Is backpacking only for the young!

I'm a bit over 40, and would like to get out way more than I do. Under 30 could be underemployed or taking a year off after college. Over 60 may be retired. The rest of us, you're more likely to see June to August when the kids are off school.

I see lots of older people backpacking in the Sierra… many over 60 and some over 70…

In fact, I'm often surprised how many I see out backpacking…

Bill D

Nah, we older folk are out there. We just stay away from places young people frequent…. :-)

Is backpacking only for the young? Nope. I see lots of older folk on the trails in the Cascades and there are some seniors groups that are doing day hikes. I'll leave those 25-30 mile per day trips to the young, but the rest is mine. Use it or lose it!

We're both over 60 now, and have logged about 700 miles in the last five years…

And we've also seen plenty of other folks our age on the trail!

I'm 40 and can tell you I'd be out there a lot more but for my job and critters to take care of at home.

20-somethings have health, time, and lack the finances to take other kinds of vacations. Many "working-age" people have limited vacation and there are kids, work, and school schedules to juggle. And they have more money to do non-BPing trips.

A lot of Americans, by their 60s and 70s, aren't in shape to do a BPing trip. Although I've had my butt kicked on snow slopes and the Whitney Trail by 80-year-olds.

>"some young whippersnapper even congratulated us on getting there"

The last time I hiked up Half Dome, on a lark, I decided to count how many people half my age I hiked past before any hiked past me. The answer was "all of them", I lost count at 150. Age & treachery beat youth & beauty every time. I'm assuming you uttered the words "whippersnapper" to him.

Colin Fletcher ("The Man Who Walked Through Time", "The Complete Walker", etc) was a high mileage hiker his entire 85 years. Mowed down by an SUV at age 80, his remarkable recovery was attributed to a lifetime of exercise.

I do notice a trend, though, among many 20-somethings to do a vigorous day (hiking, mountain biking, skiing, etc) and the some other activit(ies) the rest of the week/weekend more now than 30-40 years ago.

I'm 43 and I did the JMT with my good friend who is 62. We passed (and were passed by) tons and tons of geezers. Probably just as many as the kiddos.

Maybe it's a Colorado thing?

In Southern Arizona (admittedly a retirement mecca), the grey foxes are all over the mountains, hiking, biking, backpacking, etc.

The eastern Sierras are FULL of AARP'ers backpacking — all the time! On my short loop (60 miles) this summer, at least half the people were over 40 and the oldest folks we talked with were in their mid/late 70s. The latter weren't doing 20 mile days, but they were out there with big smiles!

We are planning a JMT thru hike next summer, doing 10-15 miles/day; my husband will be a month away from turning 70 then. Good luck keeping up with him. Very few people do. :~)

I think David states it correctly. Folks in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are tied down in too many places. When I was with an organization that organized one-week backcountry service trips we studied why we weren't getting many volunteers in those age ranges and the responses bore out that observation. Can't take a week off work, need to save vacation time for my family, got to visit the in-laws, and so on. Not everyone in his or her 60s and 70s is in shape to keep backpacking but those who are simply have more free time than the generation behind them.

I took an introductory ski mountaineering class last January with plenty of skinning, bootpacking, digging, and slogging. Our instructor, age 80, wasn't even breathing hard at the end of an exhausting day. Wasn't there a guide who climbed the Matterhorn at 88? Just a question of keeping in shape.

Not backpacking per se….
Three years ago while backpacking and hiking in Switzerland we saw plenty of aged hikers trekking up steep, craggy mountains.
On trains it was not unusual to see groups of ladies in their 70's, trekking poles and packs, heading to the mountains. Probably better than their counterparts driving Mercedes to do some wine tasting. Same for older men, bowed legs and all.

I hope not. I did a lot of backpacking (Mineral King area) in my 20's but then marriage, work and family got in the way. Not very many trips until recently. I'm back into it now that I'm retired. Can't yet do the miles nor elevation change I used to but, thanks to the newer ultralight gear, I'm back into the Sierra high country. I'm turning 62 in early Nov and I hope to have a couple of more decades of backpacking left in my older body.

I'm 26 and its like pulling teeth to get anyone my age to go backpacking with me. Most of them don't backpack in the first place, my "outdoorsy" friends are all into the "exciting" things like mountain biking and climbing.
More often than not its the folks my parents' age or older who are willing to hit the trail with me. I'm fine with that, I don't like a lot of people my age anyway :D
Same goes with the trail maintenance I do. The bulk of the volunteers are people who have kids my age. I'm leading a construction event this weekend and I'm going to be the youngest person there.

Adam

Thanks for all the responses and counter-examples. I'm resting easier now that it appears that our Colorado experience the past two weeks was somewhat anomalous.

