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fatmatt
08-12-2004, 18:29
Don't know if anyone has ever done this ( I am sure they have though ) but how old will you be, or were you when you thru hiked or started a section hike?

uscgretired
08-12-2004, 19:21
Age at first section hike of the AT: 60, Second: 61, Third: 62, Fourth 63
How far: From Amicalola to Rainbow Springs, NC. I have a long way to go and not much time to get there. April 2005 will be section hiking again from Rainbow Springs to NOC or Fontana Dam. Anyone want to guess how long it will take me and what age I will be when I get to the Big "K" at this rate. Just like the energizer bunny, I just keep going year after year and enjoy every bit of the trail I hike and the people I meet. I do a 1400 mile (round trip) auto trip every year to get to the next section of the trail. Every year I sell off some of my heavy gear and buy new lighter gear. Started out with 42lbs of gear and now down to 30lbs including food and water.

weary
08-12-2004, 20:09
Age at first section hike of the AT: 60, Second: 61, Third: 62, Fourth 63
How far: From Amicalola to Rainbow Springs, NC. I have a long way to go and not much time to get there. April 2005 will be section hiking again from Rainbow Springs to NOC or Fontana Dam. Anyone want to guess how long it will take me and what age I will be when I get to the Big "K" at this rate. Just like the energizer bunny, I just keep going year after year and enjoy every bit of the trail I hike and the people I meet. I do a 1400 mile (round trip) auto trip every year to get to the next section of the trail. Every year I sell off some of my heavy gear and buy new lighter gear. Started out with 42lbs of gear and now down to 30lbs including food and water.

Well, I had hiked in Maine and New Hampshire for years, starting around age 4.

My thru hike attempt started at age 63. Three weeks into my walk I "celebrated" my 64th. That was 11 years ago. I still dream of a completed "thru" hike, but I've covered almost all of the trail, so in a few weekends I could probably qualify for a 2000 miler rocker.

I went for my annual physical this week. All I could think of to complain about was an itchy scalp and itchy eyes. The doc blamed my eyes on an allergy and gave me some shampoo for my scalp.

I was pleased, but not estatic with the diagnosis. A few years ago I was persuaded to have a heart valve replaced with a bit of pig skin. The surgery went wonderfully. Unfortunately , the doctor that had urged it then assigned a medicine to correct an irregular heart beat (routine after heart surgery) but failed to recognize the symptoms of a common side effect, i.e. potentially fatal lung damage.

My lungs have partially recovered, luckily. But I remain skeptical of medical decisions. I still think I could do a thru hike -- with a bit of luck -- but unfortunately I've gotten so involved in trail advocacy matters that I don't seem to have the time.

Weary

mAineAc
08-12-2004, 22:15
Well I will be starting my first section on Tuesday. I have been thinking of a thru hike for a while now but I won't be able to get that in before that mark since I am 39 now. Perhaps I can get it in before I hit 50.

Kerosene
08-12-2004, 23:03
I did the New Jersey (DWG to Unionville) section in April 1973 at the tender age of 15 with two other Boy Scouts. By the time I graduated from college in 1979, I had completed over 500 miles (MD, PA, NJ, CT, MA). After graduate school I did SNP in 1986, but then got consumed by career, house and family. But White Blaze Fever never leaves you, and I got the bug back in 1999. The aluminum frame of my trusty old Kelty Tioga had corroded after sitting in the garage for 20 years, so I went out and bought a bomb-proof Dana Designs Terraplane X that was comfy but 5 pounds too heavy. I'd carry 45-55 pounds as a kid, 40 pounds when I started up again, and now I'm down to 25 and able to pretty much hike all day if I want to.

I just finished the Unionville to Warwick Turnpike section, so now I've completed everything GA and the entire trail from Catawba, VA north to Glencliff, NH. Only 9 years to go!

Jaybird
11-05-2004, 06:29
i LOVE those results!

shows i'm not the ONLY OLD GEEZER out there on my section hike! :D


i've hiked all my life & just got into backpacking (hiking the A.T.) when i was 47...celebrated 2 Birthdays while hikin' the trail & as my "signature" says....


each spring i hike with my friend: Model T, 60+yrs old, & several others that are the same age....they all hike faster than i.

The Solemates
11-05-2004, 10:17
Started "section" hiking AT around the age of 8. Started my thru-hike this year at age 22; ended at age 23. :)

Lilred
11-05-2004, 18:32
i LOVE those results!

shows i'm not the ONLY OLD GEEZER out there on my section hike! :D


Speak for yourself Jaybird ya ole geezer.... ;) :bse

Tin Man
11-08-2004, 11:55
My brother (Bartender) and I (Tin Man) started section hiking in CT and heading north in Sept. 2001. Each Fall we continue to head north, picking up where we left off, and do 40-50 miles. This year we finished just south of Killington. We anticipate that we will reach Katahdin by the time I am 60 and hopefully retired. The plan is to go to Springer Mountain after my brother and I are both retired and finish GA>CT, but my brother insists it will be GA>ME. We will see about that when the time comes! ;)

oyvay
11-09-2004, 14:25
New rule: When anyone sets one foot on the AT (Thru or section) you automatically drop 15 years from your age!

