Old Guys Backpacking

Might want to beef up your FAK with some extra ibuprofen.

add walking poles to the gear. As has been said already, thick air mattress, light pack weight. He needs to walk in his boots before the trip, a lot. Some of that walking while carrying a pack with some weight in it. The walking is to get legs, shoulders, and back in shape, as well as to break in boots.

A lot of good advice. I think the comfort part is very important, while keeping the weight light of course. He will be the most tired and sore of the group at the end of the day so vitamin I, a comfy bed and above all a good dinner will be key in keeping it fun. A sit pad might even be a nice touch in camp.

Absolutely have him use hiking poles. The amount of stress poles allow you to avoid on your knees is as amazing as it is essential.

"I do take an algae oil supplement daily."

Not the same. Plant derived omega-3 fatty acids do not give the benefits of fish derived omega-3's. But if you just plain don't care for fish, no sense eating them.

"Nice food, maybe cocoa and/or coffee"

And maybe a small flask of his favorite spirit, if he imbibes. Nothing like a shot of something special around a campfire to put a warm and fuzzy halo around a full day on the trail.

> add walking poles to the gear
I'm biased – we all know that. But if he is used to walking without crutches, he might find poles a *** nuisance.

> He needs to walk in his boots before the trip, a lot.
> as well as to break in boots.
PLEASE! This is BPL. We do not wear boots here! Light-weight JOGGERS. They do not need breaking in. Just make sure they are generously large and wide, with thick socks.

Cheers

As well as what the others have suggested, the best thing your Dad can do for himself is to start training ASAP with a light pack and footwear of choice. He should start slow and work up to the pack weight you anticipate he will be carrying. Barring unforeseen injuries, he should do great with just a few months of training. Without training, he will undoubtably suffer and perhaps fail.

"A sit pad might even be a nice touch in camp."

Or maybe even a camp chair (thermarest, Alite, etc.)!

Involve him in every step of the planning.

Ask him lots of questions.

Let him prepare his gear with your guidance.

That kind of thing.

Re: PLEASE! This is BPL. We do not wear boots here! Light-weight JOGGERS. They do not need breaking in. Just make sure they are generously large and wide, with thick socks.

Backpacker Magazine once had an article entitled, "Bootery Snobbery."
Let's see, it would be the height of heat wave season now down under.
Guess that explains it.

Thanks a lot, guys. The chair is a great idea; I'm going to start looking into those. I hope I'm able to find something that is as high as a normal chair, and not one he has to get down into. If anyone has recommendations, I'm all ears.

I've also considered having him use a canister stove since they're less finicky than alcohol. Along with buying an actual towel (packtowl UL, probably) so he doesn't have to just use a bandanna.
My goal is to streamline as much of his experience as possible, so he's able to enjoy it as much as he can. I know there's a lot of little things I'm willing to encumber to save weight and I don't want him to deal with that.

I found the genuine Packtowl product to be a bit heavy and not very good.

These days we use some Discovery Trekking Extreme Ultralight Backpacking towels: see
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Personal%20Hygiene/Towels/Wick-er%20Warm%20Up%20Towels/Test%20Report%20by%20Roger%20Caffin/
and
https://www.discoverytrekking.com/ultralite-backpacking-towel
The towels on the hedge at the bottom of the first and at the top of the latter are mine.

Cheers