I too, about to turn 60, am hoping for a couple of decades-worth of hiking and backpacking (and kayaking).

Now if I could only find a way to retire and not be poverty-stricken…

One of my backpacking buddies was 81 (I could be off by a year) when he finally quit packing two years ago. This year in the Wind River Mtns. I ran into an 87 year old backpacker. He was at the front of a group of five along with the youngest, a thirty-something. The others in the group were 65+ and trailed the leaders by 15 minutes. They were on day six of a seven day trip.

About 35 years ago when I was in my late twenties one of my best day-hiking buddies was in his mid 70's and I could barely put some distance between the two of us if I made an heroic effort.

I marvel at how few young backpackers I run into on the trail. At 52 I am one of the younger but do admit I spend my time backpacking between Labor Day and Memorial Day to avoid summer crowds and bugs. Rarely do I cross paths with anyone much younger than myself and most are in their sixty's or seventy's. A few weeks ago I ran into an 84 year old carrying a pack he estimated at 45-50lbs and had been out for 5 days with 7 more to go. Even more impressive was that we met him just shy of Knapsack Col in the Titcomb Basin coming down from the west side wearing crampons and carrying an ice axe. He simply said " you can't be too careful at my age."

I will be very disappointed if I am not still going strong at least until I am 75. I didn't get to finish the CDT back in 1984 only getting to Rocky Mountain Nat't Park before leaving the trail on a south bound trip. I will most likely not get a chance to complete it until after 65. That will still leave the AT if I am going for the triple crown and I would like to get to Patagonia and many other places as well.

Get out and enjoy a flexible schedule!!!

"I will be very disappointed if I am not still going strong at least until I am 75."

Stay active and you'll have no problem. I did a trip in the Sierra with BPL's Tom Kirchner two summers ago and I had to hump to keep up with him, including going up and over Shepherds Pass on day 1 and continuing on down the trail a ways. And if I remember correctly, he was about 96 or something like that then….. :-)

I'll second Tom's prowess in the hills.

As soon as we hit the Sierra together last summer, it was like watching a fish return to water. I could see it in his energy.

He led over Shepherd's Pass in 90+ degree temps. I'd be a liar if I didn't say I had a few "Oh $hit, this guy's not going to slow down" moments until I hit my stride.

Sadly, the majority of people in my life that are over 60 are not in such good shape. For most, backpacking would be extremely uncomfortable- if not impossible. It's not age, it's poor lifestyle choices leading up to that age.

I read somewhere that if one keeps up the active life that endurance actually improves with age. Many of the above observations seem to substantiate that. Living in AZ I see mostly older folks hiking, maybe not to the highest elevations here or the most steep trails but lots of elders enjoying the canyons and TONS of older birders and volunteers in outdoor occupations like visitor centers and guided hikes. I met an 80 year old in Ramsey Canyon a few months ago, his enthusiasm was really refreshing and he was carrying a good sized pack and using poles, going up a very tough hill, had the biggest grin on his face, obviously having the time of his life.

I hope you congratulated him for not being a disrespectful twerp who just sits at home to play Halo and gorge on pork rinds. You should have effusively praised his good life-choices and encouraged him not to take up drugs, all with a big smile and the tone of a first grade teacher.

Hey, if he can "congratulate" you for being able to walk I think that deserves some snark in return… :)

I'm 21 years old and I feel like I've walked into a retirement community every time I step onto a trail ;)

You're old enough to walk? Don't the diapers chafe?

:)

"I'll second Tom's prowess in the hills."

Thanks to both Craig and Doug for the kind words. I am humbled, and honored to have been able to share a very special part of the Sierra with 3 of the finest companions a guy could ask for.

Age wasn't really a factor anyway, because we were all just little boys out there doing what little boys do when Mommy's not looking.

"He led over Shepherd's Pass in 90+ degree temps. I'd be a liar if I didn't say I had a few "Oh $hit, this guy's not going to slow down" moments until I hit my stride."

And I had a few "Oh $hit" moments, too, thinking what the he!! had I gotten myself into hiking with these young studs, and that if I stumbled, they'd make waffle tracks all over my shiny new OHM 2. ;0)

"It's not age, it's poor lifestyle choices leading up to that age."

+1

That and a passion for the mountains. If you want it bad enough, you'll stay in shape. Simple as that. In my case there is really no choice, because the Sierra is at the core of who I am.

Somehow, I think Craig, Adan, and Doug will be up there for many years to come.

And, Doug, it wasn't 96! It was….uh…., 92? 89? Aw he!!, maybe it was 96 after all. :(

> if one keeps up the active life that endurance actually improves with age.
Yup – we just get meaner and smarter… :-)
The secret? Never stop walking.

Cheers