Our group of 6 who just summitted Mt. Langley (14,042) ranged in age from 46 to 57. Our oldest expedition member (62) had to stay home at the last minute to care for her 91 year old mother. She is just as strong a hiker as the younger members.

We are all members of the Kern River Valley Hiking Club, founded by Ruby Jenkins (author of the Exploring the Southern Sierra books) who is 80 and still hiking and backpacking regularly. I hear she will be up in Mineral King soon, and there are NO easy hikes in Mineral King!

Some of our older members (70's and up) don't care to go as far as youngsters like me (51), but some do. I find the biggest difference in hiking is that the oldsters tend to go slower on the downhills to preserve their knees. I have to include myself in this category. Long downhill is not much fun, even with hiking poles.

The youngest member of our club is my son who will soon be 13. Not many other young people.

Moondust