For the past few years, since turning 60, whenever I’ve finished a favorite challenging hike, I’ve wondered: Will I hike this trail again?

In part, that’s because there’s a limited amount of time in life and a growing number of trails. We like hiking our favorites, we like hiking new trails. And since the pandemic, more trails coming on line. Decisions, decisions.

But there’s another factor. I’ve come to the slow-dawning realization that I while I’ll mylikely be able to hike another 20 years, I may not always be able to hike 15 miles in a day. Or 10. Or 7 or 8. 

That’s why when I had a day off recently and a forecast favorable for a long day on the trail — high temperature of 50, cloudless skies — I knew what I had to do. And I knew where I wanted to do it.

When I started GetHiking! more than a decade ago, the first long mountain hike we did was at Doughton Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Doughton offers the best hiking along Parkway: 30 miles of trail consisting of the most challenge hiking near Charlotte, the Triad, the Triangle. Four trails — Cedar Ridge, Bluff Ridge, Grassy Gap Fire Road and Flat Rock Ridge — climb the Blue Ridge escarpment, where they all connect with the 7.5-mile Bluff Mountain Trail (also the Mountains-to-Sea Trail). You can put together three long loops, ranging up to 17 miles. That first year we did the longest (up Cedar Ridge, across Bluff Mountain, down Flat Rock); a couple weeks back, because of time and available sunlight (not an area you want to hike after dark), I chose the Cedar Ridge/Bluff Mountain/Bluff Ridge route, about 15 miles. 

This hike is best done starting from the little-used Longbottom Road Access at the base of the escarpment. The reason: you get 80 percent of the climbing out of the way on the hike up. This is good for the obvious reason: who doesn’t like finishing a long day hiking downhill? It’s good, too, because if you overestimate your fitness and the climb is winning, you simply reverse course and head back down. I’d know within an hour if I had a 15-mile mountain hike in me.

Why?

Because the first mile and a quarter of Cedar Ridge is the worst; it’s not until the 2.2-mile mark that you encounter level ground, even a short descent. You still trend uphill for another two miles, but it’s not nearly as taxing. By the time you hit the Bluff Mountain Trail at mile 4.3, the bulk of your climb is over. For the day.

As I walked, I recalled my previous hikes on the trail. On that first GetHiking! hike, when I would have been 55, I don’t recall being overly tired after our 17-mile day. That’s in large part because when you’re leading a group you can’t feel overly tired: your charges get wind that you’re flagging and suddenly they’re really tired, too. I remember being especially invigorated on the long, mellow downhill on Flat Rock Ridge back to the trailhead. Same with a corporate group I took that returned down Grassy Gap Trail (we encountered a dusting of snow on that winter hike). I remember the first time taking the shorter, steeper Ridge Mountain Primitive Trail and seeing a momma bear and her two cubs, I remember scouting the trail for book projects  twice. The last time, in 2021, we base camped at the Basin Cove primitive camp, then spent a very cold and windy November Saturday on the trail, returning at dusk. Brief flashes of previous adventures suggested at least three other times doing a Doughton loop.

They were all good memories, and I’m sure that contributed to the fact it wasn’t until mile 13.5, coming off the Bluff Ridge Trail, that it occurred to me I was on the verge of being tired. Before hiking the last mile and a half on gently trending downhill, I took off my hiking shoes and stuck my feet in a very nippy Basin Creek. 

As my feet slowly went numb I realized I was as happy on the trail as I’ve been in a while. I recounted particularly memorable parts of the hike — drawing water from the Brinegar spring, the views from the open meadows near Bluff Mountain, the sun, the fact I only saw one other hiker — and smiled. 

I can’t wait to do this hike again, I thought.

And I’m pretty sure I will.

* * *

Forever hikes

Here’s the skinny on my top 5 Forever Hikes.

Doughton Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Sparta

30 miles of trail, 3 long loops

The trail in today’s tale. 

Learn more here.

