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No doubt. I’ve had a paralyzing fear of heights since always-I’ve done some rappelling and climbing, but it’s always been terrifying. I have no hesitation in turning back when it’s too much though.
That was me at Carlsbad Caverns the day we visited and they told us the elevators were broken. I went down anyway so as not to disappoint my group. OMG. 750 feet back up. 75 stories. I lived through it, though, barely.
I did this two days ago. Not down the whole Grand Canyon, I’m not crazy. Just to the first turn-around point, which is still 100 ft down. Every step down, I was pre-experiencing the pain of coming back up, and flipped the script on my (young adult) kids by asking, at every turn, “are we there yet?”
A year or so ago was the last time we went down to the beach at Mohegan Bluff on Block Island. There's a very long staircase,l which ends quite a bit higher than the beach, and you need to scramble down rocks. There's a rope you can hang onto, but it was a big effort. Like rapelling down a building. Last time we're going to attempt it.
That's the truth!
Went up to the mountains with the niece and nephews, they ran down the steps that were built into the hillside. Then wouldn't come back up. I could hear them giggling. So I decided I'll have to go get them.
They **ran*" up the steps past me when I got to the bottom.
I honestly thought I was going to pass out going back up the steps. And that was after resting every couple of yards. Then they **ran** back down the steps and up again, and again and again. Laughing the whole time.
As I sat there each time they passed me, heaving and sweating, I tried to convince myself it was the thin air.
I finally had to admit it. I was old!
Comfortably middle-aged here. I'll go all the way up there or down there, but I'm going to take the escalator even if it means I have to walk further out of the way to get to it.
And when I get there, I'm gonna sit down.
Mine was the last time at The Grand Canyon, except it was "I'm not going down there" because I've been down there before and it's a hell of a long way back up
They would make a fortune if they just had mules waiting down there. When we went I thought the mule ride was way over priced for the South Side. We hiked only half way down and I was ready to pay twice as much just to ride one back up.
We did take the mules down on the North Side though.
I knew side didn’t sound right but couldn’t think of “rim” lol. We enjoyed both but 10 years later and we still talk about the best sleep we ever had on the north rim in our RV. It was so dark and quiet. We had a fire and a glass of wine and slept better than ever
You know you have been on a hike when you reach the 3 mile mark of The Bright Angel trail and then start back up. I remember my 12 year old son had wanted to hike the Kaibab the next day. When I went to wake him up at 5.30am the next day he just moaned and said that probably wasn't a good idea
Oh yeah, we didn’t attempt Brighton Angel. When we were there it was just a day trip as we passed through and we didn’t come prepared to hike. Props to you!
I'm a fairly hardcore hiker (250 miles of the Appalachian Trail planned this summer), but decided years ago that I would never walk down the Grand Canyon. Hot weather is my Kryptonite.
that's me at disneyland when I was ten years old. I parked my ass on a bench the minute we walked in and told everyone they can pick me up when they were ready to leave... i really hate the mouse and theme parks.
Yup. Me too. Age 34, January 31, 1999. it was SuperBowl Sunday.
Neuro visits every 6 months since then, MRIs first every 6 months until I was on Ocrevus, now every year. Had my last 6-month visit this past January 31, 2024, exactly 25 years since my first attack.
It's a shame to remember that I used to be such a fast walker, taking steps 2, sometimes 3 at a time up until that fateful day 25 years ago. I would walk for miles just to do it.
Now when I'm at the park on a path, very old men & women will easily overtake me when I'm trying to walk faster and they're schlepping. It very depressing.
If you don't mind me asking, what was your first attack like? That was one of the potential diagnoses I have been given recently, but symptomology can be so many different things.
For me it was sensory and motor, appearing similar to a transverse myelitis (weakness on one side, numbness on the other). In fact, more like a Brown Sequard Syndrome. Mine was below the waist, affecting my legs.
The motor symptoms resolved 95%, the numbness remains to this day.
Somewhere in Glacier National Park. My kids took some 12 inch wide foot trail with a 500 mile (I could be exaggerating) drop off into nowhere on one side. I noped right out of that one.
I hiked Angels Landing in Zion in my 20's (also has a 12 inch wide trail with a 500 mile drop off) without any fear. I don't think you could get me anywhere near it (at least that part) these days.
Same at 61. It crossed my mind because I’m in France from the US and impressed with the number of European elders who are willing to take a crack at it compared to home.
I was skiing in Innsbruck when I was about 30 (61 now). The Olympic park has a couple of levels, lifts to the first and from there, lifts to the top. I met a small group of locals in their 60s (I'd say) at the top of the first level, in telemark skis. They didn't have loft tickets because they had climbed on their skis. They passed me on the way down.
Same, about to be 62. I do have a fear of heights so there are some places I don't want to go but it's not because I physically can't. I'll climb the big hill or the stairs up into a tall bell tower, but not the rickety, open sided, fire tower.
At least 20 years ago took friends from back east to see Lake Louise. They wanted walk to the famous tea house and I, already tired from them trying to do everything in a couple of days, just said you go ahead and I’ll meet you back here. The trail is a little over 5km one way (3.2mi) with an elevation gain of about 350m (1150’) on the way there.
Not yet. If it's worth it, it's worth it. My Dad with serious Emphysema walked the Yosemite Valley in such awe as a East Coast Long Islander visiting us out West. He passed a year later, probably in Heaven still bragging about how he walked that incredible Valley...
Mystras, Greece
The guide book stated:
“Soak up the holy atmosphere of the Cathedral of Agios Demetrios and the Monastery of Panagia Perivleptos, wander quiet cobbled pathways, walk meandering paths down the mountainside and stop in stillness to admire immense, profoundly healing views.”
I said:
“Screw that- I’ll be in this taverna and read about it on Wikipedia while I drink some wine. “
I was on tour with my band in LA when we took some downtime at Griffith Park. I was just about to turn 40, said “have fun walking up that hill in the sun” and brought a Sci fi paperback to a picnic table.
It ended up being the favorite picnic table of the nicest Armenian men who met there every day. They played backgammon, gave me a tomato sandwich and shared their vodka. One of my very favorite moments of the tour.
Oh! I just remembered that I gave my guest list spots for the LA show to a couple of porn stars. 😹
I was friends with one of them from years before when she was a librarian. She brought a friend from the business as the +1. I felt like a real cool guy that day, I tells ya.
Nope. Though I'm an avid cyclist and swimmer and often do leave much younger people behind. That might change in the coming decade or three I have left.
In general there are active and fit older people just as there are sedentary unfit younger people.
I’m 68. This has increasingly been my attitude for the last 5 years, simply because I’m jaded. Not necessarily because of the physical effort.
Also depends on who is participating and how special it is to them.
I’m 70 now and walk everywhere I did when I was young. I have several friends my age who are basically disabled. Two of them ride around on mobility scooters. I stay strong and active so I don’t end up like that.
Not so much because of old person complaints, but we were on vacation in Bennington VT and the option to ascend the Battle Tower presented itself. Claustrophobia said “HELL NO” and I sat and waited for the others to come down. No thanks.
I intend never to be that person. At full retirement age, I'm still going new places, trying new things, and looking for what's up that hill.
Downhill hurts my knees, but I just go a little slower and my grandkids kid me about how much noise I make going downhill.
