In April of 2023 I found myself ready to take a new path. I stumbled across some volunteer opportunities in Nepal that could include a trek to the base of Mount Everest. It immediately inspired me. I do like volunteering and was hoping to do some when I retire. I had always loved to hike, but I had let myself get out of shape and even struggled on short hikes. I wouldn't survive one day of the 12 days to Mount Everest and back. But.... could I get in shape to take it on if I gave myself three years? I really want to do that trek. I decided to give it my best shot. I bought a mini stair stepper to use at home. I started doing yoga. I worked on my breathing, did meditation and worked on living a more mindful life and studied the teachings of the Buddha. I also started going hiking most weekends.
I was really out of shape. When I first got the stair stepper I could barely do 25 steps. Each week I improved until my knees started to hurt. It wasn't an injury, it was just that they had grown week. Knee braces and yoga exercise to strengthen them. I slowly began to see an improvement. It was slow going though. In August of that year Fantu and I went to Alaska. I had hoped to be strong enough to hike up to the top of Mount Healy at Denali National Park... I barely made it halfway before turning back. I still had a long way to go. By my 65th birthday in December I planned a hiking trip to Enchanted Rock and Lost Maples State Parks. I was determined to get to the top of Enchanted Rock. I took my time, I didn't tackle it head on as some people do but hiked up in a switchback approach. I did it! I then hiked the loop trail that circles it's base to complete over five miles of hiking that day. I then traveled on to Kerrville for the night and to treat myself to some shopping and a nice dinner. The next morning I headed to Lost Maples where I did another long hilly hike with an incline similar to that of Enchanted Rock, It was a beautiful hike and I successfully completed it and then did a bit more along the river trail in Kerrville that afternoon. I hiked over seven miles that day. Through the winter I kept hiking on weekends. I usually went to Mother Neff State Park but I also did two hikes at Colorado Bend State Park. In April Fantu and I went to Cloudcroft New Mexico for several days of hiking. We didn't do as much as I had planned, but we did a minimum of a 4-5 mile hike each day. The altitude impacted us a bit there. If we could have stayed another day of two we probably could have tackled a few longer hikes.
The weather began to impact my ability to get out on the trails to hike as Spring slid into Summer of 2024. I joined the local fitness center and got serious about getting in shape. I am now up to 1400 steps on the Stair Master at the gym, my goal is 2000 by September. I've added two big hikes to my goal. The first will be this Autumn. Fantu and I are going camping in Colorado. I have several hikes planned that are 9000 - nearly 11,000 foot elevations. We will be finishing up our week there (hopefully well acclimated by then) and will be attempting the Manitou Incline. Success on this will give me the confidence to take on the 5 day Inca Trail trek in Peru in early 2026. I do plan on some additional challenging hikes before then, including a camping/hiking trip to Big Bend National Park next year. Success on each of these hikes will give me the confidence I need to eventually travel to Nepal.
Am I confident of success? Some days yes, other days no. I have been tempted to walk away from it all. I wonder why I do this? Why work so hard towards a goal that is just for myself? But is it?
I do this because I love mountains and hiking. I have seen Mountains all across the USA, the Alps in Switzerland, the Simeon Mountains In Ethiopia. If I can see the Andes in Peru and The Himalayas in Nepal that will be mountains on five continents. I am doing this to inspire my children and grandchildren. To let them know that dreams can be achieved at any age. I want them to know that I didn't sit back with one foot in the grave. I lived my life until the end. I want to be a story that is passed on to future generations.
I may not be successful. I may have left it too late. But I want to at least be able to say I tried. I did my best. I didn't just sit back and watch life go by.
No comments:
Post a Comment