These ladies were seen at Aspiring Hut the other day. They walked in for the day. They hail from Timaru, New Zealand in the central part of the South Island. Some members of this group have been hiking together for over twenty years. Some of them were carrying beautiful walking sticks made by a local craftsman in Timaru. Some of these inspirational woman also had their sticks for the same amount of time. The average age of the group was 73 (which was later confirmed by a comment on this blog)!
One of ladies had been at the Aspiring Backcountry Hut fifty years ago on her honeymoon. That’s the one in the back of the line with the red shirt and blue hat. The group had lunch, relaxed and started heading back down the trail, not without giving us a wave.
The next time I’m complaining about my joints or back, I’ll remember my encounter – running into this wonderful and inspirational group of mountain women.