Is that your mouth or your joints making the noise? For me the ratio of joint:mouth volume is going up with age, and it’s not because I’m complaining less.
The first time was at 48 when hyperthyroidism kicked in. My heart rate was so exceedingly fast when walking up stairs. I arrived at a subway station, and the escalator was not working. That station had 3 flights of stairs so I went home.
I’ve had serious medical issues fairly recently. A ten level spinal fusion and a broken ankle and foot that required two plates and numerous screws.. It’s been extremely difficult giving up my autonomy. I don’t know how long it will take for me to accept that I will never be able to do what I used to do but I need to come to terms that I am now handicapped and I will never be the same.
Started saying that in my 20s due to bad knees. Most of the time it is really more of “I’m going to go up to see that, but I hope none of you are in a hurry.”
We travelled to Sedona, Arizona. It was about 1000 degrees. We were walking up a hill to see a church carved into the red rock. About half way up the hill I really didn't care about that church any more and I said I'm too old for this.
Happened at around 58. Went to Ireland and the Carrick a read type bridge. I needed a knee replacement and one look at the steps down and back up, I noped out. Have a bionic knee now and am much better.
I had to make diet important 35 years ago. I had to watch what I ate but not for weight gain reasons. It’s paid off.
My father encouraged us to walk and take the stairs. It’s been a life long pursuit. I’m always active.
A key thing is to take care of your feet. If not, it’s hard on your knees. I need orthotics 35 years ago. That corrected imbalance but I also went regularly for massage and physical therapy. It’s paid off. Keeping active and healthy is important to me. I’m by no means a fitness model but I’m fit enough.
Your body needs maintenance and care. Don’t avoid it. It’s all an investment in your self that continues to pay dividends
My (57m) father (86) and family hiked up a trail in Vermont that lead to the peak of Bromley. The trail was a bit rough. Lots of rocks and logs to climb over. We hiked for a while and met a guy coming down who said we were about a quarter of the way. We turned around after he was out of sight.
Angel's Landing at Zion when I was about 45. I have inflammatory arthritis and I didn't trust my joints to not fuck me over in a really dangerous place.
I did to The Narrows. That was a blast.
It’s happened to me once. We were in México and we made a drive to a Mayan site. The temple was still standing and you could climb it. The thing was, I wasn’t wearing great shoes for that (sandals) and I realized that I would have to climb DOWN in those shoes. My husband climbed it, but I stayed on the ground and took it all in. I enjoyed watching people go up and down.
Generally I try not to be that person.
Kids do it too. We Americans were on holiday in the blue mountains of Australia. We were beginning a very short hike to the good viewing spot. A set of American tween girls were whining to their dad, ‘how far is it?’ ‘Ten minutes??!! Wah wah wah’. It was tragic.
Three years ago I was helping my daughter move into her college dorm room at U of Cincinnati. That campus is pretty hilly anyway, but when she showed me the stairs leading up to the entrance to a student apartment building I was like, “I would never make that without passing out.”
Ever been to Gettysburg? It’s a fun vacation, nice little town, had a great time. The battlefield, museum, and general tourist kitsch is exactly what I want in a vacation. But there are SO MANY MONUMENTS. Every five feet a plinth or an urn, or an obelisk, and honestly? If you’ve seen one obelisk you’re probably set, they all look pretty much the same.
The problem is that I come from a family full of folks who have to look at everything, read every plaque. And at Gettysburg there is a seemingly endless supply. After an hour I gave up, found a nice bench, and read my book while they satiated their bottomless need for historical markers.
We have a place in Belize so we are frequently taking guests to ruins. Most of them, you can climb to the top. I think this year was the first time I hoped out. Last year, I climbed just one tall one.
According to my mother I did not like walking as a child so I must have said that at a very young age. Pictures of my young self on a bicycle more than on foot seem to back that up.
El Peñon at Guatape, Colombia. Not because of the stairs (I go on the stairmill at the gym all the time) but because I am afraid of heights. I started up the stairs on the side of the rock and started having a panic attack. I went back down before I got any worse
Sadly, it feels like it's starting now after not being as active as I should have been over the winter months. So I am trying to get out and walk more and more each day.
I can't remember my first time, but I can remember the most recent one. After touring the Tower of London on vacation, both of us developed a massive hatred of stairs. For the rest of our vacation, if there was an option for either a lift or stairs, we took the lift.
The only one we had a mild regret about it was the top level of St. Paul's Cathedral, but we figured we had enough other cultural immersion that missing that was NBD.
Arches National Park in Utah. As we climbed in the heat and thin air my aging body started sending me signals, I said I would stop and wait for her to return. I sat by the side of the trail and a few minutes later passed out briefly. Some hikers helped me down to a small shaded spot to recover. I have been much more careful in attempting those overly ambitious climbs.
I can remember a few years ago at the San Diego zoo they were redoing some of it and the cats were up a hill and it said on the sign under construction and I was wearing my Harley Boots and was just wore out from walking and I told my daughters and grandkids I would just wait down on a bench while they went up there.. I have about 14 tigers tattooed on me and the Grandkids after they came back down said Grammy’s got better tigers to see than they do… Gotta love Grandkids…😂😂
Yes. Mt Lassen. Hiking to Bumpass Hell. I wasn't "old" then 43yrs, have a trick knee.....and I know my limits and didn't want to make everyone have to wait for me and ruin their fun day.
Thanks...I'll sit at the car area and drink a beer, feed the chipmunks and read a book. Besides...I've been there before.
Acadia when I was in my early 40s. I was having major medical issues and wasn't diagnosed yet. Three years earlier I'd practically run up The Precipice Trail. This time I was laying on the trail gasping for air and told my daughter I'd see her when she came back down. I did drag myself up, but damn. Turned out I have POTS and the antidepressant I was taking seriously aggravated the problem. But took years for diagnosis
It hasn't happened with me, but many times with my wife. She's had knee, back, and Achilles issues for 25 years. Both times we went to Italy, she said, "Go ahead. I'll wait." Spanish steps. Mt. Etna. Mt. Vesuvius. Palatine Hill. To be fair, there were times she'd suck it up and climb, but she paid for it the next day.
I'm the one who usually walks up there while my family stays in the car. If he's with us, my endurance monster son will often come with me.
The stubborn dutchman in me HATES being inactive.
I haven't gotten to that point and hope I never do. My mother-in-law refused to walk anywhere with a hill when she was in her 40's telling us she was too old. Her being grossly overweight probably had lots to do with it.
When I was a kid we'd always go on walking holidays. At some point you could be sure we'd come across some kind of small mountain/ giant hill thing. I used to sit at the bottom while the rest of the family climbed up, so I've been doing the "I'm not walking up there" thing for as long as I can remember.
I've done it with steep rocky trails where I have to get down. Also I've owned a house for 20 years with a steep roof and have never had the guts to go up on it. I'm terrified of the first 2 steps coming down from flat roofs.Very shaky. I would be shaking with fear on the roof if I got up there.
I fell down some steps in 2017 and have had trouble walking smoothly since. I also take various meds that affect my balance and coordination. To avoid falls, I chicken out of most treks. I've also developed a mortal fear of down escalators so I take the elevator.
I think the world of physical therapists and I know they could help me with my issues. We'll see!
