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

A CONTRARIAN VIEW

Concession: 1. a thing that’s granted, especially in response to demands. 2. the action of conceding, granting or yielding something.

I’m not going to willingly give up anything. Even when pain and physical reality tries to slow me down, I’m going to fight it the whole way. A lot of people become old in their minds. In other words, they start saying to themselves, “oh I’m getting old now, It’s time to slow down.” It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Humbug I tell you! I want to be like Mick Jagger. I know, backpacking isn’t Rock n Roll, but I want the kids out on the trail to think I’m a far out old man. I hope they say “he’s kind of old, but he’s a tough son of a bitch.”
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That’s kinda funny, in that I read something recently where someone from Jagger’s era said that the young Jagger would hate what the old Jagger has become.

I was thinking about this subject today on my walk; what would I give up as I age, in order to continue on the trail?  I came to the conclusion that probably the biggest thing I’ll give up is my pride!  For example, I might have thought it was wimpy to use poles when I was 20, but I got over feeling like a wimp (I converted years ago when I found out how helpful they really were going up Whitney).  Basically I’m willing to make whatever concessions have to be made in order to experience being in the wilderness at an advanced an age as possible.  Already that may mean shorter, less frequent trips (I’m coming back from some bad back and knee issues), and cutting back on carrying extras like a real camera.  Maybe someday it will mean going on “organized” group trips, or utilizing pack trips.  It would still be worth it to me, if that’s what it takes.  Not that I won’t fight having to do that, but I won’t fight it to the detriment of my aging joints and bones, or by giving up on the opportunity to get out there in some way.

Monte, I like your attitude of not conceding anything as you age. Here’s hoping you can be that “far out old man” on the trail as the young hikers ask you, “How old are you, anyway?” with respect and admiration for continuing to hike way past the age when some have quit for various reasons.

I have a little story to share about my hiking group’s hike today. We hike every Friday and today we had ten women, none of whom are under 68, most are mid-seventies and one is 80 and a great hiker. We were hiking a new, 5-mile loop hike on the ridges of the East Bay Hills, east of S.F. We started out with a steep up for quite a while then just rolling, more steep up and then steeply down. After a few miles I was getting tired and HOT (Bay Area temps. have been in the 70’s this week). I’m weak on the ups but have no trouble going down forever, it seems. I left the group and took a shortcut back to the trailhead. I had a copy of the loop hike map so I was happy to be out on a gorgeous day going downhill and soon the others would complete the loop and we’d meet at the cars. As I was headed for the final downhill and around a corner, I ran into a cyclist and a couple of hikers in quick succession. They told me that I couldn’t hike on the last part of the trail shown on the map. Yes, there was a trail but it led to a gate which was locked. A tall gate. I’m 5 feet so that may have influenced their adamant response. I would have to go around on another trail and a couple more “uphills”. I questioned them several times because there was no notation on the map that there was a gate coming up or that it would be locked. I went around on the new trail and got back to the car. The rest of my “old ladies” hiking group? They went right up to that locked gate and all of them climbed over the gate and completed the loop! No one told them they shouldn’t/couldn’t do it so over they went, helping each other. This was a tall gate, remember. No concession! Not today, anyway.

Someone is missing a great money-making opportunity by not making some cuben Depends with a wicking liner….

“They went right up to that locked gate and all of them climbed over the gate and completed the loop! No one told them they shouldn’t/couldn’t do it so over they went, helping each other. This was a tall gate, remember. No concession! Not today, anyway.”

What a wonderful story! We’re often stopped from doing something because of what others tell us. Oftentimes ignorance really is bliss!

I like that story Jane.  Ever onwards.

Was there a gate there? I’m so sorry – we never noticed it.
Ahem.

I had a moan at a local Shire Engineer about one gate. Well, he said, if we take the gate away you will have all the 4WD and trail bikies in there. Um. I conceded the point.

Cheers

Monte says—

“I’m not going to willingly give up anything. Even when pain and physical reality tries to slow me down, I’m going to fight it the whole way. A lot of people become old in their minds. In other words, they start saying to themselves, “oh I’m getting old now, It’s time to slow down.” It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Humbug I tell you! I want to be like Mick Jagger. I know, backpacking isn’t Rock n Roll, but I want the kids out on the trail to think I’m a far out old man. I hope they say “he’s kind of old, but he’s a tough son of a bitch.”

This all sounds good on paper but backpacking is a very strenuous lifestyle and you won’t be able to hump the mountains at age 70 like you do at age 25 or 30.  There’s alot of tough people competing in the Winter Olympics but how many of them are 70 years old?

