I don't think I'm a pessimist. I see myself as more of a realist but I suppose most everyone else does too.
Here are some real statistics, in spite of what we hope, want, or believe about ourselves and our hunting longevity.
1. If you are 50 years old today, 45% of us will be dead before we reach 80. If your a woman 33% of you will be dead.
2. Although different terms are used in the literature, gerontologists have identified three broad categories of seniors: 1) old-old, or frail old, who are over 75 years of age, 2) young-old who are persons between 65 and 75 years, and 3) athletic-old, elders who have maintained a high level of fitness throughout their life (Elia, 1991)
3. At age 50 most of us outdoors types still believe we are ten feet tall and bullet proof. Some still do at age 60. Check with 15 of your outdoors type friends, that are currently over 70, and see how many of them believe, they have the ability to "get after it" and still think they are going to be up for it, regardless of how much and how hard and how long they exercise , prior to their hunt. It will surprise you how many of that 15 have slipped into group (1) old-old, or frail old listed above. Many of whom still try to exercise aggressively, but are, due to disease, joint failure, muscle failure, lung failure, heart failure or digestive failure, entirely beyond any ability to control their physical fitness through aggressive exercise.
4. There are anomalies, and while I don't mean gentlemen like Zeke and eel are abnormal, but it would be interesting to have them tell us, at there age, how many of their good outdoor friends are still able to keep up with them, in spite of how dedicated they were at age 50. We should believe and hope that we are one of the anomalies but if you're being realistic, you may want to begin, somewhere around age 50, to plan for the end game, so far as tag acquisition, hunting styles and "modified" hunting activities, so you are still able, when you reach 70-75 years of age, to continue to enjoy a meaningful outdoor lifestyle. For example, I see no reason what a sportsman, or woman, who has been a high country back pack hunter, shouldn't revert to hunting from a ground blind, if at an older age their lung capacity, their joint conditions, their heart condition etc. precludes them from do the long steep hikes, into the back country, and planning for that general inevitability is not admitting failure anymore than planning for retirement is for a high rise steel worker. In my opinion, it's wise on not to ignore reality, even if we hope to be an anomaly.
5. With tag drawing systems being what they are, and quite different from State to State, it is very possible to do a great deal of hunting at younger ages, say from ages 18 to 50, after that, if your wise, you will begin to bank points and build options, for those inevitable years, when you will be more limited in your ability to "get after it".
As I said before, I'll be 70 in three months. I hunted alone, at least 70 days last year. I expect it will be about the same this year. But I certainly hunt differently than I did 20 years ago. I have to accept that I'm a different person, mentally and physically than I was at age 50. I hope to be hunting a age 80 and beyond, but I'm realistic. I've got a lot of very good friends, that were as intense, and rabid, that are now between 75 and 80, I can tell you, it ain't happening for hardly any of them. Some are content with it, and others are not in a good place, mentally, because they never have been able to accept the realities of live and aging gracefully.
Go out to your local golf course and watch some of those old timers, limping and wheezing around the club house, about 2 o'clock, any week day afternoon, and take a look at what 75 years old looks like, for most people.
For sure, I'm not attempting to disparage anyone on this thread. It's a legitimate discussion and the comments have been worthwhile but don't ignore your future. I believe you can plan for a good one, just saying, try to accept the reality of the aging phase of your life. Plan for it, and if you're lucky, it will happen.
DC