Tag backpacking

Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 1

Reg Spittle 6 Comments

When I set out to catalogue my top ten retirement adventures, the easiest choice was number one. As great as the other nine adventures have been, the John Muir Trail had them beat. By way more than a mile.

Talk about the improbable. I never imagined I would spend 30 days in California’s Sierra Nevada wilderness, sleeping in a tent. No toilets. No showers. No going back. Another out-of-character feature: I would travel with nine others, giving up my treasured privacy and my need to recharge by myself, or with just Sue.

Through seven distance treks, I have learned important lessons: Take chances, seek discomfort, be vulnerable. None is easy for me.

The John Muir Trail was the hardest adventure of them all. Sure, we were fortunate to have had a mule train and four dedicated packers that eased the physical challenges. I will be forever grateful for their efforts that allowed me to experience a trek I’m not sure I could do on my own. But, still, we walked 246 miles, conquered 100,000 feet of elevation, and answered numerous unexpected obstacles. The mountain passes tested our resolve; one of them was Muir Pass, where we paused at Muir Hut (photo above). Also, I overcame my fear of heights and climbed Mount Whitney.

The people. I will hold close my nine fellow trekkers and four packers for the rest of my life. And I was so fortunate to behold one of Earth’s most spectacular places up close.

Since our JMT in August 2021, I have been reliving my experience through my MacBook Air’s keys. I can’t wait to share the story later this year in the form of my third adventure trekking book.

Sue and I will soon embark on one of our most ambitious journeys. We will walk, but in the form of day hikes as we explore lands afar. Lead Foot (our truck) will lead the way, pulling our third Minnie, aka Mini. For the first time, we plan to take our travel trailer to another country.

We are not done distance trekking, though.

Here’s to the next top ten adventures!

Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 4

Reg Spittle 2 Comments

If you have walked a distance trek, then you have felt the bittersweet experience of your final steps. I was overwhelmed when I turned the corner from the Tiber River and glimpsed St. Peter’s Basilica, the end of the Way of St. Francis. We had done it! My achy legs and feet cheered the end of our toughest walk yet. Later, my eyes welled up as I folded my trusty trekking poles while Sue and I sat on a step in the square. What now?

Following the steps of revered Saint Francis, Sue and I walked 23 days, 258 miles, 80,000 feet in elevation during spring in 2018. Many days were sunny, three or four were scorching, two left us drenched. It is one of three major Christian pilgrimages, but we saw few fellow trekkers, even none a couple of days as we walked from Tuscany east to the Umbrian mountains, then south and southwest to Rome. No other Americans, until we met an American tourist who snapped our photo at Vatican City.

When we turned the corner from the trail along the Tiber River, St. Peter’s welcomed us from a distance. Inside, guards checked our pilgrim passport and ushered us into an inner chapel where a Catholic official checked our stamps and issued our Testimonium. I may not be an authentic pilgrim, but it was still a magic moment. We kept searching St. Peter’s Square for other trekkers/pilgrims, but there were none.

Italy. Italians. Italian villages. Italian food. Italian scenery. All added charm to the Way of St. Francis, my number four retirement adventure. The trek pitched some good arguments to be number one, but three other adventures were even more noteworthy.

If you want to further explore the Way of St. Francis and three other European trails, check out my second book, Trippin’ Through My 60s: When Adventure Calls, the Trails of Europe Answer. The other three treks: Scotland’s West Highland Way, England’s South West Coast Path, and the Tour du Mont Blanc.