Standing Indian Recreation Area, Nantahala National Forest, Franklin

40 miles of trail, various loops involving the Appalachian Trail

As the AT enters Standing Indian, it traces a horseshoe-shaped ridge; about a dozen trails snaking up from the Standing Indian Recreation Area over a variety of loop options. Note: Three weeks after doing Doughton Park, I lead a two-day, one-night backpack trip on a favorite loop, starting from the backcountry trailhead: Long Branch Trail to the AT to Lower Trail Ridge Way, for 24 miles. 

Learn more here.

Appalachian Trail: Carver’s Gap to US 19E, Roan Mountain, Tenn.

13.7 miles

I’ve only done this as a day hike twice — largely because it’s such a stunningly gorgeous hike that you don’t want to rush it. We usually do it as a two-nighter, staying Night 1 at the Overmountain Victory Trail crossing and Night 2 at Doll Flats.

Learn more here.

Mountains-to-Sea Trail at Falls Lake, Durham/Raleigh

16.4 miles: Penny’s Bend to Cheek Road (Day-Hike sections P,Q,R,S,T)

The MST spends 60 of its 1,175 miles along Falls Lake’s south shore, and all it makes for good hiking. We like this leg-stretcher because it’s among the more remote stretches of MST through the Triangle — and it’s probably the latest stretch!

Learn more here.

Weetock Trail, Croatan National Forest, Cape Carteret

11 miles

I love off-trail hiking, which is why I love this trail. The first 7 or so miles are fairly easy, over mostly flat coastal forest terrain with the occasional gully dip. The last 5 miles or so is an exercise in wayfinding, thanks to a hurricane a few years back that turned the trail into an obstacle course, an especially fun one.

Learn more here. 

The post Racing the clock on Forever Hikes appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

What has taken me a while to figure out is that more of the 50+ crowd might be interested in hiking if there was a supportive environment to help them get started. An environment where they could hike with others, where they could learn the local trails, where a patient, experienced hiker could share their expertise and make them feel more comfortable on the trail. 

That’s why we’ve launched GetHiking! 50+, a hiking program aimed at folks emerging from decades spent taking care of others — at home, at work — and now are looking for something challenging and meaningful to do for themselves. Something they can continue doing for another 20 or 30 years, or more.

Today, we share 10 bits of advice on how to get into this hiking thing if you’re age 50 or older — or simply if you haven’t hiked in a while, if ever. At the end of today’s post we share two hiking programs we’re launching aimed at helping you find your place, and your pace, on the trail. 

I’m glad you’re here. Welcome to the trail! 

1. Use trekking poles. I start this list with trekking poles because they can cure so many ills. Got balance issues? Trekking poles are great at keeping you upright, especially over iffy terrain and water crossings. Trick knee? Proper use of poles can take a surprising amount of pressure off your knees, up to 25 percent, according to outdoorgearlab.com. Unsteady on steep downhills? Poles act as breaks to ease your descent. Need a little boost going uphill? Let your pole-toting arms pitch in and assume some of the work. Trekking poles are such a plus, there’s no reason for anyone, especially a 50+ hiker, not to use them.

2. Don’t hike alone. For me, this is a Do-as-I say,-not-as-I-do suggestion. I hike alone largely because my hikes tend to be either spontaneous or with a goal in mind — scouting, for instance — that others might find distracting. But when I do hike alone I always try to do so at a time when other hikers are likely to be around. The reason? Anything can happen on the trail, to anyone. The problem when you’re older is that “anything” can result in more severe consequences. A twisted ankle can be much harder to hobble out on. Getting dehydrated can quickly become life-threatening. Heart issues, stroke, a litany of medical situations that, if not treated quickly, are exacerbated tenfold. Don’t hike alone, and don’t hike without a reliable communications device: a cell phone where you’re positive you can get a signal, and when you’re not, a GPS emergency locator such as a Spot, Zoleo, or a Garmin InReach.

