"Older backpackers"-What concessions are you willing to make as you age?

[Jane Baack]

In Sept. Tom K. and I initiated an e-mail discussion about concessions older backpackers might have to make to continue backpacking as they age. Tom is 77 and I’m 75 so this is a relevant topic for each of us. In Nov. Mina Loomis posted her concerns about being an older backpacker planning for a thru-hike. Many people posted helpful suggestions, especially about training /exercise regimens that they use. Our questions are a little different: What concessions are you willing to make-or NOT make- to continue backpacking? What, other than major physical problems, might cause you to stop backpacking altogether? How might your trips in 5 years be different from those you plan for in 2018?

For me, one concession might be using pack animal support on some trips to be able to hike in beautiful places–but I might feel a bit guilty.
Tom knows he might have to consider “putting up with more people than I am used to” on trails, instead of off-trail hikes.

As you age what concessions might you make to continue backpacking?

[J David Sullivan]

I’ve moved out of a tent into a hammock to help my 73-yr old back. I plan to cover no more than 7 or 8 miles a day. I choose my routes carefully. I take a lot of short standing breaks and hike a lot slower, so I hike by myself a lot. I focus more on my surroundings than watching my feet, which means I have to be more careful at rock-falls and stream crossings. I travel vicariously on the Hayduke and Sierra High Routes. I saunter (as Muir said) a lot.

[Charles Jennings]

One of my good friends in Idaho is 78 years old and uses packgoats where permitted to carry his gear. He is a hardy soul and still hikes 8-10 miles per day.  I am 60 years old and use packgoats as well, and enjoy camping in comfort.

[Jane Baack]

I know that llamas are used as pack animals but I’m not familiar with packgoats. How much can they carry and are there any disadvantages to using them? Do they eat clothes or gear if not watched carefully??

[Rex Sanders]

Concessions already made:

• Replaced nearly all my heavy gear with lighter stuff, thanks to Jardine & BPL
• Sleep on a much thicker and heavier sleeping pad, so I can stay warm and actually sleep at night. Used to sleep on thin foam pads / rocks.
• Stick to well-traveled trails and carry an InReach to keep my wife happy. Too much Type 2 & Type 3 fun in my past.
• Don’t even think about hiking in snow, extreme cold, or heavy rain. You can call me a fair weather backpacker, and I don’t care.
• Learned to hike better, not faster.
• Scaled back my idea of a long trip, which used to be the PCT, then 30 days / 500 miles. Now it’s 5-8 days and around 100 miles.
• I actually enjoy repeating some trips. Used to think every trip needed be new.

Five years from now – who knows? I might not even be backpacking. I’ve been around long enough to know that no passion lasts forever.

Except for my wife :-)

— Rex

[Erica R]

At 66 I enjoy strolling with my pack every day, covering a few miles through scenery, and arriving at a new campsite. It could be that later I might make shorter trips; just a couple miles into a lake, then camp there. Take a day hike from base camp. Maybe even hold a fishing line to keep myself anchored near the lake.

This thread made me think about a Personal Rescue Beacon. At about 4 oz, the ACR ResQlink is starting to look like maybe a good idea.

[Charles Jennings]

I have owned packgoats for 12 years.   I purchased them from a specific breeder for packgoats in Kansas so that I am able to get animals that are friendly and not aggressive, and are built solid for mountainous terrain.  Goats are very affectionate, and very smart, and very loyal.  Mine follow right behind me on the trail, as I have raised them since they were babies when I bottle fed them.  They can carry 40 to 50 lbs, depending on the breed and their fitness level. We train them to stay out of our kitchen at camp by squirting them in the face with a squirt bottle.  They very much dislike water in the face! At night, we highline them and they just bed down close to our tent. I am able to take comforts like the helinox cot and sunset chair, as well as the Hilleberg Altai, which we use as a cook shelter which allows us to stay dry during the afternoon thunderstorms.  Goats are incredibly agile and love boulder fields.  We take very good care of them and make sure that they are healthy and pathogen – free prior to taking them with us into the high alpine backcountry.

[Jenny A]

I have lightened my backpacking load significantly, down from 35-40 lbs for a multi-day trip to 20-25 lbs for the same trip.  This was not cheap, but it has been worth it.  I always – ALWAYS – hike with trekking poles now.  I carry a Delorme Explorer.  I don’t do much off-trail anymore.  I don’t walk across beaver dams to get to those fish, and I will wade a creek rather than cross on an elevated log.  I sleep with a pillow under my head and one between my legs, helps with the back.  I don’t hike more than 5 -7 miles in any given day.  And I take a lot more ibuprofen.

 

[BlackHatGuy]

“What concessions are you willing to make-or NOT make- to continue backpacking?” 

Not sure I’d be willing to make too many concessions. I wouldn’t mind hiking slower and covering fewer miles in a day as I age, but I think that’s about it.

