I hate the word Old
I don’t think there are many people that pass the age of 50 and the word Old doesn't begin to creep into their mind. Wether you are active or not, between the societal message or our bodies, it inevitably crosses your mind. As you progress through your 50’s, I think it gets even worse…
I don’t hate many things, but the implication of ‘Getting Old’ is definitely one of them. My brother told me yesterday that we were Old, I told him I was banishing that word from my vocabulary, and yet, here I am writing about it.
Trying to get beyond that word means many things to me. First and foremost is taking care of my body with a higher level of priority than when I was young. Everything seems to matter more. What I eat, how I exorcise, what kinds of injuries I get, and even the issues that come along with those more manly private parts. Aging, no matter what, is a fact of life. We are all gonna die sooner or later and the way this happens is that time moves on, time keeps on ticking, it does not matter if we like it or not.
So what do we do about this concept of Aging? I am trying to stay even more active than before. Trying to get out into the woods more than before. This past weekend, I spontaneously decided to go backpacking. I don’t know that I have ever gone backpacking, but I was committed to doing so. There is a trail nearby that is very famous in the area and I thought what the heck, the weather looks good, lets give it a try. Winds from the west would put me in the lee side of things and the low of 28 did not make me nervous at all (maybe a tiny bit because of my hammock).
I love gear. Everyone who knows me knows how much I love gear. I have a shit ton of gear and most of it is in the Ultralight category. Every known piece of gear to make human powered traveling more enjoyable. You see, even before I was using the word Old, I realized that if I was traveling, under my own power, weight was the single biggest impediment to my overall enjoyment. I have always been a slow traveler, content to just take my time, but throw in extra weight and I am a turtle. Lighter kit helps balance out the equation.
For this trip, I was going to hammock camp. My preferred way of camping by a mile. I enjoy a hammock immensely. I sleep better in a hammock, which means I wake up the next day even more refreshed than before. Other than that pesky low temperature, this was a perfect trip for hammock camping.
The tree lined coast of Maine offers very few flat spots, but a plethora of trees. So, I packed up my backpack with all of my UL essentials: Hammock and tarp with stakes and guy lines. Top quilt & Under quilt; Ultralight cook kit with my trusty titanium Firebox Stove for cooking up my Bison Fillets. I carried in 3 liters of water, by far the heaviest part of my kit and then a few other bits and bobs for camera and electronics.
I did not weigh the kit, but I was pleased with my packing. I knew I had a couple of luxury items, such as a chair, a bigger batter kit than necessary, an extra pen for journaling and my trusty saw. I could (should) have eliminated all of those, but alas, sometimes we learn the hard way.
I got to the parking lot and it was full. Shit, what are all of these people doing here? I expected to have the trail to myself, but I guess that was being naive. On this trail, there are only enough campsites to comfortably and officially fit about 10-12 people. There were more than 12 kids in one group. Shit, I better hurry.
I loaded up my dromedary with water, grabbed my pack and set off like I was some kind of veteran speed hiker. Within 10 minutes I was winded. Within 20 minutes the group of kids would pass me… this would happen 3 more times in the span of 2.4 miles. My goal had been 5 miles to the farthest camp site. Within an hour I knew that I would have to stop at the first camp spot and I had only made it a mile before making this decision.
This is a hard trail. It is rocky and Rooty like most Maine trails. There just is not such a thing as flat, so this trail is rocky and Rooty and UP and Down. I knew I could not make it, especially each time that group of kids passed me. They would smile, say hello, and cheerily move on ahead of me in a matter of seconds. The word Old began to creep into my head, but I quickly pushed it away. I had bison fillets to eat, I bet they were eating rehydrated meals.
I eventually made the 2.4 miles and made camp. A beautiful spot overlooking the Bay of Fundy. It was a bit windier than I had hoped and it even got a bit colder that night than I wanted (note to self, buy a heavier under quilt for the shoulder seasons). I cooked Bison on a twig stove, wrote in my journal, watched the sun set and the sun rise and had a beautiful cup of coffee as the water turned shades of blue. A half moon greeted me in the middle of the night. It was, an absolutely overnight getaway.
I hiked back the next morning, all my food gone and no water left to speak of an I felt more alive, lighter in my steps. I don’t know if it was the weight that was gone or the fact that I spent 24 hours feeling alive and communing with nature instead of sitting at home, focusing on my aging body and all the issues that come with it. I would imagine, as with everything the truth lie somewhere in the middle.
Note to self: You are aging, you are not old. Get off your ass and get outside. Be uncomfortable in order to be comfortable. Commune with nature and Mother Earth. It is the purest way to find that elusive Universal Energy and Connection that you seek. Love yourself. Just Be.
Peace,
G-
Gear List
Hyperlight Mountain Pack (one of the originals that Mike had given to me 2012 or so)
Warbonnet XLC with Tarp
Elightened Equipment Underquilt and Quilt
Snow Peak Ti mug
Petzl head lamp
Vargo Bot and Ti spork
Solo stove
Mir folding drip coffee holder
Goal Zero string light with battery
Hyperlight Camera Pod (AMAZING)
Really Right Stuff mini table top tripod with ball head
Benchmade Anonimus
Sawyer Filter
mini cook kit with spices, pot holder, cleanup rag, coffee grinder
syntetic puffy pants and top for camp
Ul camp chair
Food
Block of cheese
4 hard-boiled eggs
half a stick of butter
6 piece of pre cooked bacon for snacks
2 6oz Bison Fillets
3 Liters of water
2 coffee filters
50 grams of coffee beans
