I have recently completed three stiff mountain day-hikes. Hikes where I was worn out, and then some, after just a few hours of hiking.
On my last hike I met a 74-year-old guy who was doing real backpacking. That is, days-at-a-stretch, carrying-kit-and-caboodle mountain hiking.
I handed him an apple, so I know he wasn’t imaginary. And it got me to thinking: If he can can do it, can’t I?
Answer: Nope. There’s no way I can go backpacking. Not due to the weight of the pack, but because my joints can’t recover fast enough from the pounding. I need days (plural) of recovery time after a mountain day-hike.
There’s no way I could do this two days in a row. Which, practically speaking, rules out backpacking.
Continue reading Post #2135: Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.