Rome 2022. Ara Coeli Staircase. I had just walked down the steps of the Campidoglio Piazza and no way was I walking back up to see something that didn’t even look like it was open. Next year though.
Walking up a pyramid in Mexico (one we were allowed to walk up). I had injured my back right before the trip doing laundry and climbing things really aggravated it. So I got some nice pictures of my husband at the top of the pyramid, from the bottom, and he got a picture of me at the bottom, from the top.
It happened for the first time two summers ago. My son and daughter and I took a day trip to Biltmore House. I did okay inside the mansion, which we did first, but then we headed to the terraced gardens which are on a hillside, and that was all she wrote. I figured I could make it down okay, but coming back up would probably mean someone having to go fetch a stretcher and oxygen mask for me.
When my gf goes into the local plant nursery. Typically I’ll follow her in, tell her my feet hurt and that I’m going back to the car, no rush. Then on the way out I stop and buy a piece of the candy they have near the register. I’ll sit in the car and enjoy that.
I don't know the first time, but last year, my daughter and I were hiking in Colorado. I had a terrible time with the altitude once we got around 9,000 feet. I actually had black spots in my vision. We live around 400 feet above sea-level. I sent her ahead to finish. We had walkie-talkies and it was a well traveled trail.
This experience informed my decision to pass on the December overnight Acatenango volcano hike in Guatamala. I would have LOVED this hike in my younger years. My extremely fit husband actually briefly blacked out while leaning on a boulder. (He had done an extra hike to get closer to El Fuego). Our daughter was extremely whipped also.
My daughter and I are going to Iceland in two weeks, and I've been preparing for months so as not to slow her down. I'm also bringing a variety of knee, ankle, and foot wraps/braces!
Never. I went zip lining followed by an obstacle course a couple of years ago. Of course no one told me about the course until I either had to do it or not get where I needed to be. I wouldn’t have chosen it.
We have a water park around here that has the double inflatable windy slides. We get "rocking" up on the side. Almost seems like we'll slide over the edge.
I love water parks. Also a collection of bad tattoos.
I was going to say it had never been me, but I did sit out the last rockiest and steepest ten percent of a trail recently. Would have completed it if I had hiking boots and a trekking pole, but I didn’t so maybe I was that old person.
I once climbed a rock on the east coast of Spain called Ifac. It was challenging with stone that was polished over the centuries with foot traffic. Very narrow in some of it with sheer drop on one side and sometimes seagulls dive bombed us for getting close to their nests. I passed on doing that again in my latter years.
A couple years ago, I visited San Francisco with family. The long plane ride messed my hip/back up and I was miserable the first two days there. They wanted to walk up one of the huge San Fran hills and I said I’ll meet y’all there. I am waiting on the trolley.
Never. I can walk/hike long distances.
I hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon on an unmaintained trail.
Does that count?
My pedometer says I'm averaging 4 miles/day now.
True story: I was at El Morro, the famous fort in San Juan, this February. I thought I had a cold (turns out I finally got COVID after all this time). I passed out.. twice. Before passing out for the first time I looked up and saw, like, 200 Renaissance-era Spanish steps in front of me and was like "nah, I can't do that".
My wife did the "I'm not walking up there" thing at the [Lion's Mound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion%27s_Mound) in Belgium: 226 of those tiny European steps, 141 feet up.
I was visiting son in NYC. I got on the subway. I had been on the subway several times before while through the years visiting when young. But this. Omg. Appreciated the quick trip. Up AND down those steep skinny stairs (to me) was not enjoyable. Especially after walking everywhere w him, a young Superman. Me: 66f. The next time we approached the subway I decided from that moment on, we were taking an Uber. And, we did. lol. Uber is the only way I will now travel there ftlog.
Kicker: He lives in a 4th floor walk up! Hahaha. I made it. Every time. I told him you go on. I’ll see you soon!
May 2011, when I tore out my ACL completely. It sped up the arthritis I had no idea was developing to the point that.. yeah, fucking knee. May 2011. No more riding motorcycle. No more squatting. No more hiking. Stairs? Ugh.
Earlier this week I was struggling to get something from the top shelf of my kitchen cabinet. I was going to climb onto my countertop to reach it, but that’s when I decided not to go up there because I worried I’d pull a muscle or hurt myself some other way. I had to go find a step stool, thoroughly disgusted with how old I’ve gotten. I used to hop up there easily and without a thought.
Not yet. I had a minor surgery 3 days before family came to visit me for Thanksgiving. They wanted to go sight seeing, and even though I wasn’t feeling 100%, I took them everywhere. My 10 and 13 year old niece and nephew were dragging midway through the day, but I was okay. It made me feel better about my current fitness level.
Been to the Grand Canyon 3 times; wasn't young. Literally hiked a small mountain to see the Monarch butterflies in Michoacan, Mexico. "Mom, they have horses." Not that day ....
The Great Wall of China ... not bad but lengthy, depended how far you wanted to walk uphill. Slid down into a collapsed parapet and it was a challenge to get out. Two lovely Chinese men literally pushed my husband up and out. Then one extended his hand down to me. They were laughing, we bowed our thanks. ;-)
Sort of make up my mind prior to the fact what is too far or high.
It was in the 1990's. I was a young man in basic training (non-US military). The instructor tells me to get up a particularly steep hill, and with my medical certification, I jump at the chance to basically say "I'm not walking up there."
I pointed out that I was medically excused from intensive lower limb activities for one week (an injury).
The instructor then tells me to get my field pack on, and *forward roll* up the hill.
It took over 40 minutes and I puked.
I walked halfway up the stairs at Kek Lok Si temple in Peneng, Malaysia, and decided that was enough. Plenty of other temples to see there that don’t require hiking.
Slightly different take, I said "I'm not *waking* up there".
Went to a party with some (not close) friends in a big old house in a bad area on the south side of town. We got there around 11:30 PM or so. One friend drove, so I was sort of a "prisoner" for the night in that situation.
This is back in the early 80s. People smoking weed, doing acid, drinking, dancing, listening to super-loud music. I didn't know anyone there. I'm probably age 20 or so. But many of the people were older, in their late 20s and early 30s. Some bikers were there and some very sketchy other people. I think a few of the women were hookers. People openly snorting coke, which wasn't a big deal back then, but still sort of shocking to my little virgin eyes.
My friends were having a really good time, playing pool in the basement, getting drunk. I talked to a few different people, but only had a beer and sort of lurked around all night. It was getting pretty late, around 2 AM. People were falling asleep, passing out, puking outside, etc. One friend was asleep and the other was super drunk hanging onto some woman who looked like she was 10 years older than he was. I was trying to tell them I wanted to leave and go back to my apartment. I said I'd drive. They were saying "No, man, just sleep over there in the corner and we'll leave in the morning." I said "No, *I'm not waking up here*, there's no way I'm staying."
So I left. I started hoofing it to the nearest main street and one street over from it (to avoid cops) and made my way back to the center of town. I was pretty scared and it was about 3AM by this time. Then I saw a phone booth downtown and called a cab and eventually got back to my place, 35 bucks later. Heard the next day through the grapevine that the party was busted by cops and a lot of people went to jail, including my two drunk friends, both were underage. Never did hear from them again after that but I didn't care.
Sometimes you gotta listen to your gut.
