Bushwalk Australia

When did i get old ?
Friday 15th having a coffee after work young bloke grabs the ladys bag at the table next to me and off he goes .I give chase only to be passed by after 20 yards by a young man who on his way past says dont worry ive got this old fella .

Saturday 16th going for a walk out to mt solitary ( katoomba ) just before you start the climb up 2 young blokes just standing there as I walked past one wispers to the other oh! great now we are stuck behind an old bloke Im only 55 .

PS .Lady got her bag back and I beat both blokes to the top nearly killed me but I won.

So when is old ? I think its about when Ive got one foot in the grave and still fighting to stay out .

One is old when one starts to consider these questions and issues for real.

I'm too young to be this old
So I know how you feel, for me about 18 months ago but I haven't started planning my funeral yet

Good on you for chasing, even if you were made redundant.

The world needs more people like this. We live in a world where most would probably sit back, sip their hipster double-shot soy decaf latte - and update their Facebook status of the horror which had unfolded in front of their eyes.

I trained a young guy at work a few weeks ago, and we got talking about walking Waterfall Gully to Mt Lofty summit - my best time being 34 mins. He casually said he does 29 mins regularly - made me feel pretty old.

But, I do agree with the old adage - "you're as old as you feel".

Nah
I prefer the Groucho Marx/ Mae West version

I'm 31 and I feel every minute of it.

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I found having kids really accelerates the feeling of being old.

When did I get old?......you ask the question as though it's a bad thing!!

Gotta say it's better than the alternative.

GregR wrote:When did I get old?......you ask the question as though it's a bad thing!!

Gotta say it's better than the alternative.

So true. Getting older is a privilege denied to many!

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South_Aussie_Hiker wrote:I found having kids really accelerates the feeling of being old.

Kids are aging accelerant. Both psychologically and physically. Why did we have them?!?

I'm looking forward to the day my kids can carry me to the top of a mountain, as I did with them.

Hi GregR

I dont think getting old is a bad thing as we get on a bit we tend to take things in a more relaxed mode.Life is not such a mad rat race we stop to smell the roses the I still run around like a lunatic just not as quick LIFES GOOD .

Every day you wake up is a bonus. My dad died in November he was 65. I miss him so much. I now am grateful for every day and would be proud to get to an old age.

Very sorry for your loss Chris, my Mum and Dad passed away some years back now. They are sadly missed but I will always have the memories.

I'm wondering what the need for speed is. I'm with dingleberry, getting older is not a bad thing and totally out of our control. To a large extent, allowing our bodies to turn to crap is able to be delayed by what we do (bushwalk). For me it's not about how fast I get to the top of the hill but what I see and sense on the way.

Not old just smelling the roses.

Thanks neil.

Look mate, just remember that you'll always be younger than me . . .

Personally, as much as I hate being catcalled, it kind of makes me feel less old when I get eyed up by blokes young enough to be my grandchildren.

young people start out fast and blow up. theres a reason why theres a lot of older people out doing multi day walks, because they have better endurance...
tortoise vs hare....

I have a group I walk with occasionally. Late last year five of us went to NE Ridge and summited Mt Anne (Tas). Our average age was 70, ranging from 60 to 78. A week or two ago we went to Clear Hill (a mountain despite its name) and the five men in this party again averaged 70, ranging from 64 to 80. It's great to see older people out there still walking and I reckon thes 'oldies' would challenge most people less than half their age.

Graham51 wrote:I have a group I walk with occasionally. Late last year five of us went to NE Ridge and summited Mt Anne (Tas). Our average age was 70, ranging from 60 to 78. A week or two ago we went to Clear Hill (a mountain despite its name) and the five men in this party again averaged 70, ranging from 64 to 80. It's great to see older people out there still walking and I reckon thes 'oldies' would challenge most people less than half their age.

I can confirm Graham is spot on as I was with him. We would have got there quicker once but our times are still pretty good.

wayno wrote:young people start out fast and blow up. theres a reason why theres a lot of older people out doing multi day walks, because they have better endurance...
tortoise vs hare....

I think we've also learnt a bit of patience along the way. We know the mountain (or whatever) isn't going anywhere so we don't mind taking a bit longer to get there.

Graham51 wrote: It's great to see older people out there still walking and I reckon thes 'oldies' would challenge most people less than half their age.

I LOVE it. Had a bit of a smile on Mt Anne in a group of 50+ & 60+ year-olds. A young whipper snapper who passed us near the bottom of the summit climb looked a bit shocked when we popped up on top - 'I didn't expect to see YOU lot here!' I was adding up the decades of walking in the Tasmanian wilderness in our group - some of the most experienced people in the world of SW Tassie, representing many of his life-times. He just saw old people, but just maybe we sowed a seed in his mind.

It's also rather neat when you get back to a populated carpark after a long walk (especially if its off-track) and people realise you aren't one of these 'super-fit, elite outdoor gymnasts' but just an average older person with a fair share of stubbornness.

Graham51 wrote:I have a group I walk with occasionally. Late last year five of us went to NE Ridge and summited Mt Anne (Tas). Our average age was 70, ranging from 60 to 78. A week or two ago we went to Clear Hill (a mountain despite its name) and the five men in this party again averaged 70, ranging from 64 to 80. It's great to see older people out there still walking and I reckon thes 'oldies' would challenge most people less than half their age.

Challenge or not - they are out there doing it.