And speaking of old tough sons of bitches—go no further than Mr Norman Clyde.

Clyde was king of the Sierras before any of us were born and routinely carried 80-90 lb packs because he lived in the backcountry.  He died in 1972 at the age of 87.

Here’s a good Clyde quote—

“”I don’t go in for this fad of going light. I can’t be bothered with cutting a half ounce here or there; but I don’t carry canned goods.”

Great story Jane, I love the image.

I’m 41 so I’m not going to be pulling rank on anyone in this thread…but it’s an interesting conversation to follow.  Lots to consider for what is ultimately coming down the road.

Anyhow, 70 is NOT old.
The solution: just don’t stop.

Cheers

“Anyhow, 70 is NOT old.
The solution: just don’t stop”

+1

We are genetically designed to move, and there is no exemption based on age.  To stop is to die, so keep moving until the end and die with dignity, knowing you have fulfilled your genetic destiny;  if you don’t the end will come even sooner, and it won’t be pretty.

“I only have so many miles in me and I want to use every one of them before my time is up.” —

Maddie Tormoen

““”I don’t go in for this fad of going light. I can’t be bothered with cutting a half ounce here or there; but I don’t carry canned goods.””

Maybe if he’d lightened up just a bit, he woulda made it to 90…. :-)

Concessions- The only thing I’ve conceded to is having to work out more, which is fine.  I learned this discipline while on swim teams as a kid. When you get tired, you put in more effort to maintain your pace.

It’s working.

In 2014 when a friend and I were hiking from the Rae Lakes to Woods Creek we met two young men who stopped us to ask if we would deliver a message to an older woman who was hiking behind them. They were the son and son-in-law of this woman. She was a section hiker of the JMT they said. They wanted us to let her know where they had decided to take a break and wait for her. After a mile or two we saw the woman and stopped her to give her the message. She was 90 years of age! She was carrying a day pack as her son and son-in-law carried the heavy items. She told us she would be completing this year’s section in a couple of days and then next year she would be doing Whitney and would complete the JMT. She hiked by herself, moving right along and said she didn’t need too many breaks because she didn’t do high mileage days, only 10-12 miles, and carried such a light daypack. 90 years of age! She had set the goal of hiking the entire JMT, in sections, and she had a quiet determination to do it. I was impressed with her and with the young men’s decision to help her for several years so that she could reach her goal. She is the oldest hiker I have seen in the Sierra as far as I know.

One of my heroes is Pat Callis.

He founded ice climbing in Hyalite, was a phenomenal SAR teacher, and just keeps going, regardless.

He climbed Montana’s high point Granite Peak (considered by many high pointers to be the hardest, technically, among all 50), for “his birthday”. He was in his 70s, I think. We passed him on the trail. He was doing it in a day. I was carrying 3-days worth of stuff.

He was wearing a fanny pack.

He did the climb in something like 10 or 11 hours, round trip.

That inspired me enough to try it myself.

I completed the climb in 22 hours and was hungover for a week.

I hope I’m that awesome when I grow up.

Ryan, A great story about Pat Callis, climber and professor. When he thought that he might not be fit enough to continue climbing as he aged he said he had an “epiphany”——he was losing fitness only because he wasn’t climbing enough. He increased the time he spent climbing and he’s still climbing today, many years later. Many of us could benefit from that example.

Jane, I need to walk back my earlier post just a little because I have conceded one thing as I’ve gotten older…. Weight! What I mean is that I try to shed it as much as possible.

Monte, I’m with you on the weight issue. My base weight for my backpack is light but my own personal base weight—now that still needs to be lighter!!

Wellll… I may not be Tipi’s idea of a “tough SOB” B/C now I’m lusting after that new Tarptent Cuben Lithium whatever it is.

Call me a wuss Walter but if it’s light and I like it I’ll probably buy it.

But yeah, a couple of times during last November’s Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim backpack trip when someone asked my age they would congratulate me and hope they could be still trucking’ at my age. I came away from that trip feeling that while I may be “over the hill” I was still not too far from the top.

There is a new name for those who are very active and many in their 70’s and older and it is called Super agers. The key is to stay active. They can still do their sport, but maybe a bit slower and not as long, but they are out there. I hope to be a super ager and die doing what I love to do. And if I am in a wheelchair when I am 90, I will race anyone down the hall!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brain-scans-reveal-mental-secret-of-super-agers/

“You can either wear out or rust out.”

I choose the former.

Just as long as you get out.

Cheers

Ian Anderson/Jethro Tull “Never to old to [ insert activity here] if you’re too young to die”

I’d rather wear out than rust away