How old are you ?

[dentonfabrics]

Good topic. These "confessional" threads are among the more interesting ones.

I'll be 53 tomorrow (egads!). I'm still getting out there every week but the intensity of my hikes have lessened. Nowadays, I'm just as interested in fly fishing, canoeing, and photography as I am in peakbagging. My favorite places are no longer the summits of Eisenhower, Moosilauke and Lafayette - you're more apt to see me at Tunnel Brook, Pondicherry, Elbow Pond, or up in the North Country. I've done 43 of the 48 (several times) and that's fine for me. I'm okay with the fact that I'll never do Owl's Head.

Whatever gets me outdoors and keeps me happy is what I'll do. It's all good.


bob

 

[Neil]

The poll results show the 40's and 50's cohorts as being the biggest.

That means that hikers who participate on VFTT are old.

What is old? Ha! That's like a co-ordinate without a datum.

 

[cushetunk]

We're at about 10% responses here vs total membership. That's probably a statistically valid sample.

Well, at the risk of overly geeking out, it's probably not statistically valid because it is self-selecting. We don't know if one age class is more likely to participate in the poll than another. I don't recommend trying to publish this data in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

On the bright side, however, the N is indeed good!

 

[MikePS]

51.875 here

great thread, I did a few hikes in teens, really starting in midtwenties, a lot more active in 40s and 50s than before, including a lot of winter hiking in the past eight years. I laugh that my first adult job was in Barre Vt, my territory was Northern NH thru Littleton, bethlehem, the Nothches- every weekend I could not wait to get down to Boston. I drove past the Presis 100s of times w/o a single hike, now I drive from MA as many weekends as possible to hike, jokes on me

 

[Neil]

Well, at the risk of overly geeking out, it's probably not statistically valid because it is self-selecting.

Uh, yer right.

Hikers who participate in polls on VFTT are old.

 

[DougPaul]

We're at about 10% responses here vs total membership. That's probably a statistically valid sample.

Not only is it a self-selecting sample, it is a sample of a biased group--VFTT members. (So one should not try to generalize the result to all hikers.)

IMO, the poll is amusing, but not meaningful.

Doug

 

[cushetunk]

Uh, yer right.

Hikers who participate in polls on VFTT are old.

Neil, I participated in the poll, but don't go adding extra years to my life yet!
Most hikers who participate in polls on VFTT are old.

 

[KayakDan]

Neil, I participated in the poll, but don't go adding extra years to my life yet!
Most hikers who participate in polls on VFTT are old.

Most hikers who participate in VFTT polls are not old...they're active "seniors"

People who play in a "Wii" bowling league are old!

Never considered myself old...I'm a young guy who's slowing down a bit.

 

[timmus]

And as far as hiking more now that you have kids, well that is all relative. It depends how much you hiked before.

I was not hiking at all ( once every three years, like 2 miles hike), and now I'm out almost every weekend, hiking 20 miles a day).

That should make it !

Feminism came out because too may women stop themselves from doing what they want just because they have an husband asking them to stay home with the kids ''because, it's your job''.

I believe you can achieve any dreams even if you have kids, you just have to do it in a different way.

In my case, kids made me a much better person, with more capabilities and mental strenght. No way I would have climb major peaks 10 years ago, because I was lazy, selfish and hated to compromise. My daughters thaught me how to do that.

Back to main topic, I don't want to be accused of trolling !!

 

[Chip]

Well, at the risk of overly geeking out...

Too late ! I took Stat in college too guys. 10% of VFTT Members is a statisically valid sample of active VFTT members, that was my only goal. Darren could probably confirm the results, but it wouldn't be proper to ask him to. Response here was voluntary.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Just voted to assist the age 50s' first place standing. Began hiking in my teens, so that's five decades. Gordie Howe played pro hockey in six different decades; now there is fine goal. Spent the better part of three decades rock and ice climbing, so most of my hiking during those years was to and from the cliffs and big walls. Now I admit to being a peak bagger, although that is not all so different than my tic lists as a technical climber. I hope to continue hiking for a few more years into that sixth decade.

 

[SilentCal]

I've been hiking since I was in the Boy Scouts. Mid thirties now and soon to be getting married to someone that loves the outdoors as much as I do.

 

[NewHampshire]

and soon to be getting married to someone that loves the outdoors as much as I do.

I think she just likes getting you out away from civilization so you don't embarrass her!

Brian

 

[Abster]

I'm 37 My dad got me hiking as a kid and I remember how much I loved to hear about his overnights at Zealand Hut...

I really started getting hooked on hiking in my 20's when I lived in places where I didn't really know anyone (New Zealand/Liechtenstein) and it gave me relief from my loneliness.

Now I hike for my overall well-being and feel so blessed that something so vital could be so accessible to me.

Neil - The mention of your mom's training makes me smile Good stuff! Glad she is going for it!

Townie - What a little charmer.....you must be French

All this talk of kids....I may need to reassess...

 

[dr_wu002]

Too late ! I took Stat in college too guys. 10% of VFTT Members is a statisically valid sample of active VFTT members, that was my only goal. Darren could probably confirm the results, but it wouldn't be proper to ask him to. Response here was voluntary.

It may be valid but I actually ran the results through JMP (statistical analysis software) and the data definitely does not fit a normal or a wiebold distribution. I stopped at that point, probably when my boss came by and wondered what I was doing. I was going to post a picture of the ill-fit but decided against it for fear of constant ridicule (and Doug Paul nailing me on some technicality )

Oh, and I'm 32 btw and my story is boring and somewhat irrelevant and has only remote connections with gender reassignment surgery and large scale consumption of "mild brown mountain berries."

-Dr. Wu

 

[DougPaul]

Too late ! I took Stat in college too guys. 10% of VFTT Members is a statisically valid sample of active VFTT members, that was my only goal. Darren could probably confirm the results, but it wouldn't be proper to ask him to. Response here was voluntary.

It may be valid

The term "statistically valid" refers to whether a statistical test actually measures the right thing.

The term "statistically significant" refers to the chance that a conclusion based upon the data is just a chance occurrence in the data rather than being real.

Neither applies to the dataset itself. Only to tests based upon the data.

but I actually ran the results through JMP (statistical analysis software) and the data definitely does not fit a normal or a wiebold distribution. I stopped at that point, probably when my boss came by and wondered what I was doing. I was going to post a picture of the ill-fit but decided against it for fear of constant ridicule (and Doug Paul nailing me on some technicality )

One can always feed data to some analysis program. The hard part is determining whether the analysis is appropriate for the data in question.


And any self-selected poll has a high risk of bias. As I stated earlier, this poll is amusing, but is of limited use in obtaining any valid conclusions.

Doug
Who, while not a statistician, has actually used statistics in his professional research.

 

[Neil]

What, exactly was the pollster trying to find out? Does the poll question successfully address his exact question? And who was it asked of? A lot hinges from there.

It has meaning for me because I thought VFTTers were younger than that. (I am assuming that the respondents are representative of the overall active membership.)

 

[smitty77]

Seema, babies can be carried in backpacks.

It's amazing how quickly they go from this:


To this:


I'm 30, and have been hiking off an on since Max started me on the trails very early in life (3 or 4?). I did my first overnight at Liberty Springs when I was 5, and never looked back. My oldest will be 6 this July and can't wait to get out in the tent.

 

[Mad Townie]

It's amazing how quickly they go from this:


To this:

Then to this: (See avatar). And then to . . . well, we'll see, won't we?

As for being old, to paraphrase Orwell, All hikers are old, but some hikers are more old than others.

So to my fellow oldies out here, I say revel in it!

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

Awwww, I love those little snowshoes!