How old are you ?

[WhiteMTHike]

I'm in my mid 40's and hiking now more than ever. My son is 4 years old so being an older parent who wants to be active means that I am doing most of my hiking with him and loving the heck out of it. I started hiking (for enjoyment) when I was in my late 30's. Prior to that my "hiking" was done out of necessity in the Army. It's much more fun this way. My hope is to continue when I am well into my 70's and be hiking the trails in the Whites with my grandchild.

 

[Pamola]

Are we now going to see threads such as:

SWF seeking SWM needing Bonds, N Presis for NEHH

That post made no mention of gender, only age.

I fully understand the hesitance nowadays for young woman to broadcast their activities to the world. I also understand Wu's desire to stay married.

But if something happens, we all fully support the unity of two bearded men.

 

[giggy]

hey Seema - trust me - having a child is way more rewarding than any hike you will ever do. It doesn't even come close!

Plus - once they get to be about 1.5 to 2, you can do short hikes with them.. Standing on top of Mt Watatic after conor hiked it himself (smiling the whole time) was more rewarding and more enjoyable to me than any peak I have stood on top of.

No kink in lifestyle, just a change in lifestyle.

 

[nartreb]

Wait, wait. "Kink" is bad?

 

[sapblatt]

hey Seema - trust me - having a child is way more rewarding than any hike you will ever do. It doesn't even come close!

Plus - once they get to be about 1.5 to 2, you can do short hikes with them.. Standing on top of Mt Watatic after conor hiked it himself (smiling the whole time) was more rewarding and more enjoyable to me than any peak I have stood on top of.

No kink in lifestyle, just a change in lifestyle.

Seema -

As someone who fought tooth and nail for 8 years about not wanting to have kids I could not agree with giggy more - I freely admit that attitude (brought on by my own earlier life issues) was the biggest mistake I have ever made (besides hiking Madison Gulf and Howker Ridge in the same day with LarryD and Bobby!) - kids, at least your own are great - and they add immeasurably to your quality of life - I used to think they were a total negative before I had them... I am very glad I changed my thinking and attitude while there was still time!

 

[Ridgewalker]

I'm one and a half years away from twenty....

 

[Neil]

51 here.

In my 20's I was a hiking animal in the CDN Rockies during the summers, winter camped in Manitoba/NW Ontario in winter.

Went to school, got a job, had kids.

4 years ago discovered the Adirondacks and began making up for lost time with a vengeance. Became all-consumed. Thought about hiking every waking minute of every day. Hiked once or twice a week and felt I was barely getting out.

Then a year ago came a crisis and I made a deal with my wife to slow down and be part of my family again.

It was hard to do but after getting used to the new twice weekly cycle I realized I had gone overboard and felt bad. I still planned and schemed and trained and was possessed (albeit to a lesser extent) by hiking. Much better family life. Plus, I could never be bored anywhere (waiting for subway, boring dinner party etc.) because I could always plan a hike, relive a hike or even compose a hiking story in my head.

If I spend one hour shopping for a car I spend 5 looking for the right pack.

Now, due the recent loss of my son a figurative bowling ball has hit a strike in my life's recently achieved order and it'll be some time before I get some of the pins back up. Until then let me say how amazed I am at how some people seem to achieve balance so easily in their lives.

 

[timmus]

I was hiking at 2 years old, but not that much. Then at 15 I stopped (partying was more fun I thought).

Right after I had my first daughter I realized how I loved that stuff. That was 6 years ago, and now I am in the mountain as much as possible. That means every weekend (smaller stuff with the girls, but the more they grow up the more miles I'm adding).

I believe it's not the age, it's what point you are at in your life.

 

[bubba]

I am, was or will be 30-something. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

As soon as I'm all fixed up right I'm going out hiking again...

 

[Hillwalker]

Sixty Eight and still at it

Reading all the great replies to this thread really makes a fella feel good. Have children, there is lots of time to hike after they grow just a little. My youngest is now 38 and oldest is 44 and we hiked together utilizing the "Gerry" backpack kid carrier. I stumbled and dumped my 3 year old into a stream in SNP once, but no damage done and she thought it was a great adventure.

My life today, since I am retired, is devoted to the Appalachian Trail, both in trail maintenance and Corridor Monitoring. That's why I tend to always be trying to recruit volunteers here

 

[Mad Townie]

14% in their 20s?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!??!

Wow doesn't feel like it! How much of that 14% is female? My guess is 0%!!!!

Not enough 20 somethings hiking anyways. The only place you usually see us is on the Presis, the franconias notch peaks, and a few on the huts route.

What??? I thought ALL female persons on VFTT were in their 20's.

I can happily say that both halves of me are in our (rather late) 20's--but not for too many more years! I won't even think about what it would come out to in binary.

