View Full Version : Is it possible?
I am a 67 year old lady who is 5 feet tall. I am in good health and pretty strong. I would really like to know if it is actually possible for someone my size to make it up and over the rock formations found on the trail? I want so much to hike the AT, but after spending hours reading journals and looking at trail photos, I wonder if it is possible. My hwh stands for Happy When Hiking.
Thanks very much.
I don't know the answer to your question, but the fact that you are contemplating going is an inspiration to us all. Good luck and hike on.
KillerKowalski
03-13-2011, 11:40
There is an 89 YO man on the trail right now. I can't remember exactly where he is at. He hikes about 6-9 miles a day. I believe in you that you can. I suggest getting a physical and do cardo exercises long before leaving.
johnnyblisters
03-13-2011, 11:41
While ridgerunning, I have met many hikers that fit your physical size. Some in very good shape, some not so much. Although I never hiked with them, they got wherever anyone else had made it, eventually. I say go out and hike, you'll figure it out.
bigcranky
03-13-2011, 12:08
Cimarron is on the trail right now, he'll turn 89 during his hike. He was in Georgia when I met him last week. He's not that tall, either.
Plenty of small people have thru-hiked, including small children. You should be fine.
Slo-go'en
03-13-2011, 14:39
I don't think size matters. I hiked with a 5 foot, 60 yr old lady for about 800 miles a couple of years ago and she did fine. In fact I had a hard time keeping up at times and I'm a foot talller and a couple of years younger then she.
Most importantly is to find out if your bones are strong enough to handle an occasional spill and if your heart is in good shape and can take the stress.
Thanks so much everyone. I really appreciate all the responses. Hope to see some of you on the trail before long. May just have consider myself a hiker and see if the thru part works out. My motto for life (marriage, raising children, and hiking) is "stay flexible".
Happy
You did not give a lot of information. Are you contemplating a thru hike? Do you have gear/clothing? Are you experienced in backpacking/camping?
Here is my thought: Get out and do it. You can not finish anything that you don't start. Does not matter at all if you don't complete a planned hike. It does matter if you never try. I am not a thru hiker, and I don't give a second thought to the miles I don't do. I celebrate the miles I do make.
I recommend going as light as possible, and if your body tells you to stop. Then stop.
Sugarfoot
03-13-2011, 16:13
hwh, where I live, 67 is viewed as young! Of course you can do it! When I returned to the Trail as a teenager of 44, my mantra was, "If Granny Gatewood could do it, I can do it." And I could. And so can you! Your attitude will get you up and over the big rocks, far more than height will.
Go for it...... you can always take it easy or even go home and take a break!
yes, it's possible. just know your abilities and plan to hike within them. you'll find many hikers in their 60s and 70s on the trail.
fredmugs
03-13-2011, 19:20
The first time I hiked in Maine I blew out my knee and spent several days recuperating. After a few days slacking I hiked Katahdin. Going up was fine but coming down was incredibly painful. Just when I thought I wasn't going to make it back down several ladies were coming up - not a one of them under 70. I just stopped and started clapping.
Based on how you described yourself I have no doubt you can do it.
I agree with the poster above...give it a try. It may be more difficult in some places but maybe easier in others. It's all mental and goes back to the... "whether you think you can or think you can't, you're probably right". I hiked with a wonderful woman from NH?VT? last year by the name of Jaybird for a bit. She was a very tiny woman and a retired librarian who fit the stereotypical image of the same. She finished...she was probably the most determined hiker I met last year, she was very slow but compensated by hiking from dawn to dusk and taking minimal extended breaks like the rest of us. I have the utmost respect for her and hope that she sees this post but I don't think she is on WB.
takethisbread
03-13-2011, 19:43
There was a older lady hiking this past year about 5 ft tall weighed no more than 80 lbs from what I could tell. Happiest person I ever did see. Carried her tent in one hand the whole time.
You can do it.
Just get some gear and head for Amicalola or Baxter and start hiking. Plan very short days at first and see how it goes. A one year thru hike may not be possible. But the fun is the hours and days spent on the trail. How far you get each day -- or each year -- should not matter.
fiddlehead
03-13-2011, 21:17
Anything is possible if you want it bad enough.
Appalachian Tater
03-13-2011, 21:21
I would really like to know if it is actually possible for someone my size to make it up and over the rock formations found on the trail?
Yes, there are only a few places where you'll have a harder time than someone smaller. You might be surprise when most of those places are going down instead of up. Plenty of people shorter than your are manage just fine. Have fun!
Lone Wolf
03-13-2011, 21:40
I am a 67 year old lady who is 5 feet tall. I am in good health and pretty strong. I would really like to know if it is actually possible for someone my size to make it up and over the rock formations found on the trail? I want so much to hike the AT, but after spending hours reading journals and looking at trail photos, I wonder if it is possible. My hwh stands for Happy When Hiking.