3. Hydrate. You sweat when you hike, but then you probably knew that. But did you know that older adults are more likely to become dehydrated than younger hikers? There are a number of reasons for this, according to the National Council on Aging, including the fact that thirst tends to diminish with age, changes in body chemistry leave seniors with less fluid in their bodies, and seniors are more likely to take medications that increase dehydration risk. So a pursuit that already sucks the fluids out of our bodies becomes a bit more problematic for older hikers. Symptoms to watch for: fatigue, irritability, headache and cramps, among others. According to the NCO you should take a third of your body weight and drink that many ounces of fluid a day. So if you weigh 180 pounds, you should drink about 60 ounces of water daily — and that’s under normal circumstances! Don’t forget to factor in your perspiration rate on the trail. The best way to ensure that you drink while hiking? Use a hydration bladder, such as a Camelbak.

4. Eat! Just as older adults are less inclined to hydrate, they’re less inclined to eat as well. And that’s trouble, especially on the trail. Hiking burns a boatload of calories. According to one calorie calculator, a 175-pound person hiking 5 miles in 2 hours in piedmont-like terrain burns about 865 calories in that 2-hour stretch (according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the typical adult woman burns between 1,600 and 2,400 calories per day, the typical male between 2,000 and 3,000). So, what to eat on the trail? Whatever you’re inclined to eat, provided it has good nutritional value and provides the fuel you need to keep from bonking. Nuts and seeds are popular trail foods (high in protein), cheese as well.

5. Use sunscreen. Granted, the bulk of the damage to your skin from exposure to the sun occurs in your youth (23 percent of the damage is done by the time you’re 18, according to the American Society for Photobiology). Still, even though damage may already have been done, your thinner skin (literally!) makes it even more susceptible to the harmful UV rays of the sun. It’s imperative that you protect you skin when you venture out. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using sunscreen that offers broad-spectrum protection (against both ultraviolet A and B rays), with an SPF of 30 or higher, and one that’s water resistant). Improve your degree of protection by wearing clothing with UV protection, as well as a wide-brim hat (I like a sombrero). 

6. Be vigilant about the weather. Most of us have a tale from our youth about getting caught in severe weather and emerging unscathed (physically, if not emotionally). I’ve got several, including once being caught on a bike ride in eastern Colorado by a hail storm that beat the crap out of me and dropped the temperature by a good 25 degrees. I hobbled 20 miles home and sat in a warm tub for a half hour to stop shivering. My 17-year-old body quickly recovered. That wouldn’t be the case with a body with a half century of wear. Not only is it uncomfortable being caught unprepared in, say, an afternoon thunderstorm, it can be deadly. Check the weather starting three days before heading out and then, just before you hit the trail. Pack accordingly, including clothes and food — or delay your adventure altogether.

7. Make sure you’re physically prepared. Gone are the days when you could head out on a lark and hike 5 miles having not been active for a month or three. When you’re young, your body can put up with a lot — it also can recover more quickly from your ill-conceived adventures. As an older hiker, you put yourself at undue risk when you ask your body to do things it’s not prepared for. For instance, if you’re interested in hiking with a group that does 3-mile hikes every Friday morning (see below), first, make sure you can hike 3 miles. Also find out the kinds of trails the group hikes. Are they paved greenway trails through flood plains? Or are they natural surface hikes, maybe with some rocks and tree roots thrown in, on rolling terrain? There’s a big difference. The main reason to be prepared? You’ll simply have a lot more fun if you aren’t struggling to make it to the end.

8. Pay attention to your medications. If you’re on medications, check with your physician or pharmacist before increasing your activity level, especially before venturing into the remote woods on a strenuous hike. For instance, OldGeezerHiking.com says if you’re on diuretics, or on a medication that includes diuretics, you’re at a much greater risk for dehydration. Check and see what other issues could result from the medications you’re on. And, harkening back to Tip No. 2, make sure the people you are hiking with are aware of any meds you might be on. Four years ago I was leading a hike where one of the hikers simply stopped, sat against a rock and stared. She was near comatose and unable to communicate, making it impossible to find out what was wrong. We had no choice but to call in a rescue and carry her out. Turned out she had just changed medications for a condition she was being treated for and the new meds didn’t mix well with strenuous exercise. Had we known, we could have contacted her physician for an appropriate course of action.

