GIG HARBOR — Dave Pine loves a challenge, especially if it’s cardio focused.
The 88-year-old is more active than many. He’ll turn 89 in October.
Most of his days start with walking his 4-year-old miniature goldendoodle, Scooter.
Pine lives at the Heron’s Key retirement community in Gig Harbor with his wife, Barbara. The complex has a fenced dog park to which Pine and Scooter walk. Others days, they’ll walk the path around the facility.
Walks with Scooter are not the only way Pine pushes himself physically.
A fellow resident at Heron’s Key told Pine about a backpacking trip in the mountains he’d be taking in July. The seven-day trip in the Cascades was about 30 miles.
When the man offered him a spot, Pine jumped at the opportunity to go.
The group was a mixture of men and women, age 70 and up, from across the state. Pine was one of the oldest.
A few cowboys on horses also came along to help with navigation. Mules helped transport camp equipment.
“I probably wouldn’t have been able to carry my own pack of 50-plus pounds,” Pine said. “It was beautiful, rugged cross country.”
The group spent seven days traveling, getting to know each other and taking in the views of the Cascade Mountains.
Pine loved the campfire conversations at the end of the nights.
“The first day was glorious,” he said. “We hiked the Pacific Crest Trail near Lake Chelan. At some point, we could look down and see the lake.”
They hiked about 8 miles the first day. Pine said he slowed down during the last hour of it.
The group leader, nicknamed “Mountain Man,” turned around and came back for Pine with a horse.
“I really did not want to get on the horse,” he said. “I wanted to complete it. But I was glad I took the lift after all.”
Pine made it back just in time for a dinner of veggies, chicken strips and shrimp that had been fried up.
Other nights they had steaks, Pine said.
There was also peach cobbler for dessert, which is Pine’s favorite.
Two-day breathers
The group slept in tents. Pine had his own, he said.
They stopped at three campsites, spending two days at each one.
“Two days each was good, because then we didn’t have to pack up all our stuff every day,” Pine said.
The first day consisted of getting to camp. The second day consisted of doing a day hike or exploring if group members felt up to it.
Most layover days, Pine would explore on his own.
The group would camp near meadow areas for the animals, which meant “beautiful spots with flowers blooming,” Pine said.
After returning from the trip on July 30, Pine said he was slow to get back into walks with Scooter and it took him about a week to feel well rested.
“It was great to get back hiking again,” he said. “I hadn’t done it for about 50 years.”
Before moving to Gig Harbor, Pine lived in California and would backpack in the Sierra Nevada.
In recent years, Pine has also participated in local races.
“I had never done a marathon,” Pine said. “Then something inside me wanted to do the Tacoma City Marathon in 2018.”
He decided he would walk the marathon. About two-thirds of the way through the 26 miles, he realized no one else was behind him and he couldn’t see anyone in front of him.
He said there had been water stations set up for the day, but by the time he reached them, they were gone.
When he hit Point Ruston, Barbara met him with a peanut butter sandwich.
“It was a mistake to do that, because I slowed down for the last few miles of the marathon,” he said.
No one was there to give Pine his metal for completing the race. But after he contacted the organizers, they mailed him one.
Not long after, he also did the Sound to Narrows 10K race.
“I loved the views on that walk,” Pine said.
As of right now, he doesn’t have any big adventures planned, beyond his walks with Scooter.
How does he do it? Pine said he’d always been a runner. Now he’ll walk any chance he gets, he said.
“A good walk is all you need,” Pine said. “If you have some exercise equipment, that helps keep the weight off.”
When Pine and Barbara moved into Heron’s Key, they’d attend exercise classes at the facility.
Moving around the house and doing tasks like vacuuming also keeps Pine active, he said.
He suggests staying away from fast food and eating a lot of fruits and vegetables.
“But I’m no expert,” Pine said.
