Topic

Getting older, as good as u were 10 years ago?


Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Home Forums General Forums General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion Getting older, as good as u were 10 years ago?

  • This topic is empty.
Viewing 23 posts - 1 through 23 (of 23 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #1297391
    USA Duane Hall
    BPL Member

    @hikerduane

    Locale: Extreme northern Sierra Nevada

    The last year or more, I've been thinking of doing a Portal to Portal to Mt. Whitney again for my 60th bd next Fall. I easily did the Portal to Portal on my 50th bd. To avoid disappointment and not sure I want to do that many miles in half a day, I have some reservations and don't want to fail, either physically or by knee or ankle injury. The last 12-15 years while jogging a couple times a week, I keep telling myself, I'm getting too old for this. Maybe I need to invite some of the North CA bpers I do trips with to see if any of them are up to it and for the company. Then there is the Lottery to deal with. How are you doing? Ready to move over and let the younger whippersnappers by? Not without a fight!
    Duane

    #1938453
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    "I have some reservations and don't want to fail"

    The only failure is not trying in the first place….. ;-)

    #1938466
    EndoftheTrail
    BPL Member

    @ben2world-2

    Agree with Doug.

    #1938467
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    Duane, this year was my 37th annual on Mount Whitney in a day. For one thing, it helps if you start extremely early while the air is still very cool. That helps prevent overheating and dehydration later. Then I can start down from the top by 11 a.m., and I don't try to speed going down. That way, my joints will survive and my muscles will require only about one aspirin.

    –B.G.–

    #1938470
    Nick Gatel
    BPL Member

    @ngatel

    Locale: Southern California

    Hike at a steady pace, neither fast nor slow.

    #1938498
    David Thomas
    BPL Member

    @davidinkenai

    Locale: North Woods. Far North.

    My standard is that I "hike my age" by which I mean a 51-mile day hike this year. I don't always find the time to condition beforehand and can block out a whole day every year, but I find age no limit yet on hiking.

    I could hike the least far in a day at age 30 – desk job, no longer immune from over-use injuries, but I hadn't learned to condition in advance.

    Last year, going up Half Dome, I decided to see how many 20-somethings and 30-somethings I could hike past. The answer was "all of them". I lost track at 150.

    Colin Fletcher was a mega hiker into his 80s. I've had my butt kicked on Whitney by an 80-year old when I was 19. Maybe that was BobG?

    #1938501
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    It isn't how old you are that counts. It's how old you think you are.

    –B.G.–

    #1938506
    Eric Blumensaadt
    BPL Member

    @danepacker

    Locale: Mojave Desert

    Welll…

    At 69 I'm not quite as spry as I wuz at 59 but I'm still pretty close. And compared to most of my contemporary buddies I ain't doin' too bad. No arthritis, no heart problems, no diabetes and lots of stamina.

    Best of all I can still turn a pretty girl's head – at 20 yards.

    #1938512
    Franco Darioli
    Spectator

    @franco

    Locale: Gauche, CU.

    "Best of all I can still turn a pretty girl's head – at 20 yards"
    Yes, me too.

    They turn the other way.

    #1938518
    Gary Dunckel
    BPL Member

    @zia-grill-guy

    Locale: Boulder

    Then there's the old saying, "I'm not as good as I once as, but I'm as good once as I ever was."

    #1938525
    USA Duane Hall
    BPL Member

    @hikerduane

    Locale: Extreme northern Sierra Nevada

    Bob, Gary,
    I like the good once as I ever was, love that song! At 50 I started at 5AM, may start a little sooner this coming year if I go. It isn't too warm in Sept, although when I went, I started in shorts and a light Polartec top, passed a heavy guy about a third of the way up, dressed like it was a cool day. At the top, I finally put my other layers on. I paced myself, going slower than I normally would go, I think I'll set a more normal pace at least to start. Depending on how many WAG bag stops I need, I hope to do it in 12 hours this time if I go, shaving a half hour off, jogging downhill mostly.
    Duane

    #1938561
    Joe Clement
    BPL Member

    @skinewmexico

    Locale: Southwest

    Not as good as I was 10 years ago, but the stories keep getting better and better. Knee surgery tomorrow, we'll see what happens next. I'm thinking I should have been up skiing just in case.

    #1938564
    Richard Cullip
    BPL Member

    @richardcullip

    Locale: San Diego County

    Better than I was 10 years ago but not as good as I was 40 years ago. I'm back into backpacking after a 30 year hiatus and, I must say, the modern ultralight gear has enabled this 60+ year old to get back into the High Sierra of his youth. Thank goodness for light loads!