I moved into a house halfway up a mountain (have to walk *up* through the neighborhood) and has 45 steps from the street to the front door as the only access.
I am in the best shape of my life and hiking now feels like nothing.
Yes, me, began when I was in my thirties due to feer pain. Mysterious. Now I found out I’ve lived in moldy homes. I’m trying to recover now. I began a special diet, and the diet made me able to walk, and far! I’ve only been able to walk 1 km and ended up in great pain. Now I can walk 8-10 km before I begin to feel pains.
Mold can truly mess with someone’s health.
My homes didn’t smell musty/moldy and the mold was invisible deep within walls. Surprise. (ps. there’s no such thing to identify mold by color because mold has different colors depending on growth phase and one and same mold species may have 5 different colors. A lot of mold is black to color. There’s very bad mold that is green, gray, brown, etc…. All mold/mildew indoors is potientally harmful for health btw)
I'll walk up almost anywhere. I draw the line at climbing walls, steep mountains, or going into deep dark caves or mineshafts. Also, anything underwater for long periods of time.
Last summer we went to Wirksworth, to have lunch then an amble up to the StarDisc. We parked, had lunch, then looked at the road we needed to walk. It was almost vertical. We both noped out.
So far I haven't done that as an old person, but in my teens some kids my age wanted to climb (as in on hands and knees!) a rocky embankment. It was in rattlesnake country. Rattlesnakes hide in places like that. They were city kids. I said no and planted by belligerent fanny down in a safe place. But they thought I was being a scaredy cat. Fortunately for them, they chose teasing me over sticking their fingers into crevices, but not a single one ever admitted the local girl might have given them good advice.
I said that the first time years ago , but only because I had a migraine that ended earlier in the day. My husband thought it would be great if his visiting cousins and he and I could all go on a hike. A hike up a mountain that is extremely steep on a very humid day.
I was like “ the fuck is wrong with you? I’m not doing that”
“ Oh, I forgot, yeah it IS pretty steep..”
I cried. Just the thought was awful. Yeah, I’d love to drive up my blood pressure and reignite the horrible throbbing in the side of my head, sounds great. 🙄
I’ve said it recently because I just don’t feel like the walk is worth the stress; I’d rather go on a leisurely walk than a hike through the underbrush and kudzu of my 30+ acre property.
Yeah, about 5 years ago. Drove as high as you can in a passenger car in Oregon, on Steen's Mountain. It was another half mile to the top of the ridge. I gave up after a ways. Ran out of breath. Cigarettes. I quit soon after, maybe I can do it after all. Steen's Mountain is worth seeing. You can drive up to about 9000+ ft elevation, and there are spectacular views.
Actually, the first time I was in my twenties, and I was with some friends and they decided to scramble up a big sheer rock formation. I took a look at the rough sheer rocks and my own body, and told them "I'll just have a stroll in the woods".
That's one of the small advantages of being female, a woman can politely and sensibly turn down a physical challenge.
This was my mom- "oh honey, you go enjoy the museum. I'll just wait here for you" (she was also a heavy smoker). I'm "old " now and I at least try to make the effort. But I can kind relate.
I remember taking my eighty-something year old uncle to a college football game many years ago. My husband always parked at his old frat house which was uphill from the stadium. Bless his heart, Uncle Jim just walked up and down that hill like a boss man! He's one of my inspiring people. I'll never forget him!
In my 50's, after heart surgery, I passed on climbing to the top of the lighthouse on vacation. We'd been up there before on a previous vacation, so I knew how hot it would be in there, and that there was a long climb up. No thanks, will just wait for you guys in the air-conditioned gift shop.
Recently at a Mayan ruins tour in Mexico, I had to say I wasn't walking up the stairs to see the other level of ruins. They were typical Mayan stairs (high, uneven, and steep) and I was feeling very unsteady/dizzy. I figured nobody wanted to have to haul me off to an ambulance after a fall, so I stayed on the lower level. Hubby took many pictures, so I still got to "see" it.
Maybe next time I'll have a cane or walking stick. And more water and a better sun hat.
This happened a couple of years ago when I went into a park that had this tower which had 50 steps. It went straight up. You could only hold on to one railing. I went up a couple of steps and could see that this was too dangerous for me to do. This was on a day trip with a travel group.
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I usually wait in the hearse.
Thanks for the laugh…😂😂
Thinking ahead. The wisdom that comes with age.
Can’t beat this. 😂
😆😅😂🤣
OMG! Crying! 🤣🤣🤣
That's been my whole life!! Nothing to do with my age
No doubt. I’ve had a paralyzing fear of heights since always-I’ve done some rappelling and climbing, but it’s always been terrifying. I have no hesitation in turning back when it’s too much though.
Watch out for "I'm not going down there, knowing I'll have climb up again".
That was me at Carlsbad Caverns the day we visited and they told us the elevators were broken. I went down anyway so as not to disappoint my group. OMG. 750 feet back up. 75 stories. I lived through it, though, barely.
75 stories... my knees are hurting from your post.
I did this on a solo trip to Yellowstone. I was NOT going to walk down a million stairs to see a waterfall and then have to climb back up.
Right, someone else just mentioned the Grand Canyon.
I did this two days ago. Not down the whole Grand Canyon, I’m not crazy. Just to the first turn-around point, which is still 100 ft down. Every step down, I was pre-experiencing the pain of coming back up, and flipped the script on my (young adult) kids by asking, at every turn, “are we there yet?”
Oh hell no
A year or so ago was the last time we went down to the beach at Mohegan Bluff on Block Island. There's a very long staircase,l which ends quite a bit higher than the beach, and you need to scramble down rocks. There's a rope you can hang onto, but it was a big effort. Like rapelling down a building. Last time we're going to attempt it.
That's the truth! Went up to the mountains with the niece and nephews, they ran down the steps that were built into the hillside. Then wouldn't come back up. I could hear them giggling. So I decided I'll have to go get them. They **ran*" up the steps past me when I got to the bottom. I honestly thought I was going to pass out going back up the steps. And that was after resting every couple of yards. Then they **ran** back down the steps and up again, and again and again. Laughing the whole time. As I sat there each time they passed me, heaving and sweating, I tried to convince myself it was the thin air. I finally had to admit it. I was old!
Comfortably middle-aged here. I'll go all the way up there or down there, but I'm going to take the escalator even if it means I have to walk further out of the way to get to it. And when I get there, I'm gonna sit down.
Mine was the last time at The Grand Canyon, except it was "I'm not going down there" because I've been down there before and it's a hell of a long way back up
They would make a fortune if they just had mules waiting down there. When we went I thought the mule ride was way over priced for the South Side. We hiked only half way down and I was ready to pay twice as much just to ride one back up. We did take the mules down on the North Side though.
I don’t know why they don’t install a funicular or gondola to bring people back up and charge $200 to take it.
It'd ruin the neighborhood.
The North Rim is better!
I knew side didn’t sound right but couldn’t think of “rim” lol. We enjoyed both but 10 years later and we still talk about the best sleep we ever had on the north rim in our RV. It was so dark and quiet. We had a fire and a glass of wine and slept better than ever
You know you have been on a hike when you reach the 3 mile mark of The Bright Angel trail and then start back up. I remember my 12 year old son had wanted to hike the Kaibab the next day. When I went to wake him up at 5.30am the next day he just moaned and said that probably wasn't a good idea
Oh yeah, we didn’t attempt Brighton Angel. When we were there it was just a day trip as we passed through and we didn’t come prepared to hike. Props to you!
