Old Lady on the Trail Quotes

“Yarrow, alpine cinquefoil, a few paintbrush, yellow daisies, marsh marigold and penstemon were still blooming, though it was the third of September. I learned a new flower, king’s crown.”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“I had more time to view my surroundings, and flowers entertained my eyes: low growing yellow daisies, penstemon, yarrow, western fringed gentian, fairy trumpets, paintbrush, mountain avens, bistort and white daisies. I loved the flowers’ bright colors, red, blue, yellow, white, and purple.”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“Even in the rain the flowers were lovely: red columbine, monkey flower, monkshood, gentian, wooly daisies, tiger lilies, asters, penstemon, pussy paws,”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“Some might consider these challenges to be dangers, but I find it healthier to consider them challenges,”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“an inReach device. It clipped on my chest strap just as my Garmin Oregon had done, and the inReach had an even better GPS map with the CDT already indicated on it. Not just replacing my older GPS, it would record my progress in real time to anyone to whom I gave the connecting information. Every 10 minutes a little dot recorded my location. My children could see what their mother was doing, and where she was. In a macabre sense, they would know how to find the body. In a more hopeful sense, I could press the SOS button, and help would come no matter where I was in the world. I hoped neither of those uses would ever be necessary. But I would carry the device for a GPS, and as a concession to old age and safety. The inReach also had the capability for limited two-way communication, which turned out to be very helpful for RockStar supporting me.”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“ADT (American Discovery Trail) in Nevada, and I took the only serious fall”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“Yay for septuagenarians.”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“The little store in Farson had the biggest scoops of delicious ice cream I have ever eaten. If you ever drive past Farson, Wyoming, you have to stop for the ice cream.”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“On the Zuni Acoma Trail through El Malpais there were cairns to follow, but no real trail tread. Some of the cairns had been in place for 700 years.”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“The official CDT bypasses Pie Town. If you hike or drive in that part of New Mexico, don't miss Pie Town. It was an iconic stop. Company on El Malpais Now I had company.”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“happy being old. Others thought being old was bad. Far more important was what I did, how I treated others, how I lived out the gifts God had given me at whatever age I found myself. I call myself an old lady. I say it realistically, with joy and laughter—bragging.”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“flowers: blue flax, ranger's buttons, cow parsley, red columbine, wild geranium, chiming bells, and corn lilies added to others seen the day before. There was more to see than I expected”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“Hookers evening primroses dotted one of the layered mesas; forests of cholla cactus filled another. I followed rock cairns as I fought the wind. In rock-less sandy areas, cairns changed to white-tipped stakes driven into the ground. On the far side of the dry riverbed, there were white sand verbena, and throughout the day I saw penstemon, phacelia, spectacle pod, short yuccas, claret cactus, and an orange mallow, much smaller in dry New Mexico than”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“Descending the layers of mesa cliffs, I took pictures of the views and the flowers: tiny yellow and white daisies, paintbrush, vervain, phacelia, penstemon, and my favorite, mariposa lilies.”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“saw poppies and chicory in abundance, as well as phacelia, bright pink low-growing flowers, yellow and white daisies, rattlesnake weed, ajo lilies and purple vetch. Thanks to the flower app on my phone, I identified a flower I’d never seen before, a long-nosed rock trumpet. Several stands of ocotillo were”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“The impressive switchbacks cut into nearly vertical rock on the south side of the pass seemed like the Kendal Cat Walk near Snoqualmie Pass times 10.”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“So what was I getting at? We all have limitations of some kind or another. They differ. Life requires us to learn to deal with limitations. Adjusting expectations, accommodating limitations, and searching for creative solutions can enable reaching goals in a different way. Advice for myself and other older hikers: Don't try to be younger, stronger hikers. They have their own set of limitations. Yours are different. Discover how to adapt new methods to accomplish your goals. Take more days; arrange more food drops, even walk more miles if necessary. Adapting to limitations is an ongoing life lesson as our limitations change.”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76

“Thirty or more prisoners out for their PT run panted a polite hello as they passed. Well, that was interesting.”
― Mary E. Davison, Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76