camp and did all camp chores before dark. I completed that trip in 24 days. I realize I can still do some things as long as I modify the parameters to match my physical abilities/limitations. So, the big question for me is how do I maintain this contentment even as I age and move closer to my ultimate demise? I guess by just getting up each morning and going after life with a bit of joy and curiosity. I try not to do something stupid and with the wisdom of my 70 years on this earth, I think I do a pretty good job now. I don't look back on too many regrets, although not going to see Tom Waits will always haunt me. If I want to do something and I have the money, I do it. If I don't have the money or it is beyond my ability, then I find something else. Finally, beach glass. I am strangely enthralled with collecting beach glass. It's something I probably wouldn't have enjoyed twenty years ago, but I like doing it now. I haven't ever found anything big or especially exotic, but I almost always find stuff and I put it in a jar and admire it. I discovered this joy totally by accident, serendipity of sorts. Anyway, I hope I can stay content and happy. I know that something dreadful can happen to make life miserable. I try to avoid contributing to that happening. I hope we all can face all of our individual lives with dignity and courage, even as we reach out a hand to others around us. If you have read all of this long post, then you have earned the right to question the validity of what is written. Feel free to do so. Rumi "Life is a process, not a substance, and it's a process that begins, proceeds along for a while, and comes to an end." ~~ Sean Carroll "So here I am ... I'm a highly organized pattern of mass and energy, one of seven billion. In any objective accounting of the universe I am practically nothing, and soon I'll cease to be. But the certainty of my own demise, the certainty of my own death somehow makes my life more meaningful, and I think that is how it should be. I find myself born into this universe; it's a wonderful place, it's a strange place, and sometimes it's also a scary and lonely place. What I try to do every day in my work I try discern through it's noisy manifestation - the people, dogs, trees, mountains, stars, everything I love - I try to discern the eternal music of the spheres." ~~Christof Koch
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daveg
Trail Wise!
Michigan
Posts: 565
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Post by daveg on Mar 18, 2023 19:38:13 GMT -8
When I graduated from high school, I thought 50 was old, 60 was decrepit, and I never imagined I would make it to 70. I am now 75. No joint replacements yet (although my left knee has started giving me problems) but age and age related health issues do impose some limits on what I can do. Yet I am thrilled with what I am still able to do. I can no longer do long distance hikes, but I am still able to manage multi-day bping trips. I no longer have the strength to muscle my canoe around anymore, but I built a canoe cart and loading system to get it on and off my cartop racks to compensate. And while that works, I've been toying with the idea of getting an Oru kayak which is only 26 pounds and folds up for transport. I can still maintain and operate my sailboat, but when that becomes too much I will do what many aging sailors do -- gasp! -- get a powerboat. The past couple of years, I built a little over a mile of trails through the woods on my property so if I want to go for a short walk in the woods, I just have to walk out the door. We adapt. Maybe we can't do precisely what we did when we were younger, but often we're able to continue with some variation.
Like the guy driftwoody mentioned, one of my friends (who is now 80) tries to make it to Isle Royale each year. He no longer feels like he can backpack the island, so he bought a carbon fiber canoe and now canoes the island. Another friend is an avid bicyclist, but a heart problem forced him to ease up. So he bought an e-bike which allows him to still take the long rides he so much enjoys.
External factors have severely restricted my life the past couple of years and it looks like that will continue for another year or so. So I bought some home exercise equipment to allow me to keep in shape even though I can't get out as much as I used to. I want to maintain as much of my physical conditioning as I can so when the opportunity arises, I will be able to take advantage. I may not be able to do everything that I used to. But I've been pleasantly surprised to discover how much I still can do at 75 -- more than enough to keep me active, content, and thankful.
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Post by bumknees on Mar 19, 2023 2:08:08 GMT -8
I had no idea, so many were of this age. My bping days are probably over(age 65). Also probably headed for left knee replacement, maybe this year, hence, my bumknees name. I have been reminiscing more. I have been putting some of my old trip pics, into the computer by scanning, and have contemplated posting them, as winter trip reports are rare. Our next trip is dayhiking, and the 2024 trip is rafting/hiking the Colorado river thru the Grand Canyon. Expectations are lowered every year, and I hope I and my buds, that I have known since jr high, can complete these two planned trips. I look at the aging process as inevitable, but better than the alternative(being dead). Keep your head up Jer and others, it's the end of an era, and time to do more passing of knowledge, than actual hiking.
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gabby
Trail Wise!
Posts: 4,539
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Post by gabby on Mar 19, 2023 4:35:23 GMT -8
To what ageless thing does this feeble, doddering and wrinkled form belong?