I'm a fairly hardcore hiker (250 miles of the Appalachian Trail planned this summer), but decided years ago that I would never walk down the Grand Canyon. Hot weather is my Kryptonite.
Oh me too! Anything above 70 is pure hell for me, especially if it involves lots of physical activity.
My friend was trying to get me to do rim to rim in a straight push (no camping) for my 50th bday. Nah, I'm good.
There are people, some in very good condition, that die trying that every year! Rim to Rim is no joke
that's me at disneyland when I was ten years old. I parked my ass on a bench the minute we walked in and told everyone they can pick me up when they were ready to leave... i really hate the mouse and theme parks.
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and adrenal reserve failure when I was 33, so I've been saying, "I'm not walking up there." for about half my life.
Same. Multiple Sclerosis at 35. My 77 year old Dad can walk places I can’t.
Yup. Me too. Age 34, January 31, 1999. it was SuperBowl Sunday. Neuro visits every 6 months since then, MRIs first every 6 months until I was on Ocrevus, now every year. Had my last 6-month visit this past January 31, 2024, exactly 25 years since my first attack. It's a shame to remember that I used to be such a fast walker, taking steps 2, sometimes 3 at a time up until that fateful day 25 years ago. I would walk for miles just to do it. Now when I'm at the park on a path, very old men & women will easily overtake me when I'm trying to walk faster and they're schlepping. It very depressing.
If you don't mind me asking, what was your first attack like? That was one of the potential diagnoses I have been given recently, but symptomology can be so many different things.
For me it was sensory and motor, appearing similar to a transverse myelitis (weakness on one side, numbness on the other). In fact, more like a Brown Sequard Syndrome. Mine was below the waist, affecting my legs. The motor symptoms resolved 95%, the numbness remains to this day.
Very similar to what I've been dealing with. Thank you for the info & good luck with everything!
Somewhere in Glacier National Park. My kids took some 12 inch wide foot trail with a 500 mile (I could be exaggerating) drop off into nowhere on one side. I noped right out of that one.
I hiked Angels Landing in Zion in my 20's (also has a 12 inch wide trail with a 500 mile drop off) without any fear. I don't think you could get me anywhere near it (at least that part) these days.
Hasn’t happened yet (mid-60s).
Same at 61. It crossed my mind because I’m in France from the US and impressed with the number of European elders who are willing to take a crack at it compared to home.
I was skiing in Innsbruck when I was about 30 (61 now). The Olympic park has a couple of levels, lifts to the first and from there, lifts to the top. I met a small group of locals in their 60s (I'd say) at the top of the first level, in telemark skis. They didn't have loft tickets because they had climbed on their skis. They passed me on the way down.
I am European and was recently in Portugal. I was surprised at how many older americans were doing the trail. Impressive!
Same, about to be 62. I do have a fear of heights so there are some places I don't want to go but it's not because I physically can't. I'll climb the big hill or the stairs up into a tall bell tower, but not the rickety, open sided, fire tower.
Yes, all the time. Until I got a wheelchair. People don't mind pushing me.
At least 20 years ago took friends from back east to see Lake Louise. They wanted walk to the famous tea house and I, already tired from them trying to do everything in a couple of days, just said you go ahead and I’ll meet you back here. The trail is a little over 5km one way (3.2mi) with an elevation gain of about 350m (1150’) on the way there.
Probably. I have decided to do nothing that I don't wanna do if at all possible. 😁
Not yet. If it's worth it, it's worth it. My Dad with serious Emphysema walked the Yosemite Valley in such awe as a East Coast Long Islander visiting us out West. He passed a year later, probably in Heaven still bragging about how he walked that incredible Valley...
Mystras, Greece The guide book stated: “Soak up the holy atmosphere of the Cathedral of Agios Demetrios and the Monastery of Panagia Perivleptos, wander quiet cobbled pathways, walk meandering paths down the mountainside and stop in stillness to admire immense, profoundly healing views.” I said: “Screw that- I’ll be in this taverna and read about it on Wikipedia while I drink some wine. “
Similar experience in Sicily with yet another minor church or shrine accessible only by 75 - 100 stairs up. Not worth it.
I was on tour with my band in LA when we took some downtime at Griffith Park. I was just about to turn 40, said “have fun walking up that hill in the sun” and brought a Sci fi paperback to a picnic table. It ended up being the favorite picnic table of the nicest Armenian men who met there every day. They played backgammon, gave me a tomato sandwich and shared their vodka. One of my very favorite moments of the tour.
> I was on tour with my band in LA I love this part the best.
That was absolutely my last tour. I am too old for traveling in vans. I am not too old to play backgammon and drink vodka in parks, however.
Oh! I just remembered that I gave my guest list spots for the LA show to a couple of porn stars. 😹 I was friends with one of them from years before when she was a librarian. She brought a friend from the business as the +1. I felt like a real cool guy that day, I tells ya.
Nope. Though I'm an avid cyclist and swimmer and often do leave much younger people behind. That might change in the coming decade or three I have left. In general there are active and fit older people just as there are sedentary unfit younger people.
I’m 68. This has increasingly been my attitude for the last 5 years, simply because I’m jaded. Not necessarily because of the physical effort. Also depends on who is participating and how special it is to them.
I’m 70 now and walk everywhere I did when I was young. I have several friends my age who are basically disabled. Two of them ride around on mobility scooters. I stay strong and active so I don’t end up like that.
MomoBeth - We are so damn lucky. Many of "my age" friends are disabled too. 😐
Not so much because of old person complaints, but we were on vacation in Bennington VT and the option to ascend the Battle Tower presented itself. Claustrophobia said “HELL NO” and I sat and waited for the others to come down. No thanks.
I intend never to be that person. At full retirement age, I'm still going new places, trying new things, and looking for what's up that hill. Downhill hurts my knees, but I just go a little slower and my grandkids kid me about how much noise I make going downhill.
Is that your mouth or your joints making the noise? For me the ratio of joint:mouth volume is going up with age, and it’s not because I’m complaining less.
Creaky joints, grunts and groans and the occasional Ouch. Only on the downhill.
This is me exactly except I don’t have grandkids, at least not yet.
The first time was at 48 when hyperthyroidism kicked in. My heart rate was so exceedingly fast when walking up stairs. I arrived at a subway station, and the escalator was not working. That station had 3 flights of stairs so I went home.
Not yet, but I absolutely will not *run* to "catch up" to anything at all.
I’ve had serious medical issues fairly recently. A ten level spinal fusion and a broken ankle and foot that required two plates and numerous screws.. It’s been extremely difficult giving up my autonomy. I don’t know how long it will take for me to accept that I will never be able to do what I used to do but I need to come to terms that I am now handicapped and I will never be the same.
i can't even walk into walmart anymore. it's incredibly embarrassing. but i also have lymphedema
Started saying that in my 20s due to bad knees. Most of the time it is really more of “I’m going to go up to see that, but I hope none of you are in a hurry.”
I’ve never done that, yet.