    #1938579
    Ken Larson
    BPL Member

    @kenlarson

    Locale: Western Michigan

    Make peace with imprefections.
    ~Don't sweat the Small Stuff~
    Live within your limits ~ BUT stretch them!

    #1938583
    EndoftheTrail
    BPL Member

    @ben2world-2

    Who was it who remarked once: "I used to have four supple limbs and one stiff. Now, it's four stiff and one supple."

    #1938592
    USA Duane Hall
    BPL Member

    @hikerduane

    Locale: Extreme northern Sierra Nevada

    Ken,
    I guess I expect to be the same as when I was in my 40's. Hard to take when you are getting half way thru your hiking day and getting tired already. I'm the kind that I thing everyone else is going to beat me to the last or best campsite, so I have to keep going. Like competition in sports when I was in HS. Maybe one of these days I'll accept the fact that I am older and I should take more breaks and not worry that if I don't catch up to the people I see ahead of me, that it is not going to be the end of the world. I have my very good days though. Two years ago after changing a bp trip out of Independence or Yosemite due to snow, I had a neighbor drop me off 30 miles from home so I could bp part of the PCT close to home that I have never done. Wades Lake/Jamison Mine to Big Creek Road by Bucks Lake, close to the Bucks Lake Wilderness. The second day out, I had my biggest mileage day ever, doing what I calculated as 22 miles, making camp on the Middle Fork of the Feather River that night. My best before was a couple years before that, doing 18 miles.
    Duane

    #1938731
    Eric Blumensaadt
    BPL Member

    @danepacker

    Locale: Mojave Desert

    Yeah, Duane, I too get tired a bit earlier. Sometimes I actually nap on hiking breaks. I tell my fellow hikers, "It's a gift to be able to sleep anywhere, any time."
    They are nice and "agree" with me, likely feeling sorry for this geezer.

    #1938956
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "The only failure is not trying in the first place….. "

    Or dying while trying. ;0)

    #1938988
    Nelson Sherry
    Member

    @nsherry61

    Locale: Mid-Willamette Valley

    Frankly, I'd rather die trying than not try. You gotta die some time. May as well do it doing what you love where you love being.

    #1939010
    Duane Hall
    BPL Member

    @pkh

    Locale: Nova Scotia

    Well, of course we'll all break down some day – no one escapes that. When it comes to back packing capability (endurance, speed, etc) I really think I am pretty much the same as I was in my forties. I will be sixty this coming summer. Mind you, I no longer carry the heavy loads I used to haul in my forties; I've learned (and spent) a lot :) Naturally I can hear the old clock winding down. While I am still good for distance running, I can no longer sprint with any degree of comfort. If I try to do that, my body quickly lets me know just how old it is.

    You are absolutely right: if you don't catch up with the people you see ahead of you, it is not the end of the world. And remember, the tortoise often gets the best campsite in the end anyway, after passing all those exhausted young jack rabbits.

    Nova Scotia Duane Hall

    #1939127
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "Frankly, I'd rather die trying than not try."

    :0)

    #1939145
    Backpack Jack
    BPL Member

    @jumpbackjack

    Locale: Armpit of California

    "I have some reservations and don't want to fail"

    I thought I read "I have some reservations and don't want to (fall)" LOL
    Most of the people I hike with (or for that matter any out door activity I do) my friends are in there 30's to 40's. I just turned 52 this year and feel better than ever. There are a few friends that still blow me away, but I still get there. LETS GO YOUNG GUYS, BRING IT ON!

    Jack

    #1944095
    RA Amundsen
    Member

    @grimner

    Pushing forty – yikes, 40 – quite possibly more muscle and less fat than ten years ago. My starting point for that was less than athletic, so not much to crow about there.

    But I am way smarter about hiking/backpacking now. Starting out with the typical huge backpack loaded with items of murky value and even less relevance (huge wood-chopping knife when walking above the treeline), the thinking and knowledge of the lightweight crowd helps a lot.
    Way more to learn, of course, but feeling good the morning after a 11-12 hour hike is just fabulous.

Viewing 23 posts - 1 through 23 (of 23 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Get the Newsletter

Get our free Handbook and Receive our weekly newsletter to see what's new at Backpacking Light!

Gear Research & Discovery Tools


Loading...