What, other than major physical problems, might cause you to stop backpacking altogether?” 

Getting more interested in something else. Unlike most folks on this site, I’m not a lifelong backpacker — in fact it’s a relatively new hobby (since about 2006-2007). I have a history of leaving one hobby for another over the years.

“How might your trips in 5 years be different from those you plan for in 2018?”

Perhaps shorter, with less significant climbing, but that would be about it, and that would more likely be so that I can continue to hike with good friends who might not be able to do the things we do today. I’m only 59 (and a half), so I wouldn’t think my health will be all that different in five years.

[Nick Gatel]

Not sure I’d be willing to make too many concessions. I wouldn’t mind hiking slower and covering fewer miles in a day as I age, but I think that’s about it.

Except for a NeoAir, that replaced a foam mat, I’m pretty much with Doug. But, I’m not old yet.

 

[Jane Baack]

Several people have mentioned similar things that they might face as an older backpacker:
Hiking at a slower pace which might mean less mileage per day and trips that are shorter.
I started backpacking about the same time as you Doug but I was older, 64, and had just retired. I have enjoyed many trips with friends and my husband but I won’t be able to complete some of the “classic” backpack trips and I’ve only done the northern half of the JMT and can’t do enough miles per day with the elevation gains and resupplies required to do the southern half. Lots of great trips still ahead but shorter days and at lower altitude than before.
I have mentioned before that my husband and I have done a lot of hiking in Europe, carrying only a light pack as we stayed in various huts or small hotels which we’ll continue to do.

In a week I’ll meet with my women backpacking friends to plan our trips for 2018. We’re all thinking we’ll need to scale back a little but still want to backpack in beautiful places even if our mileage is lower per day.

Last summer we had a great family trip with our daughter and two grandchildren. Introducing them to the Shadow Lake-Thousand Island Lake area was great. I’ve been there several times but it was special all over again with kids aged 8 and 10.

[terry a thompson]

I have been thinking about this topic for a couple of years now after doing a thru hike of the JMT for my 70th birthday in 14 days including 2 zeros in 2016 and what I have come to is;

1. I need a better way to communicate with the folks at home. I now carry a SAT phone
2. I need to start cutting down my daily mileage from 18-20 down to 14-16.
3. I will not cut down on the length of my trips until I absolutely have to. I like to be out a minimum of 5 days. It takes that long for my body to understand what i am doing to it :-)
4. I need to take more breaks in my hiking day.
5. To be more aware of the terrain and creek crossings. instead of just forging forward.
6. In another 5 years I will probably stick more to trails I have done and not be quite so adventuresome when planning new unknown backpacking trips.
7. I have already trimmed my base weight from 16 lbs to 10.5 lbs thanks to BPL forums.

[Kathy H]

While I have quite yet reached my 70’s, I am on the “other side” of middle age, and have been thinking about steps I could take to continue backpacking as I get older.  This is particularly important to me, as my son worries that I backpack alone, and his girlfriends father died of a heart attack on a hike, so a lot of what I do is to calm family fears.

Here is my list:

1. Promised family that I will stick to established trails when hiking alone, and end the “bushwacking” that I used to do.
2. Got an InReach, and am diligent about checking in 3 times a day.
3. Lightened up the pack quite a bit, (less stress on the joints).
4. Started using hiking poles, to help with the knees.
5. Lowered the amount of miles to 10-15/day.
6. Take more frequent breaks, dip the knees in streams to help with swelling.
7. Do a little “trail yoga” to help with occasional back pain.
8. Switched to an air pad, (and my hips love it)
9. Bring extra chewable aspirin with me, just in case of symptoms of a heart attack.  I typically backpack in the Sierras, where it can take 24 hours for a rescue.
10. Walk more slowly through very rocky terrain, and pay more attention to footing.

What I am not willing to do is stop hiking alone.  I may have shorter trips alone, but I love hiking alone.  It recharges my batteries, and I am not willing to give that up.

[Paul Wagner]

Rex has a lot of the same ones I would list; better sleeping pad, lighter equipment, shorter hikes. My wife now uses hiking poles religiously. But we still go off-trail, maybe more now than earlier. And while we don’t have a SPOT, we have considered one—and will get one eventually.

[Tom K]

This is a question that I had put off dealing with up until about 3 years ago, but it has become increasingly clear to me that decades of wear and tear in my beloved Sierra are finally beginning to take a toll.  The trips have become shorter, fewer, and a bit less challenging, more on trail and less off.  I can still do a lot of what I could 10 years ago, but I have no illusions about that continuing much longer.  My main focus these days is on staying fit enough to avoid losing my younger partners any sooner than is absolutely necessary.  They are gems that are few and far between, and time spent with them up there is priceless.  Still, the time is approaching when I will have to start considering the types of concessions mentioned in the posts above.  At that point, I will have an even bigger decision to make:  Do I resign myself to doing the easier, more crowded trails in an effort to get a few more trips in?  Or do I just walk away with nearly 5 decades of wonderful memories and move on to the next phase of my life, wherever that might lead?  If I do decide to hang on a little longer, my current thought is to just wander the sagebrush chaparral beneath the Sierra Crest, gazing up occasionally at the ramparts and reminiscing over what once was, while getting better acquainted with all the flora and fauna I so cluelessly buzzed on by in my lust for the high, remote places.  Tough decisions that I hope to postpone for at least another season.

