Welcome, guest [login | register]

Posted by Bill S on September 26, 2007 at 6:28:45 pm EDT
In reply to Shenandoah our first backcountry overnighter posted by BigSmoke on September 25, 2007 at 1:34:27 am EDT

Steve asked

Quote:

how come you, Bill, get to do all the really neat stuff like Antarctica? That sounds great as I enter my second childhood-big kid stage.

Well, Young'un, first off is I retired so I could do such things. Secondly, I never grew up, so there is no "second choldhood - big kid" stage. Thirdly, I skipped the mid-life crisis and am having an "elderly" crisis (ya know, the panic that sets in that there are "so many mountains, so little time"). I got Barb, my "constant companion" of 40+ years (who is still only 21) a copy of that book "1000 things to do before you die", and made the mistake of reading it myself. So now I am running in panic. OTOH, several of my climbing partners in Antarctica are in their 70s, and a couple of my more or less regular climbing partners are also in that age range. Beckey is, what, 80-something and still going strong?

The real answer is you have to choose your priorities. If you want to go places like Antarctica or do hikes like the Appalachian Trail, you can do it - it may be tough, but there is a way. One of Barb's parents' friends had polio as a kid, but hiked the John Muir Trail on his Kinney sticks during his 50s and 60s. He did it in sections, and with friends and family who helped carry the gear and food, but he did it. A friend of mine lost his legs in an accident in Australia (there is a segment about his accident and how he meets challenges that airs on Discovery Channel from time to time in the "I should not be alive" series). He has summited Kilimanjaro (where I am going in December). I think I mentioned previously the heart transplant patient who summited Mt. Vinson in Antarctica about a week before we arrived at Vinson Base camp. When I was on Rainier about 10 years ago, there was a guy 80-something who did the Camp Schurman to the summit and return to camp in about 8 hours - which took us 8 hours to the summit - said he had been doing Rainier at least once a year since he was in his 30s.

You want to do it? If you want to strongly enough, there is a way to finance it and a way to be strong enough in the right way to do it. And a big part of it is the support of family and friends.

Replies

View: flat | threaded

There have been no replies

Post a Reply

Before replying, please read the complete thread.