I want to know why?

Monday, November 6, 2017

Dale ‘Greybeard’ Sanders broke a 13-year old record for oldest man to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in a single year in 2017.  He is 82.  And it’s not the first impressive, physical thing he has done.  In 2015, he became the oldest person to paddle the 2,300 miles of the Mississippi River.  In reading up on him, it became clear that he has spent his entire life physically active and constantly challenging himself and his body to do amazing feats.    His next endeavor will be to paddle the length of the Missouri River – a 3,800 mile quest.

Why?  What’s the point?  Couldn’t you just hike, bike, or paddle around the neighborhood every day and be equally as fit?  Of course you could.  So why does Dale do these things and more importantly to no one else but me, why do I want to do them?  I mean I really don’t know!

I had mentioned bragging rights a couple of days ago and in the context that hiking the Pacific Crest Trail just to brag about it was not nearly a good enough reason – or one that would get you to the finish line.  This written by an author who had hiked the Triple Crown of long-distance, American trails and was advising others on how to do any one of the three if that was their plan.  And it’s not the only reason I want to do it, though I am a bit of and ego maniac, I am just struggling with what goes on in my brain that makes me even think about doing it.

I think I may be looking for the thing to define myself and my existence.  For many decades now, I’ve been that fitness kook guy, always trying to do something no one else is doing.  I started on that path when I realized at an early age I was no more than an average athlete.  I didn’t hit a ball well, sink baskets with any regularity, or run particularly fast.  When I played, I won more than I lost, but not by much.  I was never going to beat those more gifted…or determined…or both.  Nope.  I could, however, go longer or do things no one else was doing and therefore be the best at it.

Am I still doing that?  I mean Tour Ohio was something I invented and then did.  Riding the perimeter of the state on a bike, kayaking some river from source to mouth and then hiking the Ohio/Erie Canal Towpath hadn’t been done so I tried doing it.  It was challenging…and fun…and something to build upon.

As I head into retirement, I know I need to stay busy…and active.  I do like to write and I love to inspire others and so if I can do inspirational things and then write about them so that someone will actually read them and act – well – that’s a pretty good thing.  At least I think it is.  In any event, I will continue to ponder why I do what I do and report back.  In the meantime, I hiked another three miles through the results of an overnight storm that blew down 25 trees on my trail.  That’s a lot of climbing over, under and around debris for me…and for Dakota.  It was a hell of a storm.  I pushed myself to 23,000 steps for the day and continued through six days well ahead of my goal of 20,000 a day for the month of November.  I have a long weekend coming up that will challenge the average though.  I will be driving to Georgia on Thursday to see Jack and then back on Sunday.  I see a few more 30,000-step days to make up for what I will miss.  Poor feet…
Hike: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate:  75 bpm.
Calories burned: 350.
Bonus: 23,000 steps.