Aiming for 80

On her 70th birthday, Jane devised a plan to complete “eight annual extraordinary outdoors excursions” with the goal to finish 80 excursions by age 80. Read her account of each.

What inspired "Aiming for 80?"

In December 2018 I hosted a book launch party to coincide with my 70th birthday for the publication of my recently published book You...

Jane Bertrand

3 min read

#30. Hiking in the French Alps: Aug 28-29, 2022

Julie Hernandez was spending the summer near Chamonix in France, training for her trip to Nepal several months later. When she couldn’t...

Jane Bertrand

5 min read

#33. 11th annual cross country skiing trip: Jan 4-7, 2023

As per custom, Martha Alden (best friend from kindergarten in Ellsworth, ME) had made the reservations for our ski trip to Maine Huts and...

Jane Bertrand

8 min read

#34: Grand Canyon: 8-9 April 2023

On New Year’s Eve 2022, I learned from Dave Covill, President of the Highpointers Foundation, that he and wife Beckie planned to spend...

Jane Bertrand

8 min read

#35. Brévent, France: 18 June 2023

Did all excursions in this 12-month period need to begin with some type of mini-disaster (food poisoning, horrible weather)? #35 was no...

Jane Bertrand

5 min read

#36: Mont Blanc, France: 19-20 June 2023

The Mont Blanc experience proved a suspicion I’d had for a while. Julie Hernandez and Dave Covill (President of the Highpointers...

Jane Bertrand

7 min read

#37. Plan de l’Aiguille, Chamonix: 22 June 2023

Julie had a glorious day of rock climbing under Dimitri’s tutelage, while I explored the nearby village of Les Bossons and the t-shirt...

Jane Bertrand

7 min read

#38. Mount Katahdin, ME: 5 July 2023

When taking a test, go with your first instinct. Your first guess is probably your best guess. Unfortunately, I didn’t follow that logic...

Jane Bertrand

5 min read

#39. Katahdin (2): 28 July 2023

When we failed to summit with Eva Bazant and her family in early July 2023, I blamed myself for not getting 15-year-old Giuliana to the...

Jane Bertrand

8 min read

#40. Penobscot Mt, ME: 4 Aug 2023

Ordinarily, a 3-4-hour hike might not meet the criterion of physically challenging, but the scenery in Acadia National Park on a sunny...

Jane Bertrand

3 min read

#41. Norway: September 15-19, 2023

Since 2019 Tulane had received funding for its family planning work in the DRC through the Central Forest African Initiative (CAFI), with...

Jane Bertrand

12 min read

#42: 6-12 November 2023: Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

After a successful ascent up Katahdin in July 2023, Charlotte Stetson and I were ready for the next adventure. I had read about the W...

Jane Bertrand

14 min read

#43. Cross country skiing in Colorado: 24-28 March 2024

The first annual extraordinary outdoors adventure of 2024 was scheduled to be the yearly cross country ski trip to Maine Huts and Trails,...

Jane Bertrand

6 min read

#44. Chamonix Redux: 17-18 June 2024

A knee injury in October 2023, followed by a 4-day, 48-mile hike in Chile, landed me back in PT. Despite 2-3 sessions a week for six...

Jane Bertrand

6 min read

#45. South Dakota: July 18-19, 2024

This extraordinary outdoor excursion offered a new twist: the mini catastrophe occurred at the end of the trip, not in the days leading...

Jane Bertrand

4 min read

#47: Sargent Mountain, Acadia National Park: August 5, 2024

Charlotte Stetson and I were well matched for hiking, not only for our interest and physical capacity, but our problematic knees. On our...

Jane Bertrand

3 min read

#48. Mt. Katahdin, ME: August 26, 2024

When Charlotte Stetson and I reached Baxter Peak on Mount Katahdin in summer 2023, it represented our fifth trip to the summit together:...

Jane Bertrand

8 min read

#49. Dubrovnik, Croatia: Sept 14-18, 2024

The days leading up to the trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia, were pleasantly uneventful. No recently injured knee, no food poisoning. However,...

Jane Bertrand

5 min read

#50. Montenegro: 19-26, 2024

If the five days in Dubrovnik had lacked for setbacks that made for good anecdotes, Montenegro did not disappoint. After five days of...

Jane Bertrand

18 min read

#52. Cross-country skiing in Maine: 30 Jan – 1 Feb 2025

It would be the 13th annual cross-country skiing trip in Maine for Martha Ellis (my best friend from kindergarten in Ellsworth, Maine),...

Jane Bertrand

6 min read