An open letter to a very nice woman

[dvbl]

First of all ma'am, it was very nice meeting you on Mt Pierce this past Saturday. Despite my face being almost completely covered due to the cold and wind, I think you noticed my surprised expression when I saw you come around the corner just below the Pierce summit, me descending and you ascending. When you asked me if crampons were needed for the final summit push, I was glad you had them. When you told me you were 78 years old and had an artificial hip, I was at once in awe of you while at the same time petrified for you. I hope you weren't insulted or felt that I was being condescending when I asked if I could turn around and return to the summit with you. You said "no", but you said it with a knowing smile. When I told you I'd wait for you to touch the summit and come back, you told me to start heading down, that it was too cold for me to stand still for 20 minutes waiting for you. But again, you said it with a knowing smile. When you saw me sitting further down the trail eating my lunch, you knew I was waiting to make sure you got off the high ground ok, but you didn't say anything to embarass us both. You just stopped and had your lunch with me. And when I was poking a hole in the ice that had crusted over the mouth of my water bottle and you gave me some hot tea...well, let's just say tea never tasted so good. I just wanted to say meeting you absolutely made my day. Whenever I return from the mountains, and people ask me about my trip, I always tell them about the hike, the trail, the weather, or I show them pictures. This time I always start with, "Let me tell you about this lady I met...".

 

[Rick]

Wow!! what a nice thoughtful post. Green squares to you Dvbl!!

 

[Roxi]

32 years from now, I want to be just like her!

 

[marty]

That is absolutely beautiful and I concur with Rick about the greenies!

 

[lx93]

The coolest park about hiking isn't the great views or sense of accomplishment, it's the people that you meet!

 

[Neil]

That is a very heart-warming post. Goes to show you that there's a lot more than the scenery that can blow you away when you go to the mountains.

I bet she gets that all the time, people afraid for her, maybe even her kids and grandkids trying to talk her out of going hiking but bragging about her all the same. Inspiring!

 

[SAR-EMT40]

I have respect for the both of you and would enjoy meeting either of you on the trail. Dvbl for your courtesy and good manners and her for her grit and gentle manner. Great story.

Keith

 

[Umsaskis]

I met a 70+ year old man on the Knife Edge once. People like that are amazing. Kudos to this lady! I want to be just like her someday.

 

[sli74]

What a GREAT post . . . made my day !! Hope she reads this

sli74

 

[MadRiver]

Several years ago my wife and I were hiking Cannon for our 48’s. I was in the lead by about 10 minutes and kept seeing another hiker gaining on me. About 10 minutes before reaching the fork in the trail that heads to the Old Man and the summit, she passed me. I gave a courtesy nod and waited for my wife. We met up with her as she headed down from the summit and my wife commented (in a very polite way) on her age and her ability to basically blow our doors off (automotive term). She had no qualms about telling us that she was 76 years old. I have no doubt she was the same woman. After all, how many 78 year olds do you met on the trail? I did meet a 90 year old once, but she had a team assisting her. The woman we met that day was wearing the least amount of clothing that one can wear without being arrested. She had not one ounce of fat on her body. She was truly an inspiration.

 

[alpinista]

Dvbl: That was awesome to read. Thank you so much for making at least my day _ and it seems like quite a few others' _ by posting it. I only hope I can do the same thing that lady still does in my 50s and 60s, let alone my 70s!

Got any pix?

 

[mavs00]

Well done..........

What an awesome post.

Reminds me of this feeble (appearing) elderly lady my kids an I strolled by last year headed up Blue Mt. She made some funny little comment to the kids about having "that kind of energy" again. We stopped to chat and my kids tried to impress her with stories of "mountains they've climbed and things they'd done" .

She listened politely, nodded her head and then, while she showed us her necklace with gold "Appalachian Trail" pendant, she began telling us of her end to end long walk of the AT......... in 1958. She was in her late 70's and still hiking, even after the passing of her trailmate (husband).

