Am 58 years old and think I would like to hike the trail. Are there any women around my age who have done the trail? Can you offer any advice?
Thank you.
Kathleen
Older women hiking the trail
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#2
I not an older woman, but saw a few on my hike in 2002. If you have the will and physical ability. The skys the limit
Virginian
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#3
old is in how you act… not in your age. On the AT this past year I was blown by a 70 year old woman. She was averaging 15 miles/day. That evening at the shelter she went on and on telling me stories of her adventures from raftin in the grand canyon to hiking yellowstone. She’s retired and walks to her grocery store and back with her groceries in her backpack. It’s about an 8 mile venture… but she said, what else am i gonna do with my time?
guru
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#4
Don’t let societal perception of age deter you from hiking a long trail. Sure, the 20-something males may pass you day after day after day, but that means nothing. Most of them will burn out and never see Katahdin. Or Pennsylvania.
I know you posted about the AT, but you should look at Gottago’s PCT journal. She thru-hiked the PCT in 2002 and was among the first 20 hikers to finish that year. www.lindajeffers.com
yogi
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#5
“On the AT this past year I was blown by a 70 year old woman.”
How come no one ever puts stuff like this in their journals?
Ardsgaine
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#6
First things first, I applaud your post. I wish I had had the willingness to ask for advice from women around my age before I did the PCT two years ago when I was 57. I remember I finally got up the courage to e-mail Ginny with a question!
Making the decision to do a thru-hike was probably the best decision I ever made. But, let me warn you, you will not come back the same person. I learned valuable lessons while on the trail about what I want in my life and what I don’t want. But that’s not what you are asking. You want advice. I’m not real good at giving advice but here are a few things I did that I believe guaranteed me the best chance to have a successful hike:
- I read ALL the specific hike related forum posts.
- I read as many journals as I could on the PCT written by people my age.
- I gave myself 5 months of preparation time.
- I compared and contrasted itineraries of those my age when I tried to figure out daily mileage that would work for me.
- I printed out 2 of my favorite journalists’ journals and highlighted points I didn’t want to forget regarding towns and water, etc.
- I set up an exercise program and kept to it where I gradually increased my hiking distances and weight carried. Knowing I was fit was essential for me.
I could go on and on because I am someone who has to plan everything. But why not just e-mail me and maybe we can exchange phone numbers. It’s always nice to have someone you can pick up the phone and call with questions.
Look forward to hearing from you,
Gottago – Linda
Yogi has already given you my website!
Gottago
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#7
Older women…make good lovers…(great song!)
i hike with a lady: (age 71) Suva Bastin aka: “DragonFLy” that hikes sections every year. (unfortunately she doesnt like computers)
also will be hiking several hikes with a 50 something lady this year each month…(my wife). its how you feel…not the age of the person on the adventure!
Jaybird
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#8
I see a lot of older hikers, 50+ years, on the trail. I would estimate that 20 to 30% of the hikers are in that age bracket, and I suppose the nice thing I like about them is that they really aren’t on the same time schedule constraints as the younger crowd are. The younger crowd seems to be in a real big hurry, something like “I’ve got 2 weeks to hike the AT, then it’s off to Medical school, and oh, yes, almost forgot, I’m getting married 3 weeks from today----wish I could stand around and talk to you, but I’ve got to get my 70 miles in today before noon, so I can spend the afternoon in town writing my thesis…”
Well anyway the older crowd is much more relaxed and seem to me to enjoy the trail so much more.
See you out there. :cheers
Maintain
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#9
There’s an excellent book called “There Are Mountains to Climb” by Jean Deeds that chronicles the thru-hike of a 51-year-old lady who was a novice at backpacking, to boot! I highly recommend it; it is very well-written; it will encourage you!
Mini-Mosey
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#12
My husband gave me a great book to try and encourage me to thruhike in 2005 - “We’re In The Mountains Not Over the Hill” by Susan Alcorn.Lots of good stuff in it. I also read some older hiker journals in 2003 - Journey, Hopeful, Brown Bess etc. Comer & Jean 2002 was great too, altho’ they were a couple, but they started real early and bad weather is my big concern, so was inspiring to read how they did it. Go for it. You’ll never know unless you try.
kathy hay
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#13
Oh, gee, Kathleen, make me feel old! :eek: I prefer the adjective ‘mature’. I do sections in New England with my sister (57). But she’s not really keen on shelters or backpacking. She’s a peak bagger. This year, we’re doing the Presis for sure! (With a side trip to bag Owls Head.)
And I do contend that I was once passed by a lady using a walker. (Of course, I was doing maintenance…)
Harry Dolphin
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#15
My husband is 72 and I’m 64.We are sections hikers.We started this month headed for the Smokies but I was to cold at night so we are giving the weather a chance to warm a bit.We’ll be back in March.Age is only a number.You can do what you put your mind to do.We are fire lookouts in the summer from April to Oct in Colorado and have to backpack all our supplies in.Go for it!Happy trails,TTG
tattoogranny
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#16
Flame (my wife and partner) thru hiked in '02 with me. She did great and is over 50 (I’m probably not suppose to tell her exact age but I’m 57). She did hurt her hip about 20 miles from Kathadin on a 23 mile day. Check with Jean (of Jean and Commer) on this site in '01. They thru-hiked and we read their journals before we started ours in '02. Just take it slow in the beginning. Flame didn’t want to do more than 7 or 8 miles the first week. By the time we got to VA she was doing up to 20. She could stay with the younger ladies (StrayCat and Starburst). Our journal is on this site if you want to read it.
Papa Smurf
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#17
I am Last Minute -03 thru-hiker. At age 30 I am probably not considered old and being named Mark, there are few who would consider me a woman. But I would like you to know, that even in my fighting form, I got my ass kicked by every type of hiker: male, female, young, old, short, tall, smelly, more smelly. The magic of the AT does not discriminate.
Last Minute
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#18
I am going on 58 and would love to hike the trail. I’ve wanted to do it for years but I’m married and 5-6 months is a long time to be away… and then there are the CHANGES and readjustment to life, post trail. oh, I think there could be major, fitting back in probs! I run and have done so for 22 years. It would be fun to do more than what I have for all these years. It’s the A.P. trail I want to do! BUt I have other probs with it. The cold would kill me. Putting on those COLD duds, well… I probably wouldn’t have to worry, because I would be dead from hypothermis before I got a chance to snoore! I’m NOT a big- time planner, either, i"d just GO. Give me a week or two, that’s enough planning for me. Probably again, not the best strategy. But,the trail is the test. Probably one week on the trail and I’d get to the nearest town and but what REALLY works on the trail. OH well, I do think determination to walk ALL those miles takes organization and careful attention to details.Anyways, in the meantime, I do day hikes with my daughters dog.
tomato
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#19
Well Kathleen, I’ve got 10 years on you with (gasp!)another birthday coming up pretty soon. I’d like to finish before I’m 70…or even 80, perhaps I should say. But like Tomato, organization is not my strong point…so my kids hired a consultant, who had been a NOLS instructor, to get me going on my planned 800 mile trek in '02. Phew! I sure learned a lot in 2 intensive days, but did not agree with everything she told me. Also, I read Frodo’s journal (on another site) of his thru hike when he was 66 or 68 and thought maybe I could do that! I guess the point I’m trying to make is do what you can and want to do. If you have some bad luck, as I did, so it goes. I’m still going to keep on till I finish…(about 600 miles)…just not as fast, but I sure see some beautiful flowers, birds, views, and, yes, even people. Go! :tongue
Lady Di