Schlepping to Sixty – Why a Back Country Hiking & Camping Trip?

 ONE – Because I’ve never done anything like this, but it is within my capability to do it.  It will be difficult, challenging, strenuous, a little scary (bears?!?), and also rewarding, exciting and fun!!  As the saying goes, “Because I can!”

TWO – I have read two inspiring books:

 Force of Nature: Three Women Tackle the John Muir Trail by Joan M. Griffin.  The JMT is 213.7 miles from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney in CA. The trail goes through (and over!) the Sierra Mountains.  It takes most people about 3 weeks covering 10-12 miles each day.  The three women are in their fifties, nearing retirement age.  They are all experienced hikers and have done pack hiking for much of their lives.

and A Walk for Sunshine by Jeff Alt, in which he hikes the Appalachian Trail (AT) - 2,190 miles, from Georgia to Maine.  It takes the average “thru-hiker” (one who does the entire trail all at once) 5-7 months to hike the entire AT, covering 14-20 miles per day.

We actually hiked about 4 miles of the AT while we were staying near Gettysburg, PA, this summer.  It was a great section of trail and we walked up to one of the shelters and had a nice visit with the volunteer caretaker. 

THREE – I have a new hip and I want to get full value from it!  If you’d have asked me prior to Dec 2023 if I would ever consider doing such a thing, I would have definitively said NO!  I did not think I would be physically capable.  Granted, I have not carried more than a 10lb pack yet, so I’m still not 100% sure how I’ll manage 50lbs, but otherwise – all the joints and body parts are mostly working very well and I’m definitely up for the challenge.  I mean – what can be bad about getting into great physical shape, building strength and endurance, and experiencing a little discomfort because I have to sleep in a tent for a week or so?  

Am I concerned about difficulties on the trail?  So many things to think about – blisters, injuries, food, water sources, toileting, etc – this will NOT be a walk in the park!  Ha!  In a different book, the sage, fabulous “older” woman gave some excellent advice to the inexperienced younger woman who is just finding her way in the world:  “Don’t Worry… Plan!”  Just the best advice Ever – very deep, loaded with meaning, and easy to remember! 

The Big Idea is still in planning and sorting stage – there’s a LOT to figure out and gear and supplies to purchase.  Heck – we don’t even know where or when we’re going yet….  But we can start training and planning and practicing tent camping again.  Don’t be surprised if you see me walking around town with a big pack on my back.  I’m trying to borrow the toddler grandkids – carrying a 30lb kiddo I can “play” with seems like more fun that a bag of rocks. 

These initial blog posts will be intermittent and sporadic – I’ll only really write when there’s something to share.  Eventually, I hope to get on a regular schedule, but not until after Jan 1 – let’s just enjoy the holidays and our families between now and then, huh?

Here’s hoping you have a very Thankful Thanksgiving next week!  Maybe I’ll find a “Gobble til You Wobble” 5k to join. 

Schlepp; schlepping: Drag, Haul; to proceed or move especially slowly, tediously, awkwardly or reluctantly, with effort.

#schleppingtosixty

Big Idea coming up....

I’m ba-aack!  It’s been a few years (4!)  since I regularly blogged.  Life has been plugging along…

Hmmmm….  Where was I… I did not finish Lay Ministry Certification, my husband retired a couple of years early and our lives took a different turn.  We have been travelling a LOT, which hopefully you know because you followed the link from IG: @bylauramcfall, #bylauramcfall or FB: by Laura McFall.

Which brings me to why I’m picking this back up: next year is a big Milestone for me – I will turn 60.  If you look back through previous blog posts, you will see several referring to 50/50 2015.  That was the year I turned 50 and decided I would complete enough sponsored walks to equal 50 kilometers.  It was a pretty good year – I met my goal and even exceeded it by a little bit.  I also learned that I am NOT a “runner”, which I mostly already knew, but now I can proclaim it with confidence!

But what to do for 60 years?  I had entertained the idea of completing at least one “Try Tri” which is a mini triathlon – swimming, running/walking and cycling.  Biggest problem there is that I really don’t know how to swim.  Last year I thought I could join a gym with a pool and learn how.  But when I started looking at the cost and the likelihood of driving to the gym every day, etc., I talked myself out of it.  Perhaps I could do 60k – 6 different sponsored 10k walks over the course of a year?  Or 60 miles – 10 different 10k walks?  10k is just over 6 miles.  But that really didn’t feel “big” enough. 

In Dec 2023, I had total right hip replacement surgery.  You don’t realize how much discomfort and pain you’re really in, or how much it drags you down, until it is gone!  I remember first “training” for the 50/50 goal and my hubby and I walked 3.12 miles, or 5k, one day. And then he wanted to do it again the next day!!  What?  Every day?  THREE miles???  That’s nuts – let’s pace ourselves.

 Well… I’m here to tell you that not only can I easily walk 3 miles nearly every day, but I don’t even balk or think twice about going 5 or more!  Just today we hiked 6.25 miles and yesterday we hiked for 5!  We have been on a HUGE trip this year and have walked a LOT of steps, many many many hikes with lots of hills, mountains and some altitude.  I’ll share statistics in later blogs.  But for now, suffice it to say that I’m feeling great and totally ready to do something BIG!

{drumroll, please}

A Week-Long Back Country Hiking Trip.  Back Country means remote, hiking in & hiking out.  Staying for a week means sleeping bags and tent, eating dehydrated meals and carrying everything we need on our backs.  Getting back to the basics – no glamping, no campfires, no air mattress, no internet – really roughing it.   The exact destination is yet to be determined, the exact length and duration are not decided.  The goal is before my birthday, sometime next fall.

I (we) have about 8-10 months to train and ready supplies. I’ll need to get a backpack, new hiking boots, poles, sleeping bag, sleeping mats, etc.  There will be training and practice camping trips, we haven’t slept in a tent in about 15 years.  But it will be good exercise, good training, great for my self confidence and physique, great for us to work towards something together.  I couldn’t even think of attempting something this big without my coach and head cheerleader @flamingomooncampers! 

Stay tuned as this plan comes into focus and takes shape.  I will update with progress and challenges as we go along.  I have Never done anything like this my whole life!  Hopefully my family and grandkids (all eleven of them!) will see this #olddog learning some #newtricks and find their own sense of adventure and will be brave enough to face all of life's challenges, planned and unplanned.

Now….  I need a hashtag…..  ?  Any Big Ideas?