The AT plastic sugery without a scalpel!

Doctari
11-10-2004, 00:32
Age at first section hike: 40
Been doing a section about every other year since.

Voted 70+ for the thru, I am now 50.

Would leave March next year if I could afford it. :D

Doctari.

Kerosene
11-10-2004, 09:30
New rule: When anyone sets one foot on the AT (Thru or section) you automatically drop 15 years from your age!

The AT plastic sugery without a scalpel!Actually, it feels as if my biological age starts to steadily decline starting about 6 weeks before I'm slated to start my section hike. The first day or three can be pretty exhausting, but I'm walking like a 25-year old by the end of the week!

Footslogger
11-11-2004, 17:34
Turned 54 on my thru last year in July.

'Slogger
AT 2003

swamp dawg
11-14-2004, 13:24
I hike with a friend, Stinger, who is his late sixtys. He is a hiking machine that can hang with the best. We may not be the fastest but we can make the miles. Usually its a case of getting out early and finishing late but we get to our miles for the day.
Life is good........Swamp Dawg

hauptman
04-27-2005, 15:26
I am going to thru hike 2005. I will start at age 19 and turn 20 on the trail. What a way to celebrate a birthday huh!!!!
Go AT!!!

Ridge
04-27-2005, 16:49
I was supprised by the poll that hikers over 50 where the majority. I guess a lot of it is a money/time thing. My hubby was knocking 50 when he first did the AT and he still tells everyone that when he started he was in the best shape of his life from doing miles and miles of hiking during the previous 5 years. And, when he finished he felt almost superhuman mentally and physically (at first he was a lot cocky about being able to outhike those 20yr olds). It's 10 years later and I just sent him and his cousin off to the PCT. My hubby still hikes(not backpacking) over a 1000 miles a year but he's put on about 25lbs from his AT finish. I talked to him this a.m. and he's got back, arms and shoulder pains. Legs and feet are fine. His biggest concern is that he wants to finish, but I worry that if his younger cousin(who has had serious feet problems from the first few miles) drops out he may feel obligated to do so to. The cousin, who lives close to the PCT, has gone to a lot of expense and trouble to make this trip possible. They are way behind schedule and must make up time. I hope they can pull it off. hikerwife

Buckingham
06-29-2005, 18:05
I did my first section hike at the age of 22, 7 months after breaking both my legs and cracking a few ribs. Never run a stop sign when an 18-wheeler is coming from the other direction, those things don't stop on a dime. 12 years later, and now, once a year I do a section hike, the highlight I'm always looking forward to. In a few years when my daughter is old enough, I plan to teach her the ropes, and hopefully she will find it as enjoyable as I do.

Panzer1
06-29-2005, 19:14
I still think I could do a thru hike -- with a bit of luck -- but unfortunately I've gotten so involved in trail advocacy matters that I don't seem to have the time.
Weary
Screw the "trail advocacy"... Just go for it...

Panzer

Sly
06-29-2005, 19:34
Screw the "trail advocacy"... Just go for it...



And what's your excuse? :rolleyes:

neo
06-29-2005, 21:09
i will be 47 in november:cool: neo

Panzer1
06-29-2005, 21:59
And what's your excuse? :rolleyes:
After 5 months of being out of work, I found a good job in April. So now it's time for me to work..

Panzer

Cookerhiker
06-30-2005, 17:03
Age at first "official" section hike: 29 in 1977 when I was in worse condition than now. Hiked Vermont SOBO 35 miles Rt. 30/Manchester to Rt. 9/Bennington. Back then, the Trail bypassed Stratton Mountain although it was a blue-blazed option.

Age when I (finally) complete the Trail this year: 57

My last piece will be my longest section hike: 297 miles from Gorham to Katahdin which I'll start on August 12.

Maybe I'm an old geezer or similar moniker, but I'm in the best shape of my life now that I'm retired!

Lost Soul
01-08-2006, 01:24
I turned 30 on the a thru-hike of the AT. Now that forty is rapidly approaching I hope I'll find somewhere to mark off that milestone just as meaningful to me.

Grampie
01-08-2006, 21:50
I did my thru-hike at age 66. Never even backpacked until I was 64 years old. Just wish that I had started earlier in life.
Age should not be an issue, to do a thru, is you are in reasonable shape.:sun