It’s Not About the Hike

We are two 70-plus year old women who started walking the sidewalks of Keene in our early 50s and ended up climbing the 100 Highest mountains in New England. We thought we were just going out for a hike when we climbed our first mountain. We were wrong. We were beginning the journey of a lifetime.

We met in a therapy group. I took a chance and reached out to Pat, asking if she wanted to go for some walks. We strolled on our lunch-breaks which quickly developed into power-walking up Keene’s major hills. We decided we wanted to hike Katahdin in Maine, but figured we’d better attempt a few of the Whites to get in shape. With overflowing enthusiasm, hiking in the Whites morphed into the goal of hiking the 100 highest mountains in New England.

It’s been over 20 years, and we’ve never stopped setting goals. But the goals have changed over the years, pushing less, enjoying more.

We’ve lost count of how many summits we’ve reached or the number of hikes we’ve completed. Over the past 20 years we’ve realized this journey we’re on is not about how many mountains we’ve climbed or the number of miles we’ve walked or the elevation we’ve gained. It’s about our friendship and our determination to stay connected through hiking despite the many life changes and difficulties we’ve encountered along the way. We’ve hiked through cancer, depression, weight gain, misunderstandings, moving 2.5 hours away from each other, new relationships, changing jobs, retiring and finally, and perhaps the most difficult, accepting that our bodies are aging. We’ve listened to each other, supported each other, and found a way back to each other each time we’ve gotten disconnected.

We are ordinary women on the extraordinary journey of life, hiking and healing. This is our story.