How many 60+ trippers on here? How often do you go tripping? Day paddles? Any trouble loading, unloading? I want to retire this year but not to slow down. The body doesn’t seem to like my plans sometimes.
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Sixty Strokes
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I am north of sixty, when I retired I added a few more trips to my schedule ... getting ready for ice out in Algonquin, we are doing a route that includes a 2.5 miles portage this year ... IMO this a good time to do more of what you love.
Brian
Brian
+13 here. Being retired give me the time to play. Life has a habit of throwing people my age a few curve balls. I have got my health. I lost my life partner 2 years ago. Seeing her killed still haunts me. I find relief in physical exercise. I go canoeing often. I spent 50 some days last summer on wilderness canoe trips and plan on doing the same this summer.
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I am 71. My wife Kathleen is 67. Two years ago we paddled 18 days (330 km; 205 miles) in the east arm of Great Slave Lake, struggling against wind most of the way. Our plans are pretty much finalized for paddling from Whitehorse to Dawson City (740 km; 460 miles) this coming June. We walk or ski at least 5 km (3 miles) with our Siberian husky every day. I still put up, splitting by hand, about 6 cords of wood a year. In winter, we’re on the skidoo several times a week packing our 8 km (5 miles) of trails. I could go on. Not bragging. Just suggesting that staying active is more important than years since birth. I have heard it said that “If you’re healthy, you’re young. If you’re sick, you’re old.” The main difference I note is that my legs aren’t what they used to be. It’s no longer easy to throw the canoe up onto my shoulders.
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I retired at 62 in good health and was able to take some great trips for the first 7 years. I canoe camped with my wall tent maybe 10-14 days every season, (early spring and late fall deer camp) and some great summer trips to northern Ontario and Quebec for week long plus adventures. I also stepped up my little canoe restoration hobby and stayed pretty busy with that.
I'm glad I did cause the last couple of years my health and mindset have had it's ups and downs. Getting my wood canvas canoe up on my shoulders is hard and walking any distance is a even more difficult. I'm glad I retired when I did and got to take those great to me trips.
I considered a lighter canoe and less demanding trips, and still might go that route, but for the time being I'm keeping my kit the same and hoping to get that "feeling" for a back country canoe trip back.
Now I'm pretty much a homebody. While I still love canoes, I just don't have the motivation I had.
I'm glad I did cause the last couple of years my health and mindset have had it's ups and downs. Getting my wood canvas canoe up on my shoulders is hard and walking any distance is a even more difficult. I'm glad I retired when I did and got to take those great to me trips.
I considered a lighter canoe and less demanding trips, and still might go that route, but for the time being I'm keeping my kit the same and hoping to get that "feeling" for a back country canoe trip back.
Now I'm pretty much a homebody. While I still love canoes, I just don't have the motivation I had.
I did the most tripping in my 60's. All joints need replacing and the routine of getting clearance from doctors offices is annoying. I wish I could walk.. I could ride a bike but we have lots of snow and mud still. I did solo tripping in my sixties. That is not possible anymore. I need two hips . 30 years of lifting and carrying patients up and down stairs did me in
I feel fine and do get out day tripping or camping with others. I guess I am old. Reading that makes me ill
With walking poles we did do 5000 meters of portaging two years ago in one day. We tend to prefer rivers and did the Yukon and the Green and the Missouri in the last five years.We snowbirded for a month in Florida and paddled some 15 times over a month.. rest on bike
I am 73
my partner cant walk either much.. He is mulling over an operation that takes his ankle apart and would be house bound for six months non weight bearing with a recovery time counted in years. Congenital defect that gets worse over years.
You do what you can. He is 75,
I don't think we will go back to Algonquin which is a hiking park as much as canoeing!
We would do Whitehorse to Dawson again as that is such a good senior trip.. We did it in ten days.. five hours paddling a day at the most.
I feel fine and do get out day tripping or camping with others. I guess I am old. Reading that makes me ill
With walking poles we did do 5000 meters of portaging two years ago in one day. We tend to prefer rivers and did the Yukon and the Green and the Missouri in the last five years.We snowbirded for a month in Florida and paddled some 15 times over a month.. rest on bike
I am 73
my partner cant walk either much.. He is mulling over an operation that takes his ankle apart and would be house bound for six months non weight bearing with a recovery time counted in years. Congenital defect that gets worse over years.
You do what you can. He is 75,
I don't think we will go back to Algonquin which is a hiking park as much as canoeing!
We would do Whitehorse to Dawson again as that is such a good senior trip.. We did it in ten days.. five hours paddling a day at the most.
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We have been saving the Yukon River for our older age, Yellowcanoe. This has been a plan of ours since 1986. We are planning 15 days. We are looking forward to leisurely floats.
I'm 60, and spent my 60th birthday on a six-week, 600 mile paddle in Canada, with lots of portages. My partners were 60, 61 and 71. I still rock and ice climb and ski backcountry. Living outside of canoe country (Montana), I don't get out in the canoe like I'd like, but still try to do a trip a year as well as day paddles. There's good whitewater nearby, but I don't have a paddling partner yet. As Quetico is 1100 miles away, and Bowron Lakes is 1000 miles away, travel is the biggest challenge.
I'm in my early 50s but the staff at Mc Donald's has been pushing senior coffees on me for years. Does that count? From reading through the posts and what I gathered from similar posts in the past is, do what you can when you can.
I just turned 63...to some extent we can control how we age, about half of it is the genes we're dealt, the other half is how we behave.