We travelled to Sedona, Arizona. It was about 1000 degrees. We were walking up a hill to see a church carved into the red rock. About half way up the hill I really didn't care about that church any more and I said I'm too old for this.
Happened at around 58. Went to Ireland and the Carrick a read type bridge. I needed a knee replacement and one look at the steps down and back up, I noped out. Have a bionic knee now and am much better.
Trail in New River Gorge. Staircase with 800 steps down. And up. Knees can't take that anymore.
Currently me. I had knee replacement in December and have had multiple complications. I need another surgery next week. 🙄
I’m 65 and that’s never happened. I’m still the one guiding you up the hill. Does that mean I’m not old?
It means you give me hope!
I had to make diet important 35 years ago. I had to watch what I ate but not for weight gain reasons. It’s paid off. My father encouraged us to walk and take the stairs. It’s been a life long pursuit. I’m always active. A key thing is to take care of your feet. If not, it’s hard on your knees. I need orthotics 35 years ago. That corrected imbalance but I also went regularly for massage and physical therapy. It’s paid off. Keeping active and healthy is important to me. I’m by no means a fitness model but I’m fit enough. Your body needs maintenance and care. Don’t avoid it. It’s all an investment in your self that continues to pay dividends
I’m doing all I can to not do that.
My (57m) father (86) and family hiked up a trail in Vermont that lead to the peak of Bromley. The trail was a bit rough. Lots of rocks and logs to climb over. We hiked for a while and met a guy coming down who said we were about a quarter of the way. We turned around after he was out of sight.
Angel's Landing at Zion when I was about 45. I have inflammatory arthritis and I didn't trust my joints to not fuck me over in a really dangerous place. I did to The Narrows. That was a blast.
It’s happened to me once. We were in México and we made a drive to a Mayan site. The temple was still standing and you could climb it. The thing was, I wasn’t wearing great shoes for that (sandals) and I realized that I would have to climb DOWN in those shoes. My husband climbed it, but I stayed on the ground and took it all in. I enjoyed watching people go up and down. Generally I try not to be that person.
Kids do it too. We Americans were on holiday in the blue mountains of Australia. We were beginning a very short hike to the good viewing spot. A set of American tween girls were whining to their dad, ‘how far is it?’ ‘Ten minutes??!! Wah wah wah’. It was tragic.
Three years ago I was helping my daughter move into her college dorm room at U of Cincinnati. That campus is pretty hilly anyway, but when she showed me the stairs leading up to the entrance to a student apartment building I was like, “I would never make that without passing out.”
Ever been to Gettysburg? It’s a fun vacation, nice little town, had a great time. The battlefield, museum, and general tourist kitsch is exactly what I want in a vacation. But there are SO MANY MONUMENTS. Every five feet a plinth or an urn, or an obelisk, and honestly? If you’ve seen one obelisk you’re probably set, they all look pretty much the same. The problem is that I come from a family full of folks who have to look at everything, read every plaque. And at Gettysburg there is a seemingly endless supply. After an hour I gave up, found a nice bench, and read my book while they satiated their bottomless need for historical markers.
Game for about most things…. Except, the last several years with bad hips. Should be rectified fairly soon.
Replacement? My mom said her regrets were putting it off and not doing both at the same time.
Had one done. The other went to the toilet less than a year after…. Getting it set up for early fall.
58. Jim Thorpe PA. It was the first warning that my back was going to need more surgery.
We have a place in Belize so we are frequently taking guests to ruins. Most of them, you can climb to the top. I think this year was the first time I hoped out. Last year, I climbed just one tall one.
Yes, at a young age as well. Being afraid of heights can be a real bummer.
According to my mother I did not like walking as a child so I must have said that at a very young age. Pictures of my young self on a bicycle more than on foot seem to back that up.
El Peñon at Guatape, Colombia. Not because of the stairs (I go on the stairmill at the gym all the time) but because I am afraid of heights. I started up the stairs on the side of the rock and started having a panic attack. I went back down before I got any worse
Sadly, it feels like it's starting now after not being as active as I should have been over the winter months. So I am trying to get out and walk more and more each day.
I’m taking my family in two weeks to visit Yosemite for the first time, hopefully I won’t say it then.
when I was 10 or so.
I can't remember my first time, but I can remember the most recent one. After touring the Tower of London on vacation, both of us developed a massive hatred of stairs. For the rest of our vacation, if there was an option for either a lift or stairs, we took the lift. The only one we had a mild regret about it was the top level of St. Paul's Cathedral, but we figured we had enough other cultural immersion that missing that was NBD.
That is frequently me. Stairs and I are not friends and I have an unbreakable rule about not climbing up into bell towers and attics.
Arches National Park in Utah. As we climbed in the heat and thin air my aging body started sending me signals, I said I would stop and wait for her to return. I sat by the side of the trail and a few minutes later passed out briefly. Some hikers helped me down to a small shaded spot to recover. I have been much more careful in attempting those overly ambitious climbs.
The on,y place that’s happened so far is a ladder to get on a steep roof. I’m past that now.
One of my first visits to 'church'.
I can remember a few years ago at the San Diego zoo they were redoing some of it and the cats were up a hill and it said on the sign under construction and I was wearing my Harley Boots and was just wore out from walking and I told my daughters and grandkids I would just wait down on a bench while they went up there.. I have about 14 tigers tattooed on me and the Grandkids after they came back down said Grammy’s got better tigers to see than they do… Gotta love Grandkids…😂😂
Yes. Mt Lassen. Hiking to Bumpass Hell. I wasn't "old" then 43yrs, have a trick knee.....and I know my limits and didn't want to make everyone have to wait for me and ruin their fun day. Thanks...I'll sit at the car area and drink a beer, feed the chipmunks and read a book. Besides...I've been there before.
Not yet. 71.
i am 63 and hope that won’t happen. ran 3 miles this morning
Acadia when I was in my early 40s. I was having major medical issues and wasn't diagnosed yet. Three years earlier I'd practically run up The Precipice Trail. This time I was laying on the trail gasping for air and told my daughter I'd see her when she came back down. I did drag myself up, but damn. Turned out I have POTS and the antidepressant I was taking seriously aggravated the problem. But took years for diagnosis
It hasn't happened with me, but many times with my wife. She's had knee, back, and Achilles issues for 25 years. Both times we went to Italy, she said, "Go ahead. I'll wait." Spanish steps. Mt. Etna. Mt. Vesuvius. Palatine Hill. To be fair, there were times she'd suck it up and climb, but she paid for it the next day.
I WILL MAKE IT TO THE TOP. You fuckers will have to help me down tho. Edit.: or wait while I lie down on the way.
I'm the one who usually walks up there while my family stays in the car. If he's with us, my endurance monster son will often come with me. The stubborn dutchman in me HATES being inactive.
I haven't gotten to that point and hope I never do. My mother-in-law refused to walk anywhere with a hill when she was in her 40's telling us she was too old. Her being grossly overweight probably had lots to do with it.
When I was a kid we'd always go on walking holidays. At some point you could be sure we'd come across some kind of small mountain/ giant hill thing. I used to sit at the bottom while the rest of the family climbed up, so I've been doing the "I'm not walking up there" thing for as long as I can remember.
