time to put that education to use. too bad I never took Tarp Knots 101
It looks like I'll have to head south, instead of north as planned, next year. After I get back from Afghanistan I'm going to spend some time with my family and friends. Afterwards, I may head back down to South Africa to take some classes, and become one notch away from a commercial yachting license, or depending on how time is going just spend an extra six weeks and get the endorsement. Then I need to go down to Guatemala for a month or so, and do some maintenance on my boat so I can sail it or sale it without taking a too much of a loss. Everything should work out about right for a June start. I have to say that a New England summer sounds much nicer than a Southern spring for a start too.
EWS,Originally Posted by EWS
Get home safe. Thank you for your service.
Everybody,
Looks like I'm the old chick going SOBO... I'll be 35. Anybody that starts with the old jokes might accidentally lose their footing at the most inopportune time. Just kidding
AW
your not old...your only half way to 70!!!
oh, wait...
Southern By The Grace of God
good thing ive got tough ankles
Southern By The Grace of God
Looks like I'm the old chick going SOBO... I'll be 35. Anybody that starts with the old jokes might accidentally lose their footing at the most inopportune time. Just kidding
AW[/quote]
Well, I won't be doing a thru-hike but I plan to start my section SOBO from Katadhyn on June 1st and by that time I'll be 41. If anyone messes with you about your age, send them my way, I can take them! Lol... Age is only a number, except when you try to follow the youngens.
AW and Suzzz - I'll be at Katahdin Stream June 1st for the third year in a row. When you're there, age is out the window and it is just beautiful people in a beautiful place. BTW I'm 41 going on 20. The trail doesn't measure a person by the amount of circles when you cut them in half.
But by the spirit and love they have, their synergy with nature.
Enjoy your hikes.
What is all this talk about age? Y'all should be happy w/ the fact you are committing to something that most 20 somethings have never heard of and or could never dream of. Y'all be ok in my book even if some or one of you do make threats of bad cooking, foul body odors, and bad hair grooming. BTW, did i mention i now have a date i will attempt to finish on? Looking at my 32 birthday in November 2008. My boy will turn 11 a few days before and will be waiting for me on Springer. Party hats and Pizza not included.
I will be starting SOBO with my son around the middle of June. I’ll make my 50th birthday on the trail. I will have to drop out after about 6 weeks but he will be going all the way. I have to get back to work and he will have just graduated college. He was supposed to have two class mates going with him but they had to drop out already. It would be nice to meet some SOBO people so he has company after I’m gone. Also to know he has someone watching his back.
Surefoot, not to worry. Enjoy your hike, hope you get a chance to meet him in other areas along the trail. And for sure if you spend six weeks on the trail you will get to know well the people he will hike with along the way. SOBOS take care of their own. I'll be starting June 1st with a relaxed pace on my mind to enjoy again the experience and may even meet him before I'm through.
No worries dad. It'll be the greatest experience you could wish for him, and yourself.
Surefoot.. I Am 56 Starting Sobo Around June 15 Th Will Be Watching For You Chipmonk
Thanks for the reassuring words. We probably will catch up to you as we tend to be fast hikers. Not that we try to be but I am 6ft 2in and he is about 5ft 11in and we just tend to have a long stride. I know he wants to be finished around Thanksgiving so he can make hunting season back home. He loves to deer hunt and wants to be home for that.
I told him about this site but I don’t think he has visited it yet. Between school, work, and his girl friend, his time is limited. I’ve already told him his trail name is going to be Splash because on our previous hikes it seemed that every time we had to cross a stream, I gingerly stepped across while he got wet. Once he even looked at a stream and said, “I’m not even going to try” and started taking off his boots. As he took off his boots I carefully picked a route and was sitting on the opposite side when he looked up. He looked at me as if to say, how the Hell did you do that, then proceeded across holding his boots in his hand. Half way across he slipped and put his hand down to catch himself and dunked his boots. I couldn’t help but laugh.
So be looking for 2 pretty big, southern accent, father and son, with green and blue Osprey Ether backpacks. As of right now we are looking to hit the trail June 15th.
hello Surefoot, I will keep an eye out for you guys. That's a funny story about his boots getting dunked!!
Hi quasarr, when are you hitting the trail? One thing that has amazed me when I started looking into all the information on the trail is the diversity of all the individuals that hike and how they take care of one another. From age difference, personality, and occupation, it seems that everyone, or at least most everyone, get along pretty well. I was surprised when I read about the young lady that dropped out because of the individual that was harassing her. I don’t worry about other individuals so much as I do him getting hurt some way and no one around to lend a hand. Just can’t help being a parent.
That is so sweet! Thank you.AW and Suzzz - I'll be at Katahdin Stream June 1st for the third year in a row. When you're there, age is out the window and it is just beautiful people in a beautiful place. BTW I'm 41 going on 20. The trail doesn't measure a person by the amount of circles when you cut them in half.
But by the spirit and love they have, their synergy with nature.
Enjoy your hikes.
General Lee, I like you already.
Suzzzz, I'm not starting until the 14th but maybe we'll run into each other somewhere.
What gives me hope it that the women that do triathalons (sp?) and do well are usually in their 30 and 40s. Long distance hiking is about endurance too. I think that it's just as much a mental game as a physical one and us older chicks are more grounded and experienced. We know a few things about life that y'all twenty-somethings won't get for awhile. Enjoy it though, I sometimes miss being young and idealistic.
AW
You have a kid? That's scary!Just kidding. I think it's cool that he's meeting you on Springer.
AW
It is a known fact that you have more endurance as you get older. That's why endurance sports such as marathons, triathlons, etc. are usually won by athletes in their 30s & 40s while sports that are more in the ''spint'' categories are usually won by younger athletes in their 20s. The moral of the story, they're stronger and faster but we're tougher. So getting older is not necessarily all bad. And like it was said before, age is only a number.
Hmm. Is that so? Seems to me as you get older, you get smarter about conserving energy. Any adult who's hiked with kids has seen this -- young folks have so much energy, but they squander it. With age (hopefully) comes the wisdom to conserve what's left.
Hmm. Is that so? Seems to me as you get older, you get smarter about conserving energy. Any adult who's hiked with kids has seen this -- young folks have so much energy, but they squander it. With age (hopefully) comes the wisdom to conserve what's left.
Maybe so but the end result is the same isn't it? Anyway, when I was in training (cycling) coaches and all the articles I read talked about how one's endurance got better with age. I think it's a combination of both.
Anyone who has made it into their 30's has felt the effects of increased endurance. Things that your teen or 20 something body would have given up on the older, denser musculed, thicker body can make happen. It's pretty much a fact.
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