I've always said that most folks spend the first half of their lives ignoring their health, and spend the second half reminded of it.
In my younger days I wrestled, boxed, ran and played soccer. I gradually became a cyclist, typically getting 1,500 to 2,000 per year on my road bike.
The key, IMHO, is to stay active. You need three things for an active lifestyle. Strength, flexibility, stamina. The biggest effect I see from aging is in the length of recovery from an injury. If you're active, you're bound to be injured at some point. It just takes longer to recover now.
I have been losing strength as the years go on, but even that is OK. I just scale back on my activities (except for BC skiing)...no more 5 mile single carries for me.
Hearing the stories from YC and Robin are inspiring, I only hope we can all maintain their levels of activity in the years to come.
As for your questions:
I still get 4 to 5 good wilderness trips per year, a few of those solo, albeit somewhat scaled back from years past.
Loading and unloading is still no problem, lighter weight boats certainly don't hurt!
BTW, I still ride my bike, ski downhill and BC as well as XC, sail, hike, camp, ride my motorcycle,swim, and of course, paddle.
And a last word of advice.
Don't stop...maybe slow down a bit, but definitely don't stop.
I've always said that most folks spend the first half of their lives ignoring their health, and spend the second half reminded of it.
In my younger days I wrestled, boxed, ran and played soccer. I gradually became a cyclist, typically getting 1,500 to 2,000 per year on my road bike.
The key, IMHO, is to stay active. You need three things for an active lifestyle. Strength, flexibility, stamina. The biggest effect I see from aging is in the length of recovery from an injury. If you're active, you're bound to be injured at some point. It just takes longer to recover now.
I have been losing strength as the years go on, but even that is OK. I just scale back on my activities (except for BC skiing)...no more 5 mile single carries for me.
Hearing the stories from YC and Robin are inspiring, I only hope we can all maintain their levels of activity in the years to come.
As for your questions:
I still get 4 to 5 good wilderness trips per year, a few of those solo, albeit somewhat scaled back from years past.
Loading and unloading is still no problem, lighter weight boats certainly don't hurt!
BTW, I still ride my bike, ski downhill and BC as well as XC, sail, hike, camp, ride my motorcycle,swim, and of course, paddle.
And a last word of advice.
Don't stop...maybe slow down a bit, but definitely don't stop.
Well at 68, I still paddle my local spots, I should say Float ( flowing rivers)! I missed my BWCA,trip last year, and hope I don't miss it this Fall ! It's the Portages that are hard on me !
I've often joked ! need some Porters !
Jim
I've often joked ! need some Porters !
Jim
Just a couple years north of 60 and I still do 3 or 4 BWCA trips a year. Taking 2 grandsons on their first trip this summer.
60 this year but years, since my teens, of neck and back pain, which I ignored for most of my teens, 20's, 30's and 40's finally caught up to me. A neck operation cured a lot of things but then a 12' fall off a roof breaking my back set me back big time. The pain increased and a recent lower back operation helped....some. Not enough. I know I also have arthritis in my spine so I really need to think about things as I try to rebuild my strength. I've missed out on a lot of trips with old friends but I'd rather sit them out then hurt myself in the middle of nowhere and have my paddling buddies needed to get me out of there and ruin their trip. Despite all that I do see myself getting out there again but I have to make different choices these days rather than the ones of my youth.
The year I retired, at 62, I paddled in my second Yukon 1000 mile race (6 days to finish), which I had also done 2 years prior to that in the first ever running of that race. The year before that, I did my first 440 mile Yukon River Quest race. I've made 5 trips to do those Yukon races so far, and I'm not done yet. This year, at 68, I'll be paddling in my 23rd consecutive Adirondack 90 Mile canoe race, with still lots more of them to go left in me too. This is also my 30th consecutive year as instructor in an 8 day wilderness training program for adult BSA trek leader guides in the Adirondacks.
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LOL. the only way to make it 15 is layover days and backpaddling
We did have a lot of camera batteries and books
Spent some time ferreting along the old telegraph libe
Seriously. 50 miles a day was an average with very short days
Just preplan your historisite visits
Being on the correct bank matters with a 15 km/hr current
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This is what I wanted to hear, YC. We plan on just hanging out a lot, and enjoying the “place.” Still a little worried about Five Finger Rapids. But then, I am a worrier. Kathleen just laughs at me.
I just started on #68. One 3-4 week canoe trip in late summer is my goal. I gave up doing ice-out canoe trips because I have a secluded log cabin with woodstove and metal roof in Northern MN to play at in the shoulder seasons. If you are able to do it twice weekly strength workouts really ease the portage problems. I can still throw a heavy canoe up but avoid doing g it on a trip, not worth the chance of injury. Weekly upstream paddles, bike riding, xc skiing or any task I can turn into a workout all help keep canoe tripping fun.
I'm 65, retired 8 years ago, bought a light canoe that I can carry with a 30 pound bag. I sometimes have to put the canoe down on the big uphills and sectional 3 carry, but I have no plans to slow down. You need to find someone else who's retired or go solo a lot.
I guess it's solo for me sweeper. Wife has gone with me for 30 years, pack trips, canoe trips, backpacking. But she's got a health issue, so I don't want her to suffer. I'll still take her on easy trips to BWCA.
Marten has the right idea. Maybe the real estate market will crash again and I can get a cabin of my own.
See BF? youve arrived at the canoeing retirement homAs Tim Gunn says and we do : Make it work
The only thing stopping me today is a f ing foot of ice
The only thing stopping me today is a f ing foot of ice
