Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 9

If retirement adventures are meant to pile up memorable moments, then this is one. Indeed. We stood at the end—Land’s End, that is—of our backpacking trip on England’s South West Coast Path. Soaked to the skin, we had battled horizontal rain all afternoon, but were, as they say, all smiles, even giddy.

My hair and the front of Sue’s hat stood to celebrate our 200-plus miles of ups and downs along England’s coast over three weeks in 2019. Although we had some balmy days as we walked in and out of a series of English seaside villages, when the weather turned, we were nearly blown away. At the end, it was so ridiculous that I Iaughed to the finish line.

Another memorable day on that trek took us on a record (for us) 9,000 feet of climbs and descents over 15 miles and 10 hours. Let’s just say that Bude was a welcome site as darkness neared. The beer as well as the fish and chips were delicious and we were glad the memorial gathering in the pub wasn’t for us.

The English trek was our fifth European distance trail, extending our addiction to traveling by foot. More to come about others.

Eight more adventures ahead.

Up for a Challenge? Try Wasson Peak

Sue and I can’t resist a trekking challenge; this time, it was Wasson Peak, the highest peak in the western Saguaro National Park. There are several ways up, but we chose Gould Mine for our start and it was deceptively moderate, even sometimes easy, for an hour. A left turn brought us to a steep, never-ending series of switchbacks through and over rocks as saguaro cacti stood like posts on a skiing course. (They dwarf me in the photo, above left.)

Joining the saguaros were ocotillo, prickly pear, and, surprisingly, early-blooming poppies. The 1,850 feet of ascent delivered us to the top at 4,688 feet. Lunch came with a 360-degree view of Tucson and so much more.

We took the Hugh Norris trail back, making it our favorite kind of trail, a loop.

Time to celebrate? Why not? Manhattans at our RV park’s bar brought a toast to Wasson Peak. We did it!