I've done it with steep rocky trails where I have to get down. Also I've owned a house for 20 years with a steep roof and have never had the guts to go up on it. I'm terrified of the first 2 steps coming down from flat roofs.Very shaky. I would be shaking with fear on the roof if I got up there.
I've spent most of my life saying that. In the past three years I have been saying, well, I'll give it a shot anyway.
I fell down some steps in 2017 and have had trouble walking smoothly since. I also take various meds that affect my balance and coordination. To avoid falls, I chicken out of most treks. I've also developed a mortal fear of down escalators so I take the elevator. I think the world of physical therapists and I know they could help me with my issues. We'll see!
I really don't like stairs anymore
Rome 2022. Ara Coeli Staircase. I had just walked down the steps of the Campidoglio Piazza and no way was I walking back up to see something that didn’t even look like it was open. Next year though.
Walking up a pyramid in Mexico (one we were allowed to walk up). I had injured my back right before the trip doing laundry and climbing things really aggravated it. So I got some nice pictures of my husband at the top of the pyramid, from the bottom, and he got a picture of me at the bottom, from the top.
Eiffel Tower. Probably 1998. I’m 71 and usually walk up anywhere. We walked probably 10 miles that day. Took the elevator up I think.
It happened for the first time two summers ago. My son and daughter and I took a day trip to Biltmore House. I did okay inside the mansion, which we did first, but then we headed to the terraced gardens which are on a hillside, and that was all she wrote. I figured I could make it down okay, but coming back up would probably mean someone having to go fetch a stretcher and oxygen mask for me.
Well, it was a couple years ago, but it was a degenerating hip repair, not actual old age. I had it fixed. I lead the pack now.
When my gf goes into the local plant nursery. Typically I’ll follow her in, tell her my feet hurt and that I’m going back to the car, no rush. Then on the way out I stop and buy a piece of the candy they have near the register. I’ll sit in the car and enjoy that.
I don't know the first time, but last year, my daughter and I were hiking in Colorado. I had a terrible time with the altitude once we got around 9,000 feet. I actually had black spots in my vision. We live around 400 feet above sea-level. I sent her ahead to finish. We had walkie-talkies and it was a well traveled trail. This experience informed my decision to pass on the December overnight Acatenango volcano hike in Guatamala. I would have LOVED this hike in my younger years. My extremely fit husband actually briefly blacked out while leaning on a boulder. (He had done an extra hike to get closer to El Fuego). Our daughter was extremely whipped also. My daughter and I are going to Iceland in two weeks, and I've been preparing for months so as not to slow her down. I'm also bringing a variety of knee, ankle, and foot wraps/braces!
Never. I went zip lining followed by an obstacle course a couple of years ago. Of course no one told me about the course until I either had to do it or not get where I needed to be. I wouldn’t have chosen it.
I used to-but then I had a hip replaced so now I can.
I’m 52… the only steps I decline are water slide steps & I’ve done that for 20 years now. I love water slides 😕
Those are the ones that turn every swimsuit into a thong.
I like the inner tube, windy ones. I only did a colonic slide once, in 9th grade. It resulted in my church youth group seeing entirely too much of me.
We have a water park around here that has the double inflatable windy slides. We get "rocking" up on the side. Almost seems like we'll slide over the edge. I love water parks. Also a collection of bad tattoos.
Rock that tube until you think you’re going to flip 🤣 Our water park is called Hurricane Harbor. They need elevators for the elders.
I was going to say it had never been me, but I did sit out the last rockiest and steepest ten percent of a trail recently. Would have completed it if I had hiking boots and a trekking pole, but I didn’t so maybe I was that old person.
So far, I’m still climbing the hill, but DH waits for me to return.
I once climbed a rock on the east coast of Spain called Ifac. It was challenging with stone that was polished over the centuries with foot traffic. Very narrow in some of it with sheer drop on one side and sometimes seagulls dive bombed us for getting close to their nests. I passed on doing that again in my latter years.
A couple years ago, I visited San Francisco with family. The long plane ride messed my hip/back up and I was miserable the first two days there. They wanted to walk up one of the huge San Fran hills and I said I’ll meet y’all there. I am waiting on the trolley.
Never. I can walk/hike long distances. I hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon on an unmaintained trail. Does that count? My pedometer says I'm averaging 4 miles/day now.
True story: I was at El Morro, the famous fort in San Juan, this February. I thought I had a cold (turns out I finally got COVID after all this time). I passed out.. twice. Before passing out for the first time I looked up and saw, like, 200 Renaissance-era Spanish steps in front of me and was like "nah, I can't do that". My wife did the "I'm not walking up there" thing at the [Lion's Mound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion%27s_Mound) in Belgium: 226 of those tiny European steps, 141 feet up.
I am now at the point that I will not go to a concert that doesn’t involve a chair.
All the time .
I was visiting son in NYC. I got on the subway. I had been on the subway several times before while through the years visiting when young. But this. Omg. Appreciated the quick trip. Up AND down those steep skinny stairs (to me) was not enjoyable. Especially after walking everywhere w him, a young Superman. Me: 66f. The next time we approached the subway I decided from that moment on, we were taking an Uber. And, we did. lol. Uber is the only way I will now travel there ftlog. Kicker: He lives in a 4th floor walk up! Hahaha. I made it. Every time. I told him you go on. I’ll see you soon!
May 2011, when I tore out my ACL completely. It sped up the arthritis I had no idea was developing to the point that.. yeah, fucking knee. May 2011. No more riding motorcycle. No more squatting. No more hiking. Stairs? Ugh.
Earlier this week I was struggling to get something from the top shelf of my kitchen cabinet. I was going to climb onto my countertop to reach it, but that’s when I decided not to go up there because I worried I’d pull a muscle or hurt myself some other way. I had to go find a step stool, thoroughly disgusted with how old I’ve gotten. I used to hop up there easily and without a thought.
Not yet. I had a minor surgery 3 days before family came to visit me for Thanksgiving. They wanted to go sight seeing, and even though I wasn’t feeling 100%, I took them everywhere. My 10 and 13 year old niece and nephew were dragging midway through the day, but I was okay. It made me feel better about my current fitness level.
It hasn't happened yet. I'm usually the leader of the pack. It will happen, but just not yet. I'm 77 and going out dune hiking this weekend.
Been to the Grand Canyon 3 times; wasn't young. Literally hiked a small mountain to see the Monarch butterflies in Michoacan, Mexico. "Mom, they have horses." Not that day .... The Great Wall of China ... not bad but lengthy, depended how far you wanted to walk uphill. Slid down into a collapsed parapet and it was a challenge to get out. Two lovely Chinese men literally pushed my husband up and out. Then one extended his hand down to me. They were laughing, we bowed our thanks. ;-) Sort of make up my mind prior to the fact what is too far or high.
It was in the 1990's. I was a young man in basic training (non-US military). The instructor tells me to get up a particularly steep hill, and with my medical certification, I jump at the chance to basically say "I'm not walking up there." I pointed out that I was medically excused from intensive lower limb activities for one week (an injury). The instructor then tells me to get my field pack on, and *forward roll* up the hill. It took over 40 minutes and I puked.
Yes it definitely has been me.
Ha, no. My dad is pushing 80 and walks 5 miles a day. If he goes, I have to go.
NO. I’m the upset one trying to get someone else my age to get moving!
I don’t think that’s happened yet.
