The trail shown in the lower right of the picture above is hard-packed dirt covered with loose sand and pebbles.
A common fall or slip for backpackers is on downhill trails similar to the one pictured above. These kinds of trails can be difficult for anyone, especially for us older folks whose reflexes aren’t as quick as they once were.
On January 20th I had cataract surgery on my left eye. The other eye was done last December. Today my vision is nothing short of miraculous — a similar reaction I have heard from others who have had the surgery done.
It is time to get back outdoors for a lot of backpacking and camping.
A few days ago I shared that I was scheduled for cataract surgery on my right eye on Monday December 12th. It’s been 3 days and things are “looking” good.
All my life I’ve had a healthy heart — as far as I know. I’m active and my heartbeat and blood pressure have always been at the lower level of healthy. Back in January I was told there is something wrong with my heart. Continue reading Senior Moments: The Heart→
A question that gets asked often in backpacking circles is, “How do I deal with my glasses/contacts on backpacking trips?” It’s a great question, especially for those who are new to backpacking or those who just got their first pair of glasses or contact lenses.
The bad news is there isn’t a good answer. This is one of those things you just have to figure out for yourself.
In this post, I’ll share my personal experiences. Probably best if you don’t expect an “ah ha” moment. On the other hand, I might share something you haven’t thought about or tried. For those who don’t need vision correction, you might want to read this anyway because the odds are you will need vision correction in the future.
I first noticed my diminished hearing about 10 years ago while training customer facing people. At the time it became a little difficult to hear them talking to customers from my normal distance. As the years went by my hearing got worse. But I was focused on the advantages of not hearing well.
I’ve decided to create a new category for the blog called Senior Moments for backpackers. Anything related to becoming older that impacts, changes, limits, or forces me to make changes as I get older may become something to write about.
Showing off as a youthful 67 year old
2018 is now “in the books.” It’s a new year and I can’t change the past. Many outdoor bloggers summarize the previous year with their favorite gear (an opportunity to insert ads of said gear to generate income) or summarize the highlights of their year. I’ll do neither in this post.
2018 was the year I became a senior citizen. There really isn’t a set age when one becomes a “senior.” For some it is a state of mind and they start acting like old people in their ‘40s or ‘50s. The reality is that at some point in time all of us will be unable to do what we could do in our youth. Walking (my definition of backpacking) is something most of us can do for most of our lives. Last year I turned 68 and on a couple trips with younger people I couldn’t maintain my normal pace. I was fine on fairly level terrain and going down the hills. But on moderately long elevation gains there were times I fell behind my younger walking partners, although I could still keep up with some of them. I also found that during the year I could still keep up with my friends if I trained ahead of time for a hike that entailed lots of elevation gains.