Yup, never can tell what you'll see and who'll you'll meet, and more importantly how they'll appear out there on the woods. Kudos for your great story and just as important, the "memory jog" that I'm sure brings back great memories for all of us about times we've similarly come across the "strength of the human spirit" out there in them there mountains.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

The first time I climbed Whitney I had the pleasure of sharing the protective branches of a large tree near Lone Pine Lake (about 9K') with an 84 year old lady as we waited for a storm cell to pass. She and her companion were headed to Trail Camp (12K') for the night and then to the summit in the morning. She told me the story of how she'd climbed it on her 80th birthday with about 20 of her friends, and that she did the hike each year ...

Also doing an AMC hike up Ascutney several years ago with an older lady. IIRC she was in her 80's (maybe late 70's). She had one peak left on her NH 4s. Remember her telling us she told her doctor she was "active" but didn't tell him how active because she didn't want to "worry" him!

There's also a very active hiker from the Concord area (won't mention her name here) who does a Zealand/Bond traverse each summer with friends - she's well into her 70's. Her time on this trip is pretty respectable too. Ran into her and her friends one week on the West Bond Spur trail, and the following week on the Wilderness trail as she had just done Owls Head!

Great stuff, and like everyone, hope to be in a similar situation some day.

 

[bunchberry]

I loved reading this, thanks for sharing. There have been so many people I've met on the trails, however briefly, that have had a huge impact on me, for various reasons--and they will never even know. Really makes me grateful to be part of a hiking comunity filled with so many wonderful, kind, big-hearted, inspiring people (and this fact makes it easy to forget the rare "bad" encounters on the trail!).
-katie

 

[roadtripper]

I remember a solo trip about three or four years ago where I was climbing Mt. Adams from Mt. Jefferson at a decent pace when a couple that had to have been in their late 70s (MAYBE even early 80s) zoomed right past me. I watched them sustain this pace (no breaks) all the way to the summit.

It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Thanks for the post!

 

[alpinista]

This all reminded me of some 70-somethings I met last summer while hiking along the AT in the Bigelows. One of them was decked out in an outfit befitting the Talbot's collection: khakis, Oxford shirt _ and pearls! _ plus her heavy-duty hiking boots.

It's awe-inspiring...

 

[iceNsnow]

It's all about the people !

Best post I've read in a long time!
Thank you for the inspirational story.
I can only hope to enjoy the mountains in the same fashion when I'm older!

Inge

 

[David Metsky]

I met a fellow on the summit of Osceola once, and started a converstation with him. He noticed my Dartmouth shirt, I think, and said he lived in Hanover. He had moved to the area and started hiking in the Whites at age 65. When he was 70 he finished his first round of the 4000'ers. To stay active he decided to do a round every 5 years. When I hiked with him he was in his late 70's, working on his third round. We had a great conversation on the way down, the miles just flew by.

-dave-

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I remember a solo trip about three or four years ago where I was climbing Mt. Adams from Mt. Jefferson at a decent pace when a couple that had to have been in their late 70s (MAYBE even early 80s) zoomed right past me. I watched them sustain this pace (no breaks) all the way to the summit.

Reminds me of when I was just getting into winter hiking 8 or 10 years ago, and was heading up OBP. An older couple just flew by. They had lunch at Greenleef Hut and headed back down before we even got to the hut.

Turned out to be the Watermans.

Yet another anecdote - the first time I climbed Washington I did it via the Ammo. About 1/2 way between the Gem Pool and treeline I came upon an older man who told me he climbed Washington once a year - every year. And this trip would be his 50th.

 

[Gris]

This reminds me of something i forgot. Several summers ago I was poking along somewhere deep in the woods (Kinsman Pond trail, actually) when a terrific early summer cold thunderboomer came rolling thru. I found a little burrow and hunkered down, shivering under my poncho. When the rain stopped and the sun returned. I crept back down to the "trail" and standing there was a "old" lady in running shorts, tank top & really old boots, nothing else but a small water bottle clipped to her hip. Well, i say "old" because she had white hair and her face was weathered - but her legs, etc. were young, young! Yet, she had to be at least 70+. She was soaked but didnt seem cold at all. She just said something about how nice the mountains were when the sun came out after a rain shower. I asked her where she was coming from and going to. She said she had hiked a loop (i forget exactly now) about 15 miles already w/ another 5 to go! I said w nothing more than that running outfit! She smiled and said well i did have a sandwich earlier and if i really needed it i have a little windbreaker in my fanny pack. Suffice it to say i suddenly felt both inspired and "over-geared."