(Publisher’s note: Edie & Warner are my parents, and are in their mid-70s. Over the past few years, they’ve gotten less active, particularly in the winter, which of course worries me. My father, particularly, has always been an active outdoorsman, and I hate to see him give that up! So, we talked about it. One of the issues was them feeling secure about walking in snow and ice. I supplied an immediate solution in the form of trekking poles and “creepers”, which led to the adventure below. Hopefully, there are many more to come!
As Tim and I discussed what my parents are doing, we realized that other seniors face the same issues as Edie & Warner. We are hoping that bringing their adventures, problems, ideas and solutions to EasternSlopes.com might help others to start having the kind of fun that my parents are having. So . . . welcome to Active Seniors! We hope you enjoy it and pass it on to people who can use it! Please give us your feedback with ideas for them to try, things you’d like to see, anything you’d like to see done differently. If you’ve got something you’d like to write about, let us know…we’d love to publish articles from other active seniors. On with the story!)
We’ve been wanting to get more exercise, particularly during the winter months. But, we live in a very rural area, which doesn’t always make winter exercise easy. For example, we live on a dirt road with a steep driveway down to it; it’s fine for cars, but it can be very treacherous for a pedestrian. The snow is packed and glazed into virtual ice, and an unwary step on a spot without sand can lead to a very nasty fall!
Son David suggested using trekking poles to help stabilize walking and avoid falls, and loaned us some of his. He also brought up some YakTrax, which slip on easily over our boots and give us traction on the ice. We started carrying them and the poles in the car with us wherever we went, just in case an opportunity for adventure presented itself.
One sunny day, we were driving past Woodbury Lake, only a few miles from home, a place we’ve driven by hundreds of times in the winter. But we’ve never stopped…what would be the point? This time, we saw a number of ice fishermen trying their luck out on the pond, and Warner, who had done quite a bit of ice fishing over the years, said “Hey, want to go see if the fish are biting?” Edie said, “ Why not? It’s a good chance to try out our trekking poles,” so we pulled into the state fishing access area, parked, and off we went!
We got the trekking poles out of the trunk, and, checking the situation at the edge of the pond, found that the ice was covered by three or four inches of crunchy, crusty snow. We had our YaxTrax creepers with us, but without any bare ice, there was no need for them…still, we tucked them into our pockets, just in case we found ice later! With poles in hand, we set out on our first adventure.
Truth to tell, Warner had been reluctant for some time to use trekking poles; he thought that they were only for “old” people, and thinking about using them made him feel feeble; neither of us feel old! However, when he found out that David and Tim Jones, both extremely energetic and fit, used the poles constantly on their outdoor adventures, his attitude quickly changed. Edie, who loftily claimed – correctly, of course – that she was far more sensible and he was being silly, was not in the least averse to trying the poles. So, we set out across the snow-covered ice and quickly discovered the virtues of using trekking poles: they greatly improved our balance, made walking easier, and also provided some upper body exercise. Plus, they provided a real feeling of security, letting us relax and have much more fun!
Distances over open spaces can be deceiving, and even though the ice fishermen seemed far away, it turned out to really be just a short walk. Now, there’s a peculiar thing about ice fishermen: they are mostly a very friendly and gregarious lot, quite different from many of their warm weather compatriots (Editor’s note: What’s NOT peculiar about ice fishermen? Think about standing on the ice for hours at a time, freezing your fanny off and waiting for a fish to swim by and notice your bait…that’s supposed to be a NORMAL activity?) . In summer, anglers are apt to frown on company and disapprove of those who fish too close to them, but ice fishermen don’t seem to care about such niceties. Their motto seems to be “The More the Merrier.” Maybe they congregate to try to stay warm like Emperor Penguins!
One friendly group gathered around an ice shanty was glad to chat with us and admitted that the fishing had been pretty slow. Nonetheless, they had hauled in one impressively sleek, plump brown trout 17 inches long – a fine meal for one of them. We weren’t able to talk them into letting a poor, feeble old couple take it home for dinner, darn it!
Others seemed to be having a similarly slow day. However, when we headed back to the car, after walking around for a time in order to get more exercise, we encountered a young man who had brought his little daughter – probably about 3 years old – on a sled. While she watched, he pulled out a couple of perch, which was a good start on a tasty meal. It reminded us of going out with our kids when they were young (although our fishing & camping trips always seemed to teeter on the ragged edge of disaster!), and made us think that with our grandkids in their 20s, maybe one of these days we’d be bringing our great-grandchildren out for a walk on the lake!
When we reached our car, we both agreed that we were impressed by the trekking poles. It’s hard to estimate distances on open water or ice, but we probably walked for better than half a mile. Maybe it’s time to look into pedometers; it would be nice to know how far we’d gone! The poles had made walking easier, safer, and more pleasant, and we look forward to more expeditions. Even though we didn’t need to use the YakTrax, having them in our pockets made us feel confident that we wouldn’t run into anything we couldn’t handle out there. Being prepared has totally changed the way we’re seeing our world now; we’d never thought of walking on Woodbury Lake before. Who knows what other ideas we’ll come up with! And, who knows what ideas you’ll come up with? Through our adventures, we’ll try to find places, products, and ideas that will help you to get out there and enjoy the way we’re beginning to!