Want to become Ageless? Start Walking

A mile or so from?Phantom Ranch ?I cross over the boardwalks lined with grass seven feet tall. It feels like a tunnel, it’s a humid marshy area the ground is saturated with water, it’s the confluence of dozens of small springs. Like salmon going home to spawn, the spring water comes together here on its journey home towards the river, and then finally into the Pacific Ocean. I consider the spring water under my feet as I walk. One day a thousand years from now, maybe some of these same water molecules will somehow find their way back here in the form of recycled rain. The rain that falls on the canyon rim then seeps into springs and works its way free only to repeat the journey. I now feel connected to the molecules. Will one day the universe collude to bring these very same particles to this same place at the very same time that my future generations cross the canyon? If so, then it will be an unknown coincidence to my future generations, like so many other?uncanny unknown coincidences?that happen to all of us daily. These coincidences are but for only God to plan and to know so that He may grin widely as He watches his plan unfold.

It’s at this point of the hike I feel like I’m a passenger in a vehicle being moved along with an effort that’s not my own, it feels like a ride. Kelly, one of my previous hiking companions, once said to me; “You look like your floating”. This is exactly how it feels, my legs, arms, breathing, and heart rate all align. I move effortlessly, I’m in a trance, time stops, I feel ageless, hours seem like milliseconds. I don’t want to stop because stopping is uncomfortable — I’m floating.

I have found evidence that my ageless feeling is more than “just a feeling”. Some of this evidence is anecdotal — like the fact that I lead weekly training hikes with healthy, fit people in their early 20’s many of whom struggle to keep pace with me. I’m in my mid-50s with all the career, financial, community, family demands, and a host of previous injuries that we all acquire by our mid-50s. But none of them seem to slow me down — I still feel like I get stronger every year.

I came across a study published in the?Journal of Communications Biology that found brisk walking can reduce your age by sixteen years . Another in JAMA titled?Gait Speed and Survival in Older Adults found that the faster an older person can walk, the longer they can expect to live. According to the researchers, walking fast, rather than someone’s age or sex, is a better predictor of lifespan. Dr. Stephanie Studenski, the lead researcher said; “Walking is a real part of the human experience, when someone slows down with age, they may not be doing as well as they once were”. She emphasized that the act of placing one foot in front of the other requires the cooperation of many-body systems including the heart, lungs, blood, bones, muscles, joints, nerves, and brain, and all of these systems synchronize, coordinate and integrate in a way that allows each individual to choose their own ideal walking speed, a speed that remains remarkably constant throughout life unless it’s affected by medical issues. For this reason, scientists now consider walking speed a reflection of underlying health. One of the study’s participants, a 92-year-old guy walked on an inclined treadmill at 3 miles per hour for more than half an hour. That’s a rock-solid pace at any age. Based on his pace and duration, this 92-year-old stud can expect to enjoy at least another seven years of life, if not many more. In contrast, a 75-year-old male who barely shuffles along at less than 1.0 miles an hour may not make it to his 80th birthday.

Back in the canyon, the marsh leads to the inner canyon. It’s a cathedral of colorful rock walls a matrix of canyons laced together by a long trail. In some areas, the sky is hidden and only shards of light poke through. The trail is wide and well built like a sidewalk. Waterfalls and springs fill Bright Angel Creek which runs the length of the trail. The flowing water echoes in this chamber and currents of cool wind follow the water. There are a series of short bridges that cross the creek. I weave with the trail over the bridges in the shade of the goliath canyon walls. It’s remote and elegant, and my wide smile makes my face cramp.