Their first date was a hike. Attorney Frank Hespe was undergoing treatment by physical therapist Amy Altshuler when he noticed, in addition to her expertise, she seemed to have an innate capacity to perceive her patients’ tolerance level and how to converse them into distraction from their own discomfort. Also aware of her athletic, outdoorsy energy, he realized if he were to have any chance of spending more time with her, he was going to have to invite her on a hike.
“Amy is in such great shape, and I was a skinny little lawyer guy,” Hespe said. “I was afraid she’d kick my butt up that mountain, so I asked her questions all the way up, so she’d do all the talking, and I could keep up.”
She says he’s just being modest. In fact, she says, she could never out-hike this “mountain goat.”
It was on a hike that Hespe proposed to Altshuler, on a mountain atop Garland Ranch, having paused at a bench they’d passed many times but had never stopped to enjoy.
“When I saw Frank stop at the bench,” she said, “I thought, ‘We never stop. He’s either about to die or give me a ring.'”
Fortunately, he had the ring.
A dozen years and exponentially more hikes later, the couple is now preparing for a “bucket list” hike, as they train to circumnavigate Mont Blanc, which will take them into France, Italy and Switzerland. They will cover more than 120 miles in two weeks, climbing a total of 30,000 feet. This trek replaces their best-laid plans to hike Annapurna Mountain in Nepal, canceled by COVID. Located in north-central Nepal, Annapurna, at 26,545 feet above sea level, is considered the tenth-highest mountain in the world, well-known for the difficulty and danger in its ascent.
“I was concerned about the challenge,” admits Altshuler, “but we also were disappointed that we didn’t get to give it a try. A few years ago, we took a one-year sabbatical and hiked our way through Europe. We absolutely loved hiking in the Alps, so after we read about the ‘Tour du Mont Blanc,’ we knew we had to do it.”
When Altshuler read about hikers coming into a mountain town, strapping a wheel of cheese to their backs and continuing on their way, she thought, “I’m all in.”
“They also described a tartiflette, a creamy baked casserole of potatoes, cream, cheese, bacon, and onions, served with fresh bread, as true French mountain food. And they showed pictures of cows with bells and charming neck décor and you just know they’re supplying the milk for all of this wonderful cheese. I thought, ‘We’re going to eat great on this trip,’” she said.
Hikers will end each day’s trek with their arrival at a small country inn, where they will be provided their evening meal and a place to sleep −− sometimes in