9. Think twice about “going under the rope.” “Under the rope,” that’s actually a ski term about skiing terrain that’s closed — and indicated as such by a rope. In the case of hiking, going under the rope would be hiking off trail. Now, I love going off trail, and have been leading Winter Wild off-trail adventures for years. But those off-trail adventures are carefully scouted with few surprises of the unfortunate kind. And, I’ve researched Plan Bs and exit options. That’s a far-cry from seeing an old roadbed striking out from the trail and thinking, “Shucks, I’ll just see where this heads.” Maybe not a terrible idea if you’ve come equipped to spend a night in the woods, but really, overall a terrible idea. Only go with someone who knows the terrain.

10. Listen to your body. Probably the most important bit of advice, especially as we head into the heat of summer. If you’e body is telling you to slow down, slow down. If it’s telling you to stop, stop. Feel a cramp coming on? Don’t “walk it out,” stop and drink some water, something with electrolytes ideally, better still take a potassium tablet or eat a banana. Starting to sweat a little too much? Find yourself short of breath? Suddenly a little dizzy? All signs to stop, sit in the shade and take a minute to figure out what’s going on and how to nip it in the bud.

* * *

Explore with Us!

Ready to get started? We have two summer hiking programs ideal for both the beginning hiker and for experienced hikers who don’t want to stop hiking because it’s summer, but don’t want to wear themselves out, either. Hikes in both series are between 3 and 4 miles, last about an hour and a half, and explore a new trail each week.

• GetHiking! 50+ Friday Morning Summer Hike Series, 8 hikes at 8 a.m. on Fridays, on trails in the western Triangle. More info here.
• GetHiking! 50+ Wednesday Evening Summer Hike Series, 10 hikes at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Popsicles conclude each outing. More info here for single hikers, here for couples and families.

Hike ’til you’re … 200?

This week on the GetHiking Southeast Podcast we talk with Jerry Kroll, founder of Jevitty Life Science, which is working to use existing and emerging technology — coupled with good lifestyle habits — to extend our lives significantly. Give a listen here.

Learn more

For more information on topics touched on today:

• “21 Simple Survival Tips for Hikers Over 50.” These tips come from oldgeezerhiking.com, and cover a range of appropriate suggestions. Learn more here.
• “How to Stay Hydrated for Better Health,” a blog post from the National Council on Aging that goes deeper into the importance of staying hydrated for older adults. Check it out here.
• Skin Care and Aging. Learn more about the importance of protecting your skin in this post from the National Institute on Aging.

The post GetHiking! 50+ 10 tips for older hikers appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Bob and Henry aren’t free soloists; in fact, climbing may be the only outdoor adventure they don’t do. Among other things, Henry is section hiking the Appalachian Trail, while Bob starts his day with a 5-mile run, ends it with a 3-mile hike, and works in, say, a 20-mile mountain bike ride in between. The pair usually work in a paddle trip together every couple of weeks, a hike as well. Maybe they don’t scamper up El Cap without a rope, but for a couple of retired guys, they’re doing pretty good.

This morning’s adventure was a hike and while they were only going 8 miles, most of it was off trail. Some of it over cliffs, some through rhododendron hells, all of it on the 2-3 inches of snow and ice remaining from Sunday’s storm. I won’t reveal too much about the mile or so I hiked with them; for that, you’ll need to listen to next week’s GetHiking! Southeast Podcast. What I will say is that in retirement both have blossomed as adventurers, with both acknowledging that they are in far better shape today than when they left the workforce. 

“I’ll just keep going like this as long as I can,” Henry said early in the hike. 

Why do they remind me of Alex Honnold? Because among  their “golden years” cohort, what they do may seem similarly remarkable. Thing is, it’s not. While they may be the exception, they are not alone. And growing numbers of 50+ folks are joining the ranks and pushing themselves like never before. Folks who GetGoing After 50 is a topic we’ll be exploring at length in the coming months.