Thanks very much.
totally disreguard the exoperts on these websites. just go walkin'. you'll be fine
At 64, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what I shouldn't do, or can't do. I tend to push the physical part, but I listen to my body and occasionally my wife. Seems to work well for most things.
wornoutboots
03-13-2011, 22:06
totally disreguard the exoperts on these websites. just go walkin'. you'll be fine
+1!! Enjoy The Journey :sun
Many Walks
03-13-2011, 22:53
The AT challenges everyone in different ways. Lots of big tough guys have dropped, while lots of petite little ladies have made it. Size and strength isn't the only key element. On the bright side, you'll be able to walk under a lot of blow downs and head bangers where the tall folks will struggle. Don't worry, just walk. Enjoy your hike!
The advice they give for the PCT is don't believe the hype (about how dangerous, or snowy or scary or impossible something is). Go see for yourself and then decide. I think that'll work for the AT, too.
Thank you all so much! What a wonderful bunch of encouraging people you are. I am planning to begin my hike on or about April 7. Now I am going to get seriously busy getting ready. We will see how it all works out.
Really Happy!
Trailweaver
03-14-2011, 01:41
I am only slightly taller than you are. I think you can do it fine, although you may have to do what I do sometimes - sit down and scoot on your bottom to be able to reach a step down or maybe crawl up on hands and knees to reach a step up. It's discouraging sometimes, but I'd rather be safe in doing that than try to jump down. So I just do what I have to do and go on. I don't see any humiliation in doing that - I would see some humiliation in having to be carried out on a stretcher because I misjudged something and broke my leg.
The trail offers challenges to a lot of people in a lot of ways. I've found most of it tends to be a mental challenge. A lot of it is physical, but the mental part is toughest. If you just determine that you are going to give it your best effort, and then don't get discouraged if you have to try more than once, or if you didn't hike as far one day as you had planned, you should be fine.
Get a good physical before you go out, get the lightest weight gear you can find, take good food and first aid stuff, then go out with confidence and enjoy your hike.
Snowleopard
03-14-2011, 10:45
... sit down and scoot on your bottom to be able to reach a step down or maybe crawl up on hands and knees to reach a step up. ...
In rock climbing I was taught to never put weight on your knees when climbing (crawling) because it's really easy to injure your knee that way. It's better if you can balance on your feet and hands. If you can't, there are often bushes or trees by the side of the rocks to use to pull your way up.
You'll be fine. The AT is a trail, not a rock climbing route. Make your pack as light as possible and start out hiking shorter distances per day until your body is ready for longer.
Tennessee Viking
03-14-2011, 10:55
You won't know unless you try it yourself. Just pick a good overnight or 2-3 night section on the AT to start, and see how it goes.
Since in the Nashville area, go do the trails at Big South Fork, Pocket Wildernesses, Fiery Gizzard, or the Cumberland Trail if you need to stretch your legs out.
Sickmont
03-14-2011, 11:03
Anything is possible. Never, ever forget that.
Grandma Gatewood completed the A.T. at age 67, 72 and 75.
http://www.coldsplinters.com/audio/Grandma-Gatewood-.jpg
Tenderheart
03-14-2011, 13:36
hwh, where I live, 67 is viewed as young! Of course you can do it! When I returned to the Trail as a teenager of 44, my mantra was, "If Granny Gatewood could do it, I can do it." And I could. And so can you! Your attitude will get you up and over the big rocks, far more than height will.
Well said!
ChinoMike
03-16-2011, 19:57
It's the fight in the dog, not the dog in the fight that is important.
Absolutely! And please post about it too. The ATC magazine had a wonderful article last year about older female thru hikers. Inspiring. I am also just a hair over five feet. Sometimes I have to take my pack off to get up and over stuff and toss it up or down, but it works.
Start on a less demanding part of the AT, I would recommend Maryland and southernmost Pa. You will be astonished at how many people you will meet just like yourself. Also, join a hiking club. Many of them have hikes especially for seniors, you will have a great time.
Bare Bear
03-17-2011, 15:21
I met a woman once who had taken two weeks to get to Long Falls from Springer. Adjust your exspectations and go have fun. Do whatever you can do and enjoy.
Migrating Bird
03-17-2011, 17:31
Go for it, you'll find inspiration in all the folks you meet along the way. Try to keep a clear head, the hype, is ten times worse then doing it. For example, a "hiker" I met just as I was about to go above tree line on Franconia Ridge, swore and said "I'm never, never coming up here again in this wind, it really $%#$*&( sucks". I thought it must be really bad, I put on my wind/rain jacket, battened down the hatches and headed up. In 15 min. I was down to my tee shirt and loving every step, crystal clear sky, just a great day to be up high.
Be inspired by the fact that you took the first step, how many folks decades younger than you can't or won't ever get that opportunity.
After all it isn't like getting on airplane, you are the ONE and only ONE in control - HYOH, stop when you want or need to and jump for joy every chance you get!
Have the hike of a lifetime:D
cold kettle
03-17-2011, 17:38
Hiking the AT or any other trail has more to do with what is in your heart then any physical or age related measurment.