I’ve had this thought to just hike continually once I retire, which I expect to be at age 70. I’d like to hear from hikers age 70 and older as to how they have fared with long distance hiking.
The observations of those who’ve encountered hikers in their 70’s would also be welcome.
Thanks, Canby
Canby
I’ve met and hiked with many older hikers on the trails. Some fast few slow, it all depends on health and attitude.
Earl Shaffer did his 3rd and final AT thru hike at 79, fifty years after his first one. Nimblewill Nomad is turning 70 this year and is heading down the PCT.
Daybreak
Daybreak
Good for you!! Keep hiking as long as possible. My father-in-law (now 85) told me that I had to be done with my hiking by the time I was 50 because “you’ll start falling apart really fast after that.” He was 80 at the time. He was deadly serious. I’m 52 now and getting stronger every time I go out! It annoys him no end that I don’t seem to be “falling apart” in any way. In fact I’ve found it greatly annoys many of that generation. They accepted their calendar age as a definite marker of their abilities and just allowed themselves to “fall apart” because it was “supposed” to happen. I intend to be out there with a pack on in my 80’s and I have no reason to believe it’s not possible.
Mrs Baggins
Well, I’m only sixty, but I’ll turn 61 this summer as I head SOBO. I’ve seen lots of folks in their 70s hiking, mostly sections, but hiking just the same. I’m not real fast, but I’m strong and I’ll keep on going.
Red Hat
A lot probably has to do with how active you have been throughout your life. I have an 87 year old friend who still does marathons. I did a thruhike at 62 but that’s a ways from 75.
Steady On
I mostly day-hiked the AT, finishing in 2005 at age 71. But we backpacked the most difficult sections in NH and ME. We left the shelters/campsites by 6:00 am to have enough time to negotiate the rockiest sections by nightfall. We had two nights when we got out of the woods after dark. Some of our best memories were of the most difficult experiences. Wouldn’t have missed them for the world!
Ambler Rambler
I started hiking when I retired at age 62 in 1997, SwampDawg and I section hiked the whole AT NOBO, the longest single hike we made was from Culver Gap in southern N.J. through N.Y.,Conn.,Mass.,Vt., to Hanover N.H.
424 miles in 29 day’s. in 2004. We sumitted Mt. Katahdin on
August 1st. 2006 I was 71, We still hike twice a year for a couple of weeks. We are hiking from Elk Park N.C. to Damascus Va. and arriving there for Trail Days, starting our hike May 8th. I will soon be 73, LORD willing I will
continue to hike as long as I can go. I think if You stay active, and think positive You will do ok, congratulations
on Your upcoming retirement, I hope to see You on the trail one day. GOD bless, Stinger
Stinger
I’ve known several hikers in their 70’s and beyond. One of the things that has kept me hiking is knowing that it is an activity I can enjoy for many more years (and I’ve been doing it now for more than 20.) My husband did his 4th long distance hike at age 66 and intends to do his next one once he gets his new knee.
Are you hiking now? How fit are you? If you’re continuously active, you should be able to hike when you retire. It’s much harder starting from scratch.
The biggest issue I’ve noticed with older hikers is that things take longer to heal than for younger hikers. A strained tendon can heal in a few days for a 30 year old but may weeks if you’re older. You learn to live with pain on a daily basis. Joints may be more of an issue too. Years of abuse take a toll on ankles and knees. Ibuprofen is your friend.
Older hikers tend to be steady hikers - hiking from dawn to dusk day after day. Younger hikers are more likely to be jackrabbits - racing to town then taking several days off, or doing long miles one day and very short miles the next.
A lot of AT hikers are retired folks. You’ll have lots of company.
Ginny
A couple of years ago I met EZ-one (EZ-1?) on the AT, just finishing up a calender-year thru hike at age 81. He was up at dawn, traveled light, hiked slow but steady till dusk, about 15-mile days. He’d hike for 2-3 weeks, then go home for a week, doing various sections. Started at Springer in January, finished up in Virginia in Nov. He was an absolute delight to visit with a couple of nights we were in camp together.
Yes, us old folks do recover more slowly from injuries, so we need to pay more attention when things start to hurt. Start slowly, trim down your weight and your pack’s weight, use some trekking poles. Then – do it! I find hiking to be wonderfully satisfying and envigorating. And when I get home the doc is amazed at how much my weight, cholestorel and BP have dropped and how fit I appear to be.
dioko
Age seems to favor section-hikers. Only 14 people age 70 and over have reported completing thru-hikes to ATC, and many of those had thru-hiked once or twice (or more) prior to that. On the other hand, 90 people were 70 or older when they completed their section-hikes. The average elapsed time for section-hikers in that age group was 10 years.
For 2,000-milers overall, thru-hikers represent 80% of those who complete the Trail, but the stats are reversed at the far end of the age spectrum.
One thing we don’t know is the success rate of older hikers, because we don’t have age stats on starters. Older hikers may have more challenges physically, but life experiences can help put those challenges in perspective.
Laurie P.
ATC
Laurie Potteiger