In the meantime, the 2019 post on Honnold follows. Marvel in his accomplishments, then think about what you might do that would cause you to flash your own Honnold “smile.”

* * *

Talking with author/climber Mark Synnott earlier this week about his new book, “The Impossible Climb: Alex Honnold, El Capitan and the Climbing Life,” I was touched by something vaguely familiar. Vaguely, and weirdly, because the book is about one of the most audacious physical and psychological feats of our time: Honnold’s ascent of El Capitan, a 3,000-foot near-sheer rockface in Yosemite National Park — without any form of protection to save him should he slip from one of the wall’s precarious microscopic holds. What could possibly be familiar about that?

Honnold has climbed, mostly without a rope, throughout much of the world on some of the globe’s toughest mountains. Despite living on what he describes as “the income of a moderately successful dentist,” he still prefers to live in his van, even when it’s parked in the driveway of his Las Vegas home. And after knocking off El Cap on June 3, 2017, at 9:28 a.m., how did he celebrate? By hanging for more than an hour on his Beastmaster Hangboard, a strip of hardwood with microscope indentions that he uses to build arm, finger and torso strength. Why the hangboard? Well, because he does this every other day as part of his training, and his epic climb just happened to occur on a training day.

So again, how could Honnold’s story even remotely feel familiar?

Then I thought about “the smile.” When Honnold successfully executed the hardest part of his El Cap climb — an especially tenuous move called the Boulder Problem — he turned to one of the camera’s documenting the climb for the film “Free Solo” and flashed a huge grin. That grin, says Synnott and others who know Honnold, is rare. “You see that smile,” says Synnott, “you stand in the presence of that, it washes over you.”

Then it hit me. I haven’t necessarily seen that smile before, but I have seen that look, the “one that washes over you.”

The look

On our backpack trip into the Joyce Kilmer/Slickrock Wilderness a couple weeks back we were making our way down a particularly challenging stretch of the Slickrock Creek Trail. We were losing elevation at a dizzying rate — in one stretch, about 1,400 feet in less than a mile. The trail was overgrown, and it was criss-crossed by more than 30 downed trees — Joyce Kilmer-sized sentinels of ample girth. At one point, after a particularly challenging crossing, I looked up the trail expecting to looks of concern, at best, anger at the least. I didn’t see any Honnoldesque grins, but I what I did see surprised me. I saw people, many of whom were either retired or of retirement age, very focused on the task at hand. Not one person looked worried or defeated. All were in the moment. They knew a wilderness area would present challenges unlike what they’d seen hiking in a state park. That was why they were here: they were aware of the challenge, and they were embracing it.

Same thing a year earlier on our annual dive into Linville Gorge. A late start and a wrong turn left us a mile and a half from camp in waning light in the midst of a classic, homegrown Linville thunderstorm. We righted ourselves, then, a half hour later, wronged ourselves again. We ended up pulling into a makeshift camp at 11 p.m., low on water, wet, and five hours past feeding time. Yet the next morning, there was nary a word about the previous evening. Rather, everyone was eager for the day ahead.

I feel this presence on local day hikes. Someone who’s never hiked 5 miles before, who’s never hiked in 85-degree heat, shows up because she wants to push her limits. The hike may not be easy, it may not be entirely enjoyable. But they do it and you can feel their sense of accomplishment.

Facing the ‘impossible’

Some argue that Alex Honnold lacks a sense of fear, that his brain is wired in such a way that he doesn’t experience fear. Honnold pooh-poohs the notion (and an MRI scan of his brain reported in Synnott’s book appears to back him up), saying he feels fear all right, he’s just better at managing it than most (which he does in part by being extremely prepared). If you want something bad enough, he says, you figure out how to make it happen.

That’s what resonated with me, with Honnold’s story. The people who do our trips aren’t, for the most part, athletes who’ve dedicated their lives to training for the impossible. Most have jobs and have to deal with the day-to-day of survival. But, like Honnold, they’re driven by that spark to feel, even for just an afternoon or a weekend, truly alive. To feel good about themselves in a way that binge watching the latest Netflix series or buying a Tesla can’t touch.