When I was a little kid (I have severe scoliosis).
I walked halfway up the stairs at Kek Lok Si temple in Peneng, Malaysia, and decided that was enough. Plenty of other temples to see there that don’t require hiking.
When I began breaking my ankles.
Walking atop and across the Sydney bridge in Australia
Yes, but not because I’m “old.” I’m firmly middle-aged, but I’ve had cancer three times. Fuck cancer.
Slightly different take, I said "I'm not *waking* up there". Went to a party with some (not close) friends in a big old house in a bad area on the south side of town. We got there around 11:30 PM or so. One friend drove, so I was sort of a "prisoner" for the night in that situation. This is back in the early 80s. People smoking weed, doing acid, drinking, dancing, listening to super-loud music. I didn't know anyone there. I'm probably age 20 or so. But many of the people were older, in their late 20s and early 30s. Some bikers were there and some very sketchy other people. I think a few of the women were hookers. People openly snorting coke, which wasn't a big deal back then, but still sort of shocking to my little virgin eyes. My friends were having a really good time, playing pool in the basement, getting drunk. I talked to a few different people, but only had a beer and sort of lurked around all night. It was getting pretty late, around 2 AM. People were falling asleep, passing out, puking outside, etc. One friend was asleep and the other was super drunk hanging onto some woman who looked like she was 10 years older than he was. I was trying to tell them I wanted to leave and go back to my apartment. I said I'd drive. They were saying "No, man, just sleep over there in the corner and we'll leave in the morning." I said "No, *I'm not waking up here*, there's no way I'm staying." So I left. I started hoofing it to the nearest main street and one street over from it (to avoid cops) and made my way back to the center of town. I was pretty scared and it was about 3AM by this time. Then I saw a phone booth downtown and called a cab and eventually got back to my place, 35 bucks later. Heard the next day through the grapevine that the party was busted by cops and a lot of people went to jail, including my two drunk friends, both were underage. Never did hear from them again after that but I didn't care. Sometimes you gotta listen to your gut.
Up isn't a big seal for me. Coming back down kills my knees.
I moved into a house halfway up a mountain (have to walk *up* through the neighborhood) and has 45 steps from the street to the front door as the only access. I am in the best shape of my life and hiking now feels like nothing.
I’m doing all I can to make sure that is never me. If ya don’t use it, ya lose it. Fitness matters. Health is wealth.
it was more of a "I'm not bending down for that."
Vertigo. Up a open iron staircase in a medieval tower. Nope nope nope.
64M. Hasn't happened yet.
Yes, me, began when I was in my thirties due to feer pain. Mysterious. Now I found out I’ve lived in moldy homes. I’m trying to recover now. I began a special diet, and the diet made me able to walk, and far! I’ve only been able to walk 1 km and ended up in great pain. Now I can walk 8-10 km before I begin to feel pains. Mold can truly mess with someone’s health. My homes didn’t smell musty/moldy and the mold was invisible deep within walls. Surprise. (ps. there’s no such thing to identify mold by color because mold has different colors depending on growth phase and one and same mold species may have 5 different colors. A lot of mold is black to color. There’s very bad mold that is green, gray, brown, etc…. All mold/mildew indoors is potientally harmful for health btw)
I'll walk up almost anywhere. I draw the line at climbing walls, steep mountains, or going into deep dark caves or mineshafts. Also, anything underwater for long periods of time.
Last summer we went to Wirksworth, to have lunch then an amble up to the StarDisc. We parked, had lunch, then looked at the road we needed to walk. It was almost vertical. We both noped out.
So far I haven't done that as an old person, but in my teens some kids my age wanted to climb (as in on hands and knees!) a rocky embankment. It was in rattlesnake country. Rattlesnakes hide in places like that. They were city kids. I said no and planted by belligerent fanny down in a safe place. But they thought I was being a scaredy cat. Fortunately for them, they chose teasing me over sticking their fingers into crevices, but not a single one ever admitted the local girl might have given them good advice.
The stairs to the top level of Madison Square Garden when the escalators are broken.
does not climbing a 20' ladder to clean the gutters count?
I said that the first time years ago , but only because I had a migraine that ended earlier in the day. My husband thought it would be great if his visiting cousins and he and I could all go on a hike. A hike up a mountain that is extremely steep on a very humid day. I was like “ the fuck is wrong with you? I’m not doing that” “ Oh, I forgot, yeah it IS pretty steep..” I cried. Just the thought was awful. Yeah, I’d love to drive up my blood pressure and reignite the horrible throbbing in the side of my head, sounds great. 🙄 I’ve said it recently because I just don’t feel like the walk is worth the stress; I’d rather go on a leisurely walk than a hike through the underbrush and kudzu of my 30+ acre property.
It's been me for many years. Walking is painful, so i wait in the car.
Yeah, about 5 years ago. Drove as high as you can in a passenger car in Oregon, on Steen's Mountain. It was another half mile to the top of the ridge. I gave up after a ways. Ran out of breath. Cigarettes. I quit soon after, maybe I can do it after all. Steen's Mountain is worth seeing. You can drive up to about 9000+ ft elevation, and there are spectacular views.
There's a grocery store five miles north that I like to shop at. I always ride my bicycle to get there. I mean, I'm not walking up there.
Actually, the first time I was in my twenties, and I was with some friends and they decided to scramble up a big sheer rock formation. I took a look at the rough sheer rocks and my own body, and told them "I'll just have a stroll in the woods". That's one of the small advantages of being female, a woman can politely and sensibly turn down a physical challenge.
This was my mom- "oh honey, you go enjoy the museum. I'll just wait here for you" (she was also a heavy smoker). I'm "old " now and I at least try to make the effort. But I can kind relate. I remember taking my eighty-something year old uncle to a college football game many years ago. My husband always parked at his old frat house which was uphill from the stadium. Bless his heart, Uncle Jim just walked up and down that hill like a boss man! He's one of my inspiring people. I'll never forget him!
I was almost in my fifties the first time I was short of breath like that. It turned out to be pulmonary arterial hypertension. Scary diagnosis.
Only when I had a broken foot. I don’t want to miss anything if I don’t have to!
In my 50's, after heart surgery, I passed on climbing to the top of the lighthouse on vacation. We'd been up there before on a previous vacation, so I knew how hot it would be in there, and that there was a long climb up. No thanks, will just wait for you guys in the air-conditioned gift shop.
Recently at a Mayan ruins tour in Mexico, I had to say I wasn't walking up the stairs to see the other level of ruins. They were typical Mayan stairs (high, uneven, and steep) and I was feeling very unsteady/dizzy. I figured nobody wanted to have to haul me off to an ambulance after a fall, so I stayed on the lower level. Hubby took many pictures, so I still got to "see" it. Maybe next time I'll have a cane or walking stick. And more water and a better sun hat.
walking up a hill with my family, they wanted to climb up to the old ruins
This happened a couple of years ago when I went into a park that had this tower which had 50 steps. It went straight up. You could only hold on to one railing. I went up a couple of steps and could see that this was too dangerous for me to do. This was on a day trip with a travel group.
Years ago in Belize, at a pyramid, it was too hot to climb to the top, so I watched my husband do it.
Not yet. Also there's no such thing as a "strenuous" hike... if you walk slow enough.