One Man, Two Women and a Dog: Cases of Ageing in the Outdoors

Abstract

These three auto-ethnographies are the embodied stories of lifelong outdoor enthusiasts. They explore the sensibilities of and entanglements with nature and corporeality of ‘Baby Boomers’. Each narrative reveals the embodied challenges remembered and experienced. We show that getting older and experiencing illness and/or injury does not deny opportunities to enjoy nature-based activities and performance in the outdoors. These narratives provide illumination and snapshots of older outdoor participants’ engagement in/with the outdoors. The first narrative highlights the sensibilities and real affects/effects of illness and how they are managed to retain involvement in outdoor leadership. The next explores the author’s emotions at adapting her embodied activities as she becomes older. The final tale describes how running and walking with an ageing dog opens up comparisons with the author’s own embodied capabilities and enjoyment of the outdoors. © CAB International 2024