At age 68, retired insurance executive Richard Park began hiking the Appalachian Trail again.

“When I finished in 2005, I thought, ‘I don’t want to finish — it’s too much fun,’” Park, now 71, said recently.

As for glory?

“All I want to do is beat old age,” he said.

Staff Photo by Gillian Bolsover
Boodie Fox, Richard Park, Donald Box, Ray Myers and Don Stewart, from left, are all over 70 and are still hiking. Mr. Myers, who is 76, said he will keep hiking as long as he still can and it is still fun.

An ever-growing group of Chattanooga seniors fights the “winter of their lives” with trekking poles and hiking boots.

Despite heart attacks, hip replacements, angioplasties and arthritis, the Chattanooga Hiking Club has at least five men over 70 who regularly hike up to 10 miles or more.

“It makes me feel good to be able to do this,” said Ray Myers, a 76-year-old retired carpetmaking executive and U.S. Air Force master sergeant.

With his wife, Martha, and a group of friends, Myers climbed Mount Le Conte (elevation 6,593 feet) in the Great Smoky Mountains to celebrate his 75th birthday.

“I had a heart attack in 1982, a bypass in 1991 and an angioplasty twice in 2000,” he added. “One reason I keep hiking is because I know it is helping me.”

Staying active after 70 creates its own momentum, some said. After trying a few hikes, they find the beauty of the outdoors, challenge of the journey and opportunity to commune with friends pulls them into the woods week after week.

“Having been a workaholic, the Chattanooga Hiking Club gave me an opportunity to learn about, and visit, natural settings and parks that I did not know existed,” said Donald Box, 70, a retired insurance executive.

Boodie Fox, a 73-year-old former Hamilton County teacher and coach, is one who simply carried a vigorous lifestyle into the post-retirement years.

“I love the outdoors, mountains, woods, nature, wildlife, vigorous activity, fitness, fellowship and fun,” Fox said.

Hiking during the golden years requires no special skills or gear. The uninitiated might think, for instance, that carbon-fiber, spring-loaded trekking poles to relieve joint stress might brand them as geezers.

Not so.

“If you go to the Appalachian Trail you’ll see most thru-hikers — of whatever age, size or sex — have trekking poles,” Park said.

Older people may use poles for added stability, though, he added.

As for advice, the five seniors offer the same tips they might offer to any hiker: Don’t hike alone, wear good shoes, bring a good map, know your limits, have fun.

For older people, the group agrees: Put one foot in front of the other. Go. Go again.

“I was a couch potato in my 20s and 30s; then I picked up running and realized, ‘Hey, I feel better,’” Park said. “I think it’s important to do what you can do. Being stationary, I think, should be the last resort.”