Spring
To what purpose, April, do you return again? Beauty is not enough. You can no longer quiet me with the redness Of little leaves opening stickily. I know what I know. The sun is hot on my neck as I observe The spikes of the crocus. The smell of the earth is good. It is apparent that there is no death. But what does that signify? Not only under ground are the brains of men Eaten by maggots. Life in itself Is nothing, An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs. It is not enough that yearly, down this hill, April Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.
Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1921
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Post by Sleeping Bag Man! on Mar 19, 2023 4:44:38 GMT -8
I have no idea what you guys are talking about
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Post by Coolkat on Mar 19, 2023 6:26:01 GMT -8
So admittedly I'm a few years behind most of you guys being in my early 50s so all of you are an encouragement to me that I have a few more years left in me when it comes to backpacking. My backpacking mentor (the guy who took me on my first bpking trip) and good friend who I've done almost all my of hikes (except for solo obviously) with is in his 70s and keeps reminding me of how old he is and that he is slowing down but somehow he keeps finding enough energy to do one more hike. Maybe not has many miles as it use to be but honestly even in my 30s it wasn't about how many miles I did. I've always enjoyed the journey (time spend outside) more than bragging about how many miles I got.
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Post by graywolf on Mar 19, 2023 6:54:11 GMT -8
At 71 I can tell that I have slowed down considerably. With my right leg being mostly titanium from my knee to my ankle I think my backpacking days may be over. I can still do some hiking and that satisfies me.
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zeke
Trail Wise!
Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,888
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Post by zeke on Mar 19, 2023 6:59:34 GMT -8
bumknees At least 2 of us here have floated the Colorado through parts of the Grand Canyon, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the trip. I hope your experience is of equal pleasure and grandeur.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Mar 19, 2023 7:49:10 GMT -8
Now I suppose rather than film I’ll just say bring plenty of memory cards and battery power for the canyon. Back when I did the canyon with then Martin Litton’s dories I brought 20 rolls of Kodachrome and used it all. An amazing experience beyond my expectations.
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,690
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Post by rebeccad on Mar 19, 2023 7:51:27 GMT -8
I’m on the younger side for this crowd, but I am looking at my 60th birthday in a couple of months. I’ve recently had very good news from the PT—the hip issues I thought were sending me skidding into hip replacement are… muscle weakness. I have about 30 min of PT to do at least every other day, but that’s nothing! Gives me hope that I really can plan on 10 years more backpacking, and more if I’m lucky. Then it will be more camping and day-hiking until the world starts to narrow. I think you guys are wise to think about plans for how to keep the connection to the natural world (that thing that keeps us sane) when mobility becomes limited.
Nice hopeful tale: My husband had a great-uncle who climbed Mt. Shasta every year until he was 91. I’m not sure how much longer he lived after that, but still!
I remember the last real hike with my grandmother. She was 78 and soon to be diagnosed with Parkinsons. When camping and hiking were too hard, she still had her garden. That might be my direction.
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RumiDude
Trail Wise!
Marmota olympus
Posts: 2,361
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Post by RumiDude on Mar 19, 2023 12:29:17 GMT -8
You are not, IMHO, whining at all; you are grieving, as is appropriate when suffering any loss. It really is grief over loss of our physical capacities. The best therapeutic response for that is to sit and listen to other's grief like in the "ministry of presence" fashion. It really is good to be able to express our thoughts and emotions instead of stoically internalizing them. "Every five years or so I look back on my life And I have a good laugh" Rumi <~~~~presentNOTE: Edited several times so as to not read like a critical reply to trinity. Sometimes it's good to reread before posting cause it may not appear like you intend it to. Anyway, I agree with his replay and am just trying to add more ideas.
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Post by swimswithtrout on Mar 19, 2023 13:09:12 GMT -8
I had started coming to grips with my bodies aging, and no longer being able to do all the things I could even 15 years ago, but my past two years battle with cancer, after initially being given less then a year life expectancy, has taught me to be content with just trying to live every day 'in the moment", no matter what that moment might be. The cancer treatments took a huge toll on my fitness that I'm still trying to recover from, and all the while, the progressive degeneration in my hip makes that increasing difficult, but I still love getting out for day "walks" with my camera, exploring the fields with our dog, or overnight car camp trips to dispersed sites. Getting older is not for the young.
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Post by trinity on Mar 19, 2023 13:54:38 GMT -8
Edited several times so as to not read like a critical reply to trinity. I have not experienced you to be a critical person; hence, I am not likely to interpret your posts as being critical. And I certainly agree with your above points.
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RumiDude
Trail Wise!
Marmota olympus
Posts: 2,361
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Post by RumiDude on Mar 19, 2023 22:12:18 GMT -8
I have no idea what you guys are talking about Take notes, dude, yer gonna need to refer to them before you know it. Rumi
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