Friday is my hiking day. I meet up with a local hiking group at a nearby church and we go somewhere together. New Hampshire’s White Mountains are within easy reach, and there are numerous land trusts and conservation areas in Maine within easy drives for us to explore. We go out year-round. In the colder months we rely on snowshoes, micro-spikes, and puffy down coats. Come spring we’ll wear head nets and slather on bug repellent. The consensus is that cold is more tolerable than bugs or summer. My fellow hikers are an interesting and hardy bunch; I am often left in awe by their past accomplishments and current endurance. As a 70-year-old, I’m pretty much the youngest member of the group and can usually keep up. Many are in their 80s and are showing few signs of wear.
The population of Maine has several distinguishing characteristics; one is that we are the oldest population in the country. Median age in the state is 45. Florida may be where everyone goes to retire but the population there is younger with a median age of 42. Living here, I find myself much more aware that many people are experiencing neuro-cognitive decline as they age. Sometimes it feels like there is an epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease going on. I suppose this is partly true.
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