I went to Yosemite last week, for the first time since I was in my twenties--I'm 59 now. I wondered if my back would give out on some trail, and planned only easy day hikes.
Easy. A few hundred feet up the trail on my first hike, I was so winded I thought I might faint. It was the famous aha! moment.
I didn't expect hiking to be as easy as when I was 24... or maybe I did. I was shocked by how out of shape I am, even though the ugly extra 30 pounds of gut I see in the mirror gave me fair warning.
I'm hoping that, instead of merely becoming dispirited, I take measures to improve my cardiovascular fitness. Stair climbing would seem to be appropriate exercise. You've got to climb to get out of the valley.
During my park visit, I bought a book about Yosemite trails, and reading it does excite me--I long to see some more places in the high country before I die. That desire is a good impetus to get fit.
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