Re: Mental health/hillwalking
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 10:33 am
mynthdd2 wrote:Whilst I accept the timeline of a hillwalker/mountaineer my main sadness is that I cannot physically do all the big stuff I used to do. Totally agreed that I should adapt to old age limitations (I am chronologically 63 but my knees are easily 163) and the fact that I cannot do all the stuff that I have done for so long is hard to take.
I really do not want to adapt (self esteem?) so much that eg I do the Northumbrian Coastal Path along with dog walkers and (yes very decent) shufflers which taken together is seriously not helping my mental wellbeing
Further, I look at all my hillwalking kit and sigh... so I should just pull up somewhere remote in my Landy and admire the view hoping that the magic of the great outdoors will get through to me somehow?
I don't know your situation, but have you considered knee replacements?
Aged 50, I thought all hillwalking might be behind me, due to a bad knee. Six months after a knee replacement, I tried Striding Edge as a test, and it was fine.
I am now facing a replacement on the other knee, but in the meantime, I am fine. The only difference these days is I avoid multi-day walks, in order to not carry a heavy pack, because I was advised that that is very bad for the knees.
But I can still do the easier Munro-levels walks day after day, as long as I use my walking poles and I don't overdo it on any one day.
Tim