To do for themselves what might seem, like the audacious free solo of a 3,000-foot rock face, the impossible.

* * *

Test yourself

Eager to flash your own Honnold smile? Here are some upcoming opportunities:

GetHiking! Winter Wild Adventure Series. We have two Winter Wild off-trail hikes remaining in our 2021-22 series: Hanging Rock’s Three Sisters on February 5, 6-7 miles; Birkhead Mountains Wilderness, March 12, 8 miles. Learn more here.

GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking. Our three-part class — including a gear session via Zoom, a 5-hour in-field training session, and a weekend graduation trip — will turn you from nervous novice to competent, confident backcountry explorer in time for the spring backpacking season. Our spring session starts Feb. 23; learn more and sign up here if you live in North Carolina, here if you’re in Virginia.

GetHiking! Weekend Escape to Jones Lake State Park. Give your hiking legs some pre-spring training with this 15-mile weekend on trail at Jones Lake, Turnbull State Educational Forest and Bay Tree Lake State Natural Area. Learn more and sign up here.

The post GetGoing After 50: tales of ‘extreme’ aging appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

But time eventually slows everyone’s pace, and Friday morning Rod was honored by the Umstead Coalition and Umstead State Park with a ceremony dedicating, ironically, a bench in his honor. I’m pretty sure it was the first time the 200 or so gathered had ever seen Rod seated. 

Umstead Ranger Billy Drakeford recalled that when he first arrived at Umstead and wanted to learn a little park history, he went to Rod’s house, and, over tea, learned all about Rod’s annual Ruins Hike, a largely off-trail affair exploring Umstead’s human past. “I stole my ruins hike directly from his,” Drakeford confessed. Drakeford’s story lead to a tale about the first time Rod led the Ruins Hike. When the group came to the first crumbled foundations, Rod, without breaking stride, pointed left and said, “There’s a ruin,” pointed right and said, “There’s a another ruin.” That hike eventually became more introspective. 

But on most other hikes, be it his shorter 8-mile summer hikes or his 21-mile march from one end of the park to the other and back, Rod maintained a steady and brisk pace, a pace he kept into his mid-80s.

To a soundtrack of spring peepers, it was announced that Rod’s Ruins Hike would live on, from here on dubbed the “Wear Red for Rod’s Ruins Hike,” in honor of the red jacket Rod was rarely without. It will be in late winter, when the daffodils are in bloom. “Daffodils,” Rod’s daughter Cheryl explained, “are Dad’s favorite flowers.” Daffodils, planted by early homesteaders to spruce things up, continue to persevere and thrive more than a century after the root cellars, the barns, the log cabins, and the mills they graced have faded from the scene. They aren’t native to the area, but they quickly established a home. Like Rod.

When it was Rod’s turn to speak, he thanked his family, his gathered friends and, above all, the God he’d always placed his faith in, and who, Rod noted, was responsible for such a wondrous place as Umstead. He added: “I sure hope God has hiking trails for me.”

And maybe a hiker or two who can keep pace.

The post A bench for Rod appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

• From 2010- 2012, an estimated 52.5 million US adults (22.7 percent) annually were told by a doctor that they have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia.
• An estimated 49.7 percent of adults 65 years or older reported doctor-diagnosed arthritis from 2010-2012.
• An estimated 62% of adults with arthritis are 65 years of age or older.

Staying active helps ward off the effects of arthritis, and the folks at SoMuchYoga.com tell us, working some yoga into your life is a good way to help you maintain an active lifestyle. Yoga can reduce pain, increase your range of motion, helps you build strength, improves your balance, and offers a host of additional psychological benefits.
Learn more about how a regimen of yoga can aid your active lifestyle at this article, “Yoga for Arthritis: The Amazing Way Yoga Helps Alleviate Arthritis Pain,” from SoMuchYoga.com.

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