View Full Version : a new lease on life?
Does a good healthy 4 or 5 month thru hike add a year of so to your life? Im thinking.. over 50, not bad shape but fighting off a small pot belly, fighting off high cholestoral, do plenty of 2 and 3 nighters, a section hike or two per year, etc. Hey! Maybe your answers will give the incentive for the wife to give the green light! Thanx ahead, Bill
The Solemates
02-15-2005, 19:10
Of course it does. Or at least thats what you should tell your wife.
Footslogger
02-15-2005, 19:36
Does a good healthy 4 or 5 month thru hike add a year of so to your life? Im thinking.. over 50, not bad shape but fighting off a small pot belly, fighting off high cholestoral, do plenty of 2 and 3 nighters, a section hike or two per year, etc. Hey! Maybe your answers will give the incentive for the wife to give the green light! Thanx ahead, Bill======================================
Hey Bill ...that's a definite YES, in my opinion. I was 53 when I started my thru in 2003. That coupled with living out in Wyoming and I plan to live a WHOLE lot longer than I would have if I'd stayed in the Atlanta area and never hiked the AT.
'Slogger
AT 2003
And it might add a couple to hers as well :)
And thats assuming she gets to stay home :) :)
The Cheat
02-15-2005, 20:07
Does a good healthy 4 or 5 month thru hike add a year of so to your life? Im thinking.. over 50, not bad shape but fighting off a small pot belly, fighting off high cholestoral, do plenty of 2 and 3 nighters, a section hike or two per year, etc. Hey! Maybe your answers will give the incentive for the wife to give the green light! Thanx ahead, Bill
Highly scientific research shows that thru-hiking makes you richer, smarter, and better looking. You will also become a better husband and more attentive lover.
Footslogger
02-15-2005, 20:13
Highly scientific research shows that thru-hiking makes you richer, smarter, and better looking. You will also become a better husband and more attentive lover.===================================
How long after a thru-hike does all this start to happen ?? Anxious to quit my day job and start hitting the spa ...
'Slogger
AT 2003
I'll have to disagree. Most likely, you will come back with stronger legs and more endurance (which might be a selling point for the wife), but you'll have bad knees, numb feet, missing toenails, a creaky back, a view that a pint of ice cream is a (small) single serving, a strong desire to sleep where you can see the sun come up (i.e, not in bed), and a very strong nondesire to do things like shopping or going to the mall. You'll have spent 6 months eating as much fat as you possibly can, and will view of meal consisting of a bacon double cheeseburger, fried cheese sticks, french fries, and a jumbo malted as a snack to tide you over for the next couple of hours.
You probably won't come home anything like the person you were when you left. You might have trouble adjusting to certain social situations or acting in a societal way. People might even begin to call you anti-social.
On the plus side, you'll be a better person, have a stronger appreciation for beauty, and have developed an insight into that most people will never have. In the scales of time, there isn't a downside. You just have to do it.
It all depends. If you checked with me some late afternoon when the skies are turning dark, there is a long uphill ahead, and I'm low on food I just know that the whole thing is reducing my life by years. In fact, I often believe that I'm going to die right then-and would welcome the relief. When the trip gets into a routine after a few days there really isn't a better feeling. I suspect that those of us who are somewhat mature experience a dramatic decrease in cholesterol, blood pressure and all those other nasty things that our doctors are always complaining about. My belt gets bigger as do my pants, despite my dramatic uptick in Snickers consumption. In short, the trail is probably one of the best things that we can do for our health, both physical and psychological. Start slow, go easy, and enjoy.
Doc
peter_pan
02-15-2005, 21:09
After my 650 mile section, 2003, I lost 20 pounds, have kept it off for almost 2 year now.
My wife was glad to see me and I her....the second honeymoon is great and is still going on....life is goood.
Chris is right, there are issues , you will change.....You can control the change...just decide to be positively improved...its easy.
Remember .....Happy Wife = Happy Life. :jump ;)
The Solemates
02-16-2005, 10:08
I'll have to disagree. Most likely, you will come back with stronger legs and more endurance (which might be a selling point for the wife), but you'll have bad knees, numb feet, missing toenails, a creaky back, a view that a pint of ice cream is a (small) single serving, a strong desire to sleep where you can see the sun come up (i.e, not in bed), and a very strong nondesire to do things like shopping or going to the mall. You'll have spent 6 months eating as much fat as you possibly can, and will view of meal consisting of a bacon double cheeseburger, fried cheese sticks, french fries, and a jumbo malted as a snack to tide you over for the next couple of hours.
You probably won't come home anything like the person you were when you left. You might have trouble adjusting to certain social situations or acting in a societal way. People might even begin to call you anti-social.
On the plus side, you'll be a better person, have a stronger appreciation for beauty, and have developed an insight into that most people will never have. In the scales of time, there isn't a downside. You just have to do it.
You just had to rain on our party didnt ya? :)
Wander a whole summer if you can. The time will not be taken from the sum of life.
Instead of shortening, it will indefinitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal.
--John Muir
A few words from me:
I do not know if my life has been increased due to my wilderness wanderings. I do know my life has been enriched. Look me up in 30 yrs and see what my knees are like, though. :)
OTOH, if I had stayed in Rhode Island, probably would be 20-30 lbs heavier than I am now, have much stress from paying a mortgage on a house in suburbs and raising two young children when I was not ready for it. (Most people in my large Catholic family marry by 24.) Doing the AT showed me a much different lifestyle than the one "I was supposed to do". A lifestyle that has proven to be much healthier than the lifestyle of most my family and friends. Early thirties in RI is much different than early 30s in Colorado. :)
bearbag hanger
02-16-2005, 12:26
I read somewhere that a thru hike adds about five years to your life, assuming you don't die in the attempt.
It didn't reduce my cholestoral or my blood pressure. They're still too high!
The Cheat
02-16-2005, 14:23
I read somewhere that a thru hike adds about five years to your life, assuming you don't die in the attempt.
It didn't reduce my cholestoral or my blood pressure. They're still too high!
Maybe it just feels like your life is five years longer. :banana