Training with a McHale

I am posting these two photos for several reasons - (1). One is never too old to get in shape.  (2). McHale Packs are wonderful.  I remember hearing my older brother tell me that "when ya hit 50 years old, the wheels fall off".  I really got to thinking about that remark, and the more I more about it, the more I felt that health decay was more a matter of choice than fate.  I could be wrong, but my point is, that statement made me do everything in my power to stay healthy.  My goal is to backpack in the WindRivers until I am 85 years old.  It was only 5 years ago that I was a fat 268 lbs and was using a CPAP machine because I had sleep apnea.  I had a 44 inch waist and I felt lousy ALL of the time.  To make a long story short, I lost 60 lbs and 11 inches off of my waist!  No tricks, just healthy eating and aerobic exercise with sweating taking place.  I first got on the treadmill and could barely do a pathetic 5 minutes of walking, level incline with no pack.  I remember looking at the timer and had only gone 3 minutes and I was ready to quit!  Nowadays, I strap on my 60 lb McHale custom pack and hike for 30 minutes at about a 20% incline, and 3.5 mph.  I am sure that I am not setting any records, but for a 50 year old, I think that I am doing pretty good.  I was told that nobody gets off a CPAP machine...well I did 2 years ago and have not needed it since.