In all seriousness, I have noted a need for more training and conditioning in order to accomplish the things I used to do with ease in my 30's and even 40's. Hasn't stopped me, though.

 

[vegematic]

What??? I thought ALL female persons on VFTT were in their 20's.

You can keep right on thinking that Mad Townie, I won't be the one to dash your dreams. I, for one, have lots of experience being 29. 11 years experience as a matter of fact .

-vegematic

 

[MichaelJ]

I started hiking at 30, and haven't looked back since. For me, my 30's have been my formative years, not only because I wasted the previous decade of my life, but because I've really lived my life. The mountains, the outdoors, it's been a call of nature that when I finally answered, I knew who I was. I'd found a missing part of my identity. My life began anew at 30, and eight years later I still feel like I'm learning and growing and that this time has been my 20's all over again.

Nowadays hiking, along with skiing, cycling, and coming soon ... kayaking, are my religion. I also count myself very lucky to have met through these boards not merely an adventure partner, but the woman with whom I now share home and heart. Who knows what the future holds for us, but I have no doubt that it will be outdoors.

That post made no mention of gender, only age.

Uh, that's the M and F that follow the SW, no?

I'm one and a half years away from twenty....

Well, now we know where the 0.59% is!

 

[Pamola]

Uh, that's the M and F that follow the SW, no?

What Paradox quoted me as saying, not what Paradox said. I do understand the concept of personals.

 

[Double Bow]

Ya couldn't have asked this back in July when I could still answer that I was in my 20's, could you?!?!

So, yeah, I did a little bit of hiking in my teens (none before then), none in my early 20's and then became an unabashed peakbagger at the age of 24. I started doing an insane amount annually at age 27.

At 30, the only thing that is keeping me from doing as much as I did a couple years ago (87 4Ks in 2006) is my since-found love of long distance running, ice climbing, and sea kayaking. It seems each year new things pop up to compete for my interest. Not that that's a bad thing!

 

[SkierSteve]

I think Timmus nailed it, it really is where you are in your life. I'm 52. It seems that the first half of my life, and growing up in a rural area, all I wanted was to get away from the mountains and let loose in the city. Now, as I spend most of my waking hours in meetings in big buildings in big cities, all I want is to head up 93 and get to he mountains ASAP. Stupid early, smart later?? I don't know, but it certainly seems I've always been a little twisted around. Me thinks I need a little better balance in my life.

 

[walkerd2]

I'm 23.

I hiked every summer until I was 15, then I only went sporadically until I started again almost 3 years ago, and have been going regularly ever since. Its tough to head out now with school and all, but I'll be done soon.

 

[MadRiver]

Before moving to the suburbs when I was 12, I lived in a rural part of CT and had a collie for my best friend. Every Saturday morning we off on some adventure, only to return when the street lights came on. Once I moved to the suburbs and discovered girls, my hiking began to wane.

I did some hiking and camping while in the Navy in the 70’s, but didn’t really get back into it until I met my wife in ’82. She has been coming to the Whites since birth and we now own her grandparents place in Thornton.

From ’82 to ’96 we spent every vacation camping on her parents land. After buying the house and realizing I needed to quite smoking, I finally quit Feb 15th 2000 and started the 48’s that June with Moosilauke and I haven’t looked back.

I’m 53 with grey hair, yet I have more endurance than some of my younger friends who idea of exercising is to lift a beer can once in a while. I hope to keep hiking until I take my last breath. I am fortunate that I have a wife who likes to hike and a good posse of friends from this board who like to hike as well.

As far as having kids, my wife is the oldest of six and the eldest grandchild and has seen her fair share of diapers. I saw many of my friends marry right out of high school only to be divorced a few years later and now being weekend dads. I didn’t want to go that route so I escaped to the Navy and then went to college. I married when I was 30 years old, which for me was the right time. We do not regret our decision not to have children and we enjoy our friends children, as well as our nieces and nephews. Having children or not having children is a deeply personal decision and one that you have to make on your own, and not rely on what society believes you should do.

 

[KayakDan]

I was 11 or 12 the first time I camped in winter. It was deep in the wilderness--which turned out to be Blue Hills Reservation.

Fast forward 34 years,and I'm back at it! 1997 was a major change in my life,and I met my soulmate,best friend,and hiking partner. We both decided to begin "the outdoor life" and it grew into the lifestyle we know today. We sail,kayak,backpack,winter camp,kayak camp,xc ski,and volunteer for a couple of non profit groups as well. I'm younger than I have ever been!

 

[carole]

My mother would send us out to play and lock the door behind us. We couldn’t come in until she felt we had been out long enough. I see no reason to stop the tradition now.

I listen to many younger than me, some ½ my age, complain of getting old…I haven’t gotten there yet...but I am older than I am tall (not in inches ).