Still seek the call of adventure but feeling the trail a bit more these days? Well then this is the blog for you! Here you will find a kindred sprit who is still seeking new sights and experiences and wants to help you do the same.
Welcome to the Out Of Shape Outdoorsman!
Welcome to “The Out of Shape Outdoorsman.” This blog is predicated on a rather simple, but powerful idea. The outdoors can provide just about everyone with exceptional experiences.
People with a surprisingly wide range of ages and levels of fitness can still have great times and numerous opportunities for joy, reflection and amazing adventures. You don’t have to scale Half Dome or run the Appalachian trail, wrestle sharks or shoot class Five rapids to be comfortable and truly enjoy being out in nature.
It’s all too easy when we get to the stage of life where we’re packing a few – or a lot more than a few – additional pounds and are never going to see fifty again – to start believing our youthful, active lives are truly a thing of the past. And, sure, sometimes they are. I doubt I was ever going to climb Everest, but I’m certain I won’t now. However, there are mountains I can summit and vistas I still will enjoy. I’ll never go scuba diving with Jacques Cousteau, but I can still dive and experience the amazing wonder of being fish-blind when diving in the Dry Tortugas.
My family was lucky to grow-up in areas that spoke to a budding naturalist and explorer. There were swamps, beaches, bayous, mountains and forests. Hiking turned into back-packing, snorkeling turned into scuba diving, and pitching my tent behind the house eventually was replaced with a week or ten days of hiking the Muir trail in the high Sierras.
With the extraordinary misplaced certainty of youth, I was sure none of that would change.
It did of course – years and pounds, creaking knees and corrective lenses have taken their toll. I think of myself now as a senior (over65) out of shape outdoorsman. But I’m not quitting.
I’ve learned to find activities that work for me and ways to keep enjoying and marveling at the natural world.
This blog will be part travel diary and trip reports, but with all of the mistakes kept in. There will be tips on getting the most out of trips, but no pretense of consistently perfect planning or seemingly flawless execution. You’ll find reviews of sites, stores and gear I have personally used in the field, and I’ll give a shout out to individuals who are deserving.
I hope you will find this site to be entertaining; worthy of a shared smile or a wry grimace and perhaps a knowing nod of empathy. If it’s useful in helping others expand their adventures to experience the outdoors, that would be great!