Paula Murray didn’t start backpacking until she was nearly 60, but once she did, it reshaped how she thinks about her body, aging, fear, and what’s possible at every stage of life. Instead of a highlight reel of accomplishments, her story offers something more useful: repeatable, practical habits that anyone can adopt—no matter when they start.
Here are Paula’s most concrete takeaways, in her own words.
Start Before You Feel Ready — Confidence Comes Later
Paula didn’t wait until she felt strong or capable to sign up for her first backpacking trip. In fact, she felt the opposite. She describes the constant mental chatter many women know well:
“You’re not strong enough. You’ll be slow. You can’t keep up. You’re not ready for that.”
What changed wasn’t the fear—it was her decision to move anyway. She trained by hiking, built comfort outdoors, researched gear, and eventually committed even while feeling inadequate. Looking back, she says the most important shift was realizing she could thrive outside, not just survive it. “The door that opened in me was knowing that I was capable of doing something like this and thriving in it.”
Her advice is simple: don’t wait for confidence. Let the action create it.
Age Matters Less Than We’re Taught to Believe
Before her first group backpacking trip, Paula worried she’d be “the old lady.” That anxiety disappeared quickly once she saw the age range on the trail. The group spanned from early 20s into the 60s, and everyone was there for the same reason. As she puts it,
“Age isn’t a factor unless you’re doing fastest known times.”
For most outdoor adventures, the goal isn’t speed—it’s shared experience. Paula emphasizes that older hikers bring perspective, patience, and mental discipline earned through life experience. “We have different perspectives because of our age, but we were all enjoying the same thing at the same time.”
Seeing someone older than her on that first trip helped her feel she belonged. Now, she knows her presence does the same for others.
Build Solo Confidence by Choosing One Hard, Controlled Challenge
Paula didn’t ease into solo hiking with something casual—she chose a demanding mountain near her home with significant elevation gain. What made it manageable was control: she knew the route, had cell service, and started early. Fear was still there. “I was scared to death,” she admits.
The breakthrough came from doing it anyway. Hiking alone forced her to become more self-reliant and sharpen her navigation and decision-making skills.
“It pushed me out of my scared zone and taught me how to be self-reliant.”
Her takeaway is that solo confidence doesn’t come from eliminating fear—it comes from stacking experiences. Once you’ve done one solo trip, the next one feels possible.
Preparation Is the Antidote to Fear
When Paula talks about solo safety, she doesn’t focus on worst-case scenarios. She focuses on education. If a trail has rattlesnakes, she learns about rattlesnakes. If weather systems are unpredictable, she plans for them. “If you’re more prepared, you don’t feel so scared, because you know you can take care of yourself.”
She’s blunt about why this matters: many accidents happen because people are careless, not unlucky. “They don’t take enough water, don’t take enough food, and then if they get hurt, they don’t have what they need.”
Her repeated refrain is uncomplicated but honest:
“You just gotta go.”
Preparation doesn’t remove risk—it makes it manageable.
Menopause Is a Performance Issue, Not a Personal Failure
One of Paula’s most important insights is how menopause affected her strength, endurance, and recovery—and how long she ignored it. She noticed she couldn’t maintain muscle mass and tired more easily, but didn’t address it right away. “I kind of suffered for a couple years,” she says now.
Once she sought medical support and addressed the hormonal changes directly, everything shifted.
“My life improved in a split second because I could build muscle mass again.”
Her message isn’t prescriptive—it’s validating. These changes are real, they affect outdoor performance, and women deserve better information and support.
She also reframes menopause as a transition into freedom. “Mentally, it was kind of fun growing up,” she says. “I like where I’m at.”
Stay Strong by Planning Adventures, Not Workouts
Paula doesn’t train with metrics or gym schedules. She trains by deciding where she wants to go and then doing what’s required to get there. She strength trains at home, gets outside two or three times a week, and keeps a running list of future hikes. “If you don’t use it, you lose it,” she says plainly.
What keeps her consistent is that none of it feels like a chore. She’ll hike a ridge at sunset and come down by headlamp—not for fitness points, but because it’s fun. “I never think, ‘I’ve got to get these miles in.’ I just go.”
Her goal is simple: never having to say she needs time to get in shape.
“If you asked me to hike the Grand Canyon tomorrow, I could go.”
Use the Outdoors as a Reset Button During Parenthood
Raising six kids didn’t leave Paula with endless time for adventure, but it did teach her how powerful even small outdoor breaks can be. When parenting felt overwhelming, she’d step outside—sometimes just for a walk around the block.
The effect was immediate. “Every time I spent time outside, I had more patience and more kindness,” she says. Outdoor time became her nervous-system reset, allowing her to return calmer and more present.
She also raised her kids outside by default, not by scheduling activities. Breakfast on the porch, evenings on the deck, mud, bugs, stars—it was all just life.
“Outdoors wasn’t something special we did. It was just where we were.”
Teach Girls They Belong Everywhere
Paula is intentional about closing the gender gap by giving girls access to the same skills and expectations as boys. Her daughters ride motorcycles, hike, and take up space outside because it was never framed as unusual.
“Girls need to be confident enough to say, ‘I’m here. Let’s go do it,’”
That confidence, she believes, comes from inclusion early—not permission later.
Redefine Aging by What Your Body Can Do
Paula no longer looks at trail photos to critique her appearance. She looks at them as evidence. “That’s me. I hiked that mountain,” she says.
Her definition of aging has nothing to do with looking young and everything to do with function and gratitude.
“I’ve got a body that works, and that’s all that matters.”
She calls it aging fantastically—and it’s a perspective that applies at any age.
The Final Word
Paula’s approach isn’t about doing extreme things—it’s about staying capable, curious, and prepared so you can say yes to life longer. Or as she puts it best:
“I’m training for the rest of my life.”
The Cairn Project
Mobilizing to empower young women in the outdoors through grantmaking.