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Post by hikerjer on Mar 23, 2017 16:42:37 GMT -8
Difficult as it is, I think I've come to that point in my life where I need to reassess of what I'm physically capable of. As some of you know from my post in the Trip Reports forum on my attempted Dark Canyon hike, I suffered a dangerous fall which has caused me pause for thought. After a close call, my hiking partner, my 26-year-old son, informed me that he didn't think I was up for this type of thing anymore and, difficult as it is to admit, I'm afraid there is a certain amount of truth to it. For the past several years I've noticed that the mountains get higher and the trails get longer every year. I've had a number of falls this ski season that while not damaging, were painful and could have been more serious. Just lucky they weren't, I guess. Last summer I had to abort a cross-country bike trip because of knee problems. In addition, I've noticed a few other things that bother me. For instance, I used to love and embrace the cold while now, more and more, I've come to enjoy it less and less. Also, there are bears. I never used to worry about bears at all. Now, while I wouldn't say I'm anywhere near paranoid about them, they are often on my mind when I hike. That may be a function of common sense or just age. Nevertheless, it's something new for me. Plus, there is the added assortment of aches and pains that I've not experienced on a regular basis in the past. It's a bitter realization to come to the point where you realize you just can't do what you used to, but good sense and the facts, as well as my son and wife, tell me I'm there. I'm certainly not ready to throw in the towel yet. However, before going on a hike I think I'm going to have to do a careful assessment of what it involves. No longer can I just assume that I can do it regardless of its physical requirements. The fall in Dark Canyon was a real wake-up call for me in that area. Maybe I'll just have to stick to regular trails and gentler cross country hiking, limit the distance and terrain that I hike and bike and stay away from the chutes and double black diamonds when skiing. I don't like it, but perhaps that's just where I am in life. Disappointing for sure, but at least it will ensure that maybe I can continue to engage in the activities I love. Better that than get myself to the point where I can't do anything due to some stupid decision from doing something I really shouldn't be attempting. I'm 68 years old and hope I have a considerable number of years left enjoying the outdoors even if I have to scale back things a bit.
I know there are a number of you on the boards that are in the same stage of life I am. So, how many of you find yourself in a similar situation and how are you dealing with it? I'm trying to be thankful what I have done in the past and for what I still have ahead of me, but it does take some getting use to. What say you?
Thanks for your comments.
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driftwoody
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Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
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Post by driftwoody on Mar 23, 2017 17:30:41 GMT -8
hikerjer, I'll turn 60 later this year and I'm starting to feel my age with some arthritis in my right hip and a sketchy right ankle I haven't seen a doctor about yet. I think you have the right approach -- keep enjoying the outdoors but explore the possibilities within your capabilities. I'm sure I will continue backpacking longer than my other recreational activity, which is competitive slowpitch softball. When I can no longer sprint well for my age group it will be time to hang up my spikes. Several years ago I did a 5 day 4 night trek at the west end of Isle Royale National Park. It was a great trip, but one thing that really impressed me was an intrepid 70-ish man who joined some younger friends at the campsite by paddling his canoe to the shoreline and hiking in a short distance. Touring the great outdoors via water routes offers a different perspective and a new experience easier on the old legs. I've never been a waterman, but I look forward to becoming one at some point. Of course, there are more rivers and lakes in some parts of the country than others. Keep at it, man -- it's essential to your physical and mental health.
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Post by trinity on Mar 23, 2017 17:47:41 GMT -8
Don't know if this is of any comfort, Jer, but you're a freaking badass in my book. Hell, if I'm half as active as you when I hit 68 I'll feel like a stud. I'm only 51, but definitely feeling age set in. It is amazing to me how our bodies age, but our minds take a while to catch up. My brain still thinks I'm 21, but my body reminds me otherwise every time I backpack. It can be discouraging, no getting around it. As a priest, I deal a lot with issues of aging. It is difficult and painful, and most do not handle it very gracefully. The fact that you are asking these questions, and that you are thinking of your loved ones rather than your own need to maintain a level of activity that is no longer realistic says a great deal about the kind of person you are. You may have to dial things back, but you're gonna be fine. And I agree with driftwoody --canoeing is a fantastic way to continue to enjoy the outdoors. I love extended canoe camping trips almost as much as backpacking, and it involves much less physical effort.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Mar 23, 2017 18:23:38 GMT -8
I'm just a few steps behind you on that long trail Jer.
Weight loss and exercise have bought me some time, but I can't muscle the skies through turns like I use to. Thank God age has also brought wisdom to both of us, which helps us either keep out of situations we really shouldn't be in, or at least to bail before we get in too deep.
I think each of us deal with these issues in or own way, but it's comforting to know that there are others in the same boat.
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davesenesac
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Our precious life is short within eternity, don't waste it!
