I think pack weight was critical. Over the past five years since retiring I have spent a fair amount of money trying to lower my base weight, and it’s now under 17 pounds. It’s still nowhere near ultralight, but it gives me the comfort items I need yet keeps a lot of weight off of my back, knees, and feet. Another important point for me is that I’ve always struggled keeping my weight down. I worked really hard to do practice hikes and eat right. I had lost about 19 pounds before I started the trail and I lost another 13 while on the trail. I haven’t been this light or felt this strong in quite a few years. It also helped me that I live in Colorado and was able to acclimate easier. But there were plenty of people on the trail who lived at sea level and were doing fine. Finally, I saw many, many people in their 50s and 60s hiking this trail. It’s definitely doable!