Older Pilgrims - What gets harder? Is more 'Support' required?

[Robo]

What gets harder with age?

I'm "only" 68 this year. A youngster compared to many of our members I know. And I hope to have many more Caminos ahead of me. There are so many routes I still want to walk. But I'm also realistic and recognise that things are not going to get better physically and mentally......

So I'm just curious how some of our older members manage as they get older, or what things start to get harder.
Or what things finally stopped you.
It might also provide some useful discussion and insights for first time "older" Pilgrims.
Of course like all things, it's going to vary. Health, fitness and so on. It's not just about age.

As I was thinking ahead earlier today, I was trying to imagine what might get harder and how I would cope and yet still maintain the freedom and flexibility on Camino that we all enjoy.

My Pack. I'm not sure I would ever resort to pack transport, unless I really had back problems. I've managed to get my pack weight down over the years and could certainly get it down to about 5kgs if I had to. Not much more than a day pack really. Pack transport would just introduce something else to manage and worry about. And of course it's only available on the more popular routes anyway.

The Walking. I suppose daily distances will just get shorter. And maybe the more 'rugged' routes might be avoided.

Accommodation. We currently use a mix. Some Albergues, some private. More dictated by what is available, what looks a fun place and so on. I suppose that might gravitate more toward private accommodation if health and mobility were an issue. Climbing into bunks, dealing with health issues etc. I can still manage a top bunk OK.

Booking. We currently book one or two days ahead or not at all. I'd like to think that would continue, but I'm certainly not as sharp as I was mentally 10 years ago. I recognise that. Maybe that gets harder? Though I can't ever see a day we would use a Tour Company. Not 'having a go' at those who use them or need them, but I suspect that if I found that was the only way to still walk a Camino, I might throw in the towel. Of course I might change my mind if it got to that point!

Travel to and From. That might be the thing that stops me! 22+ hours flying. and the expense of it....

Overall Health. Is probably the major show stopper? Just not being able to do it any more physically.

Your thoughts?

If you are an older Pilgrim, what gets harder to cope with?

Edited to add an afterthought.
As I look back on my last Camino, that was close to 1200 kms, it was actually far easier than my first Camino 10 years ago (Frances from St Jean). Though I expect that trend won't last much longer!

 

[J Willhaus]

MORE DIFFICULT:
1.The hills get harder.
2.I walk slower.
3.I have a lot more pills and potions and a CPAP to carry.
4.In general, I am less tolerant of putting up with other people's idiotic nonsense.

NICER:
1.I don't worry about how I look anymore.
2.I have more life experience to help me cope with new situations.
3.People sometimes kindly give up their seat or the bottom bunk and I can still graciously decline if I want (I'm still fit enough for a top bunk.)
4.I can feign the need to withdraw to get my old lady rest when people are being idiotic.

 

[domigee]

Just don't think about it and go for it. You'll know when you HAVE to stop.;-)

 

[dbier]

I expect that reasons for changing/stopping depend very much on the individual, and they *may* share their decisions.

From what I recall reading, onset/worsening of degenerative neuron diseases (Parkinsons, MS, MG, even essential tremor no longer controlled by medication) tends to stop walkers. When you can no longer maintain your balance reliably, or walk when tired without tripping and falling, or dress and/ or toilet yourself reliably...well, you get the idea.

Similarly, if a chronic fatigue condition worsens, and you can no longer be assured that you will wake up with enough spoons of energy to do more than crawl to the toilet....

Or if your chronic disease is no longer controllable by medication. A dear friend of my husband's became a brittle diabetic, which probably killed him ( died in his sleep). He could never be assured from moment to moment that he would not go dangerously hypoglycemic.

Finally, I suspect that if you love the walking enough, you'll pack transport, make reservations, stick to flatter walks, whatever it takes to keep walking. When your mind and soul finally decide that this is no longer something " they" want to do, then you'll stop.

And you cannot and should not make those decisions for anyone else.

Buena suerte.

 

[HBS60]

I’m a bit younger than you, (I’ll be 65 next week) and so far, so good, although I did notice I was much slower than the younger Pilgrims, and balance was a problem over those rocks. I had a couple close calls but thankfully my poles prevented a couple nasty falls. I did witness a couple bad falls in people much younger than me, which motivated me to be even more careful.

While my mind is still sharp, I worry about future cognitive decline which might lead to confusion, getting lost, etc. The risk of dehydration goes up with several medications, not a good thing out there in the middle of nowhere. It’s easy to have mental status changes when dehydrated, and the risk is worse the older we get and with certain meds. Carrying my cPAP machine made it much harder, so eventually I relented and started to use the luggage service. I wanted to tough it out, but I reminded myself that I’m not required to carry a heavy backpack. I was only required to walk, and that’s what I did, so it wasn’t a dealbreaker for me.