How did you know?

For those who’ve retired from tripping, how did you know it was as time? Was it general malaise, a new physical condition, inability or limitation? Did you get out of shape due to some period of inactivity? Or, was it just your interest waned when a paddling partner or spouse was no longer able to go? Did the realization come during a trip?

I just had this conversation with my older former tripping companion. He said “At some point it just became too hard and the amount of energy it took wasn’t worth it.” He is 82 now and our last trip was 5 years ago. I hope I get that many years of adventures.

Bob

The trip I just completed last week in Canada has me really thinking my tripping days on those kinds of trips may be coming to an end. I had noticeable problems with agility and strength. The strength I can do something about, the agility probably not so much. In a couple of months I will be 77 and the people I was traveling with ranged from 56 to 70. I do like being in the Canadian bush so I may be doing flyin base camping trips in the future. I will probably try another of the trips I have done since 2007 again next year after better conditioning in the spring.

My balance is not what it should be for canoeing. I sold my last canoe this year at age 74. It is plenty of work but we have figured out how to slower and add layer over days. Now I go in a drift boat.

I hope my tripping days are not completely over.

But as I passed 70, small medical problems arose and cumulated, strength and conditioning diminished, energy diminished, and fears of bad things or accidents happening increased because I almost always tripped alone. The combination of all these things simply resulted in a diminished interest in canoe tripping and many other things in life.

That's one of the reasons I agreed to take ownership of this site three years ago and to become a director of the WCHA. I can stay involved in canoeing daily from a computer, which doesn't take much strength, energy or danger.

As long as I can plan for, pack for and load my gear and boat on the car there will be at least easy trips I can still do. A few years ago I hurt my back in March. By the fall I was hoping to get a trip in, but just the organizing of the gear whooped my butt and I knew I wasn't ready.