[Terry Sparks]

I’m probably the young pup in this thread at 61 and I understand and accept the fact that what I do now on the trail isn’t going to last forever.   But at the same time, my only real goal is to be the oldest hiker on the trail some day. So I use this to keep  pushing myself and to make time for my near daily off trail workouts and my workout hikes.  One of the benefits of this is, I start thru-hiking the CDT in mid to late June this year.

 

[HkNewman]

Not in my 70s, but met a thru hiking elderly couple stopping at more towns in the PCT to keep their total packweight down (along with a UL baseweight). Probably more resupply in general – think the company is Sonora Pass Resupply, maybe others?).

[Dave Heiss]

Same as you Terry, I’m 61 and while I still have the desire and ability to do ~15 mile days on a fairly consistent basis, I’ve found that I also really enjoy trips where I backpack into a nice area, make a base camp, and spend a day or two doing dayhikes on the surrounding trails. I have a GG Riksack that is my sleeping bag stuffsack when on the move to a new camp, and it’s my day pack when I want to explore an area. I can see myself being quite happy doing more of that type of backpacking when the long trail days stop being so much fun.

[Greg Mihalik]

Be willing to turn around, go back, or bail if things are heading south.

[Edward John M]

Well much more time but much less money [ much much less money] so going lighter isn’t an easy option and because I bought quality state of the art gear when i did have money none of it shows any sign of wearing out soon. Taking longer to do the trips and using hiking poles to take some of the weight & strain off my knees seems like my only realistic option

Sitting at home now after a total hip replacement planning for my winters ski camp I think my FSO load is actually higher by a kilo as I have added extra mattress comfort for a good nites sleep, that is I think my major concession

[AK Granola]

Drugs! After developing allergies to ibuprofen, then to Aleve, and finding aspirin starting to cause similar issues, I’ve given in to occasional use of prescription anti inflammatories, when I used to pride myself on not needing any medication. I also must focus more on rest and recovery after big efforts. But I’m only 53! If you’ve made it to 75 with few or no concessions, I’m envious of your good fortune!

[Jane Baack]

@Edward John-Hope all goes well after your recovery from total hip replacement. Yes, a good, supportive sleeping pad should help a lot.

@Greg-I noticed you modified your post but I hope to hear about some of those times when you didn’t bail and “things went south”-in person at GGGX.

@Dave-Yes, I also can enjoy setting up a base camp and doing day hikes from there before moving on to another location or returning to the trail head.

[Ken Thompson]

GGG Great Gathering of Geezers. Turned 51 a couple weeks back. I don’t like it.

[Edward John M]

I should have mentioned my age.

I turn 66 this week, my new hip will last about a hundred years; much, much longer than I will

[Gary Dunckel]

I’ve been enjoying this thread, and it seems pertinent right now. I have a birthday on the 27th and 28th (I was born at midnight, so I get to have 2 birthdays back-to-back). I don’t consider myself all that old, just a bit “youthfully challenged” – I’ll be 72.

For the past 10-12 years I have chosen to hike a bit differently than many of you. I have become somewhat of a master of finding the shortest trips to the most stunning campsites with minimal elevation gain. I’m all about aesthetic views, and the time in camp to enjoy them. I like to have a couple of cups of leisurely coffee in the morning, and begin my day’s hike around 9 AM (or later if my next hike is a short one). I’ll hike for 3-6 miles to the next camp site and start collecting firewood and doing water treatment around 3-4 PM. My favorite haunts have been Glacier and Yellowstone, as well as here in Colorado. I can see myself continuing this mode of operation for some time yet, as long as the interest is still there. And, like Doug, I find that as time goes by I develop other things that interest me and take up my time. I’ve already experienced most all of my dream trips, so now I’m pretty much down to repeating some of them. Polishing the pearls, if you will.

My main hiking friend is getting more into day hikes these days rather than backpacking, so I’ve been doing more of that in the past few years. I’m fortunate that my health has been good, and as long as it remains so, I’ll probably just keep doing what I have always done. I like to backpack alone most of the time, so I don’t do much off trail stuff anymore. I have become much more conservative in recent years, but it’s still good fun to just be out there.

And yeah, a good sleeping mattress and maybe a camp stool makes a huge difference in my comfort out there, as is my 14# base weight – thanks BPL!

 

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