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.

 

[C clearly]

My feet seem to be wearing out.

I don't mind too much. After my last Camino, I was unable to walk any distance comfortably. Now I am thrilled to have recovered the ability to walk 50 km/week at home (with toes taped, and the right shoes). I suspect that a month of 20-km days might set me back, so I will be modifying my Camino ambitions. It is more important to me to be able to walk enough at home to maintain my general fitness.

 

[Jodean]

What has happened to me over the last 8 years (am 69 now) is it got increasingly difficult to walk up hills and to walk long distances. Seems I have COPD and any kind of incline at all slows me down as pauses are needed every few minutes. Booking all my beds ahead of time, meant it was ok to walk really slow with everyone passing me, knowing that my bed was there. It relieved the stress and I had lovely walks each day. New people pretty much every day, so this was a bit sad, but I got used to it.

Arthritis in my knee showed up this past April and am still not sure if it would be ok to walk again. 10km walks here at home are exhausting me and painful at the end of the day.

Bag transport started in the middle of Camino #3 in 2022, recovering from a bad cold. It felt so delightful to lose a couple of kg from a 5.5kg pack, that it was an easy decision to bring a small bag along to use most days on my next 2 Caminos.

Was still ok sleeping in dorms until my last one, and unless the bed had curtains, it was less pleasant for me. Decided at my age with multiple bathroom visits (4-5x) every night that getting a private room would save the rest of the people in the dorm from this disturbance. Spent my winters looking at accomodation, finding albergues with private rooms or beds with curtains, or single beds, communal meals, and charm. Booked about half of them by email and the other half with booking dot com.

Next Caminos will need to be ones with very short days, 10km per day and with taxis planned for any hills. I still really, really, want to walk more Caminos and don't want to stop.

 

[Bob Howard]

I was 69 when I did my first Camino in 2016. 78 now--walked the Frances for the 5th time last summer, and scheduled for another this summer. In 2016 as well as 2018, I walked the Frances in 32/33 days. The last three times I have taken about 40 days, although I had a couple 30km days. So, although I could match my 69/71 year-old pace, after discovering the pleasure of a slow camino, I'm now a slow camino enthusiast. Having said all this, I am fully aware of and have observed the phenomenon, for me at least, that after 75, physical aging seems to greatly accelerate. I've finally started to have a knee issue. Not really painful enough to not walk--just a dull ache when I'm going downhill--but uncomfortable enough to get a steriod injection that last year that lasted about five months. I'll get another one for this summer. But I am under no illusion that I can outrun the relentless deterioration of advanced age. Fortunately my feet seem to be holding up for which I give credit the last few years to the best trail shoe I've ever had. I believe the OP, Robo, has used this same shoe--the Hoka Stinson 6. I would love to think that if I make it to 85, I could still walk a full Camino, although that's likely just wishful thinking.

 

[Robo]

Interesting insights so far. Thanks for sharing. I hope we get more.

I'm sure this will help some older first time Pilgrims who might read the thread.

As feet have come up. One thing I have noticed is that my feet really hurt once I reach about 20-25 kms. If I get close to 30 kms, it's really going to require a rest day to recover.

I understand, that it's because as we age, our feet lose their natural cushioning. At least that's what my podiatrist explained. Seems to make sense. So like you @Bob Howard I use the Hoka Stinson ATR 6 as it's about the most cushioned trail runner you can find! Sadly the new version (7) is not quite as well cushioned.

Like some of you, I manage the usual age related 'break downs'. Arthritic knees, tendon issues, cortisone injections and the like, but so far those are manageable.

Reducing body weight and pack weight I think were the main reasons my last Camino felt easier. Along with very cushioned shoes and good orthotics!

Certainly with Pat joining me for the next Camino, and the fact I like slow Caminos anyway, we'll probably aim for 20 kms or less per day. She's become very pack weight conscious knowing we are on a route with no pack transport

Let's hope we all have many more Caminos ahead of us!