Hi Nelie,I had never heard the term slackpacking, but it sounds good to me! My husband and I are at a point in our lives where we can afford to go and do things that we could not do when we were younger. He can sometimes walk a few miles and so I could see us "slackpacking" together and do a bed and breakfast trip or something. in December we are going to do a surfing and skateboarding (remember, I have a teen still at home) trip down the California coast. My husband is a surfer (kneeboarder) and since it does not entail using his ankles the way hiking does, its a sport he can still do. I expect that I will be taking long walks down the beach and on the bluffs.
I have extracted a promise from him that we will do a short llama
trek in the San Diego area; I found a bed and breakfast online that also does short llama treks in the canyon country of San Diego county. I would never get such big, expensive animals without first thoroughly examining the idea. My thought is to get a pregnant doe from good lineage that I can breed and sell crias (baby llamas) to recover my expenses. But, there is lots of footwork and exploration to do about the idea, so it won't be any time real soon.
I had a friend who hiked the Appalachian Trail years ago and he talked about drop shipping his food to post offices along the way so he could make it from place to place. He got pretty hungry sometimes and ended up not making it all the way as he seriously rolled his ankle and had to be rescued. He waited for a couple of days for someone to come along...this was before cell phones! Speaking of which, if I am hiking alone sometimes, I should take mine! yesterday I was a little worried being all alone. I was afraid I would come across an irritable rattle snake. Warm gravel bars, almost evening, ya know?
Good luck on the rock climbing. I am seriously afraid of heights. I did a ropes course once hoping it would help me overcome it. I realized that I could master my fear, but that heart pounding, sweat inducing mastery is just no fun. I felt proud but was sort of, "Phew, glad that's behind me!" I have always admired people who were rock climbers. it is a real upper-body strength and agility sport. There is something awesome about standing on a spire or peak that you've ascended! There are good training schools everywhere and many gyms have climbing walls where you can learn the basics. Nothing beats real rocks, though. Here, Half Dome in Yosemite or all over Yosemite, around the Mammoth Lakes area and Pinnacles are all big rock climbing places. The Sierras, though, are pretty craggy, and so they are a climber's paradise. I used to love boulder fields and scree slopes and switch back traverses; they are a challenge. I might need to choose less strenuous hikes for a while. I will need to learn to really read maps, too. My husband was always the navigator. You never want to get lost! I suppose people now use GPS systems...
By the way, I looked at your ticker...Wow! Don't you feel wonderful? I have lost about 25-30 pounds and feel so much better. So, I can only imagine how you must feel. You have given yourself a new life...and the ability to run and hike!
Sheri