TomT wrote on Oct 7^th, 2018 at 1:56pm:

I read Jimbo's fine but ultimately scary article first.  It's scary because I'm approaching 60 and really don't want to experience what Jimbo is going through with his body parts.  But, it is motivation for me to be diligent with what I eat and how I work out, so thank you Jimbo.

Thanks, TomT!  I think the "scariest thing" would have been to publish a picture of my hip replacement scar.  Now THAT would have been terrifying! 

The truth is, the hip replacement has turned my entire outlook around.  Coupled with my training/therapy regimen, I have MORE than "stabilized"; I believe I have gained LOTS of additional paddling & portaging years.  I managed just fine during 4 weeks & a fair number of portages in the park this past season.  Zero limping, just some stiffness & soreness from where my hip muscles were still healing. At the time I wrote that BWJ story, however - months before my operation - my situation seemed much more problematic.

Age 60, 70 or even 75 doesn't have to be the end of all the fun if you take care of yourself.  My next big step in the right direction will be to take 20-25 lbs out of my typical portage load in future trips. It's fairly plain that's a big problem for me ("overpacking") so I'm working hard to fix it. 

Just borrowing some "magic" tricks from Magic Paddler....

Later,

Jimbo   8-)