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Post by davesenesac on Mar 23, 2017 18:28:33 GMT -8
Deciding how much danger one accepts is always a considerate gamble regardless of age. A small child alone without their mothers guidance crossing their neighborhood residential street learns not to cross to their friends house on the other side without carefully looking when they can hear the sound of vehicles coming down the street. At first their mother teaches them the danger and later as intelligent humans they figure out the rest on their own. Eliminating dangerous choices are decisions each person makes from their personal skills, knowledge, and confidence.
For some adults with considerable skills, challenging limitations is a game some take to great lengths and in fact thrive on the thrill while others are content to wisely avoid such with no interest in feelings of thrill. Many of us are somewhere in between taking on just enough to make life interesting without expecting any serious injuries over the long years. Because of my strong skiing abilities, others have pressured me at times, especially when I was younger to venture more to the dangerous side. A couple decades ago, an extreme skier with an unwise attitude got me into a can't back out situation and we both fell on icy steeps that ended our seasons with he more severely so. After that I've been content to stay away from dangerous steeps.
As a single digit kid, my neighborhood friends and I unwisely challenged climbing our large numbers of blue and valley oaks. Thus learned a lot of dangerous monkey nature climbing skills at an early age. But as an adult soon learned to avoid dangerous rock climbing situations despite a lot of pressure to embrace such from others simply because I felt doing so was unwise in the long term. Same thing with cross country hiking and backpacking as there are many dangers there from steep rock to large talus to steep summer snow fields to cold deep fast flowing stream crossings, and more. Long ago I learned to be conservative with considerations I wanted to be doing these things for a long time. Of course much more as life has many dangers. Today all of us are regularly in dangerous situations in our vehicles on highways. Obviously there are numbers of inconsiderate types out there not only dangerous to themselves but also to the rest of us.
So your more narrow wonderings about personal limits out in nature, in the backcountry, apply similarly. Thus always evaluating current physical abilities and external challenges and adapting wisely. It is just as we get old that such decisions accelerate. The goal again is the long term ability to enjoy whatever at reasonable levels even if such might not be at skill and physical levels we once had. At some point one may just need to walk away from an activity. I used to be a rather impressive table tennis player with a wicked loop drive. But that sport at high levels requires perfect eyesight as the ball is small and moving at warp speed. In my 50s with presbyopia and finger knuckle arthritis took enough of a toll I walked away despite a passion to continue.
In the end, NONE of us get out of here alive. But the less one uses it, the more likely one will lose it.
David
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Post by hikerjer on Mar 23, 2017 18:42:28 GMT -8
Touring the great outdoors via water routes offers a different perspective and a new experience easier on the old legs. I have a canoe and really enjoy tripping with it. The only problem is that's it's a considerable distance to any good long canoe trips while great hiking is just an hour away. Still, I suspect I 'll be taking more canoe trips. And a kayak may well be in the near future. . It is amazing to me how our bodies age, but our minds take a while to catch up. Great point. I'd never quite thought of it that way. Thank God age has also brought wisdom to both of us I hope so although my wife might question that at times.
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Post by atvtuner on Mar 23, 2017 18:52:23 GMT -8
It's all risk assessment these days as I approach 60. Not willing to take the risks I did at 20...30....or 40, but more due to having something to lose these days rather than age.
On the other hand, life-experience and trail-experience has me pretty confident of going places and doing things that when I was younger seemed like too much of a risk.
I suppose the turning point was when I stopped fearing death all that much and started to fear pain a lot more, rather than vice-versa. IMO, that is the advantage of age.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Mar 23, 2017 19:00:10 GMT -8
I hope so although my wife might question that at times. Every man (and woman) needs that special someone who looks at you funny and says "What the hell are you doing?"...
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Post by hikerjer on Mar 23, 2017 19:05:29 GMT -8
Famous quote! "All men are idiots and I married their king". Hard to argue with at times.
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Post by hikinggods on Mar 23, 2017 19:39:21 GMT -8
I am 10 years younger than you, and have been blessedly free of of age-related issues, but last year's bout with cancer gave me a shocking reality-check. For the first time my body "betrayed" me.... it gives you a new perspective. Now, I'm grateful just to be able to be outside moving around on my own power. And thankful to be around for another year.
Consider scaling back modestly. A hike that you would have planned for 3 days might be a 4 day hike now. Think a little more low-key and not so hard-core. Cautious, not fearful. Things don't have to change much, just go a little more gently.
I don't much like the cold any more, either. Nothing wrong with that.
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desert dweller
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Power to the Peaceful...Hate does not create.
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Post by desert dweller on Mar 23, 2017 20:32:55 GMT -8
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daveg
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Michigan
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Post by daveg on Mar 23, 2017 21:00:08 GMT -8
I’m 69 and have taken note of my incremental physical decline over the past 10 years or so. I’m weaker, slower, have less endurance, get cold more easily, and don’t hear as well.
Five or so years ago I was hiking a long section of the AT and arrived at the shelter where I planned to spend the night. A young couple were the only other hikers there. When I was ready to fix dinner I got out my Trangia stove but couldn’t get the cap unscrewed. The young woman offered to have her boyfriend help me. I handed my Trangia to him and, without straining at all, he unscrewed the cap. They didn’t make anything of it but I felt embarrassed.
I sometimes (jokingly?) contemplate the unfairness that, as an old, weaker guy, I have to carry more weight than young hikers. Because I chill more easily, I have to carry more insulation when it’s cold out. Because I’m slower, it takes me longer to get from Point A to Point B, which means I have to carry more food and fuel weight.
Three years ago my daughter and her husband met me in New Hampshire so we could spend a week hiking the AT through the White Mountains together. I had been on the trail for three weeks (~200 miles) by then and was in (in my mind) excellent hiking condition. They are active and in good physical shape but had not trained for the hike. I outperformed them the first day. But after that, it was all youth. They would hike on ahead (with my blessing), leaving me to catch up with them eventually. Did I mention that I am slower than I used to be?
Yet, although I am aware that my physical capabilities have lessened over the years, I generally feel good. I plan a long hike (which in my mind means at least 200 miles) each year and usually finish (although it takes me half-again as long as young hikers to cover the distance). If you had asked me 20 years ago whether I would be able to do so, I would have said “no way.” Now I feel thankful that I can.
Last summer when I was hiking the White Mountains I spent a morning hiking with an elderly couple around my age – she was 68, he was 72. The wife told me about a 20-something man they had met several days before. He had been hiking in the company of a 70-something woman and had found himself hard pressed to keep up with her. When they stopped for a break he asked the woman “What is your secret?”
She got right up in his face and, while shaking a finger at him, replied “Don’t ever stop, young man! Just never stop!”
I guess that expresses my philosophy. I’ll just keep going until I can’t.
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Post by Sleeping Bag Man! on Mar 23, 2017 21:00:20 GMT -8
Hey there hikerjer , My pops is 73, and he used to be an avid backpacker & mountain climber. About your age he dialed down the backpacking quite a bit - but he's been very very active in hiking regardless. One creative way he's preserved some of the "grand adventure" of multi-day backpacking trips is by doing long touring routes in Europe. He's criss-crossed England I think 3 different ways, crossed Wales, Scotland, a corner of Ireland, and taken a couple expeditions in the Pyrenees (which I think were his favorite). Plenty of miles, plenty of scenery...not as much solitude, but a warm bed & a cold beer every night. A group of folks around your age (a wee bit younger perhaps) from the forum here recently did the Scotland thing. Anyways - just a suggestion. Not everyone has the means for that, I know. If there are similar "village to village" experiences here closer to home I need to learn about them. Here is Dad, from just yesterday - he is currently roaming Death Valley looking for the perfect sidelight, the perfect sand dune, and probably some wildflower blooms. Cheers, -Ory
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Mar 23, 2017 21:14:50 GMT -8
Reading this with interest, as we are about to retire and go to traveling with greater intensity--and are wondering about the changing limits. Still on the younger side of all this--I'm about to be 54, and the spouse is 62--but we are noticing the differences--and one of them (for him more than me, as I've always been a klutz) is a reduction in the ability to move gracefully.
On the up side--we were in the desert all week with my in-laws, at 86 and 90. Now, that is an age where slowing is definitely happening, and my FiL clearly stumbles some, but they can still pull off a couple of miles of hiking and flower-gazing. You take what you get. I think the FiL did his last pack trip at 80+.
One thing I've been working hard on is lightening our pack loads, in part so that when we need 10 days to do a week-long trip, we can afford to carry the food. We also work a lot more on training for the backpacking season than we did as youngsters. The days when we could tackle physical challenges with no training are definitely gone.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2017 2:08:34 GMT -8
Jer....I hit 60 this year.....the wife's 64....she got to a point where she just couldn't enjoy backpacking anymore so I bought some horses and for the next few years we rode in the mountains most every weekend.
Her health has declined over the past two years, having back surgery and two knee surgeries.....and now can't really ride much....
I still ride and had my highest mileage year in 2016.....many of the people I ride with are much older than me....one fellow is 85 and is still able to make a long ride.
We took a 25 year old with us to big south fork last year.....about two in the afternoon she asked "do ya'll do this every weekend? I'm not sure I can hang with you 60 year olds".....
The gal I ride with is 62...she's a beast....and it's hard for me to keep up with her....
So, I love being on a trail in the mountains.....when it got hard to do for my wife we switched to horse back and still enjoy the trails.
Bears...yes, I see them every once in awhile......I saw one at Dally Gap that was almost as big as my horse.....as you know, I go armed in the mountains.....it's very remote....and helps a long way away. We've argued the merits about this over the years, but at the end of the day it makes me feel better being armed out there....
Two riders went down near the Jack's River....took the forest service and rescue team nearly three days to get to them and get them out.....as they won't bring anything with wheels into the wilderness area.....so one best be prepared for an extended stay.
Last year I was on the trails 34 weekends and logged 488 miles. I came off my horse twice last year.....the first one didn't hurt much.....the second time I felt it for 6 months.....then again....rode 5 years and never came off....
Just don't quit. Like TDale said....just keep walking.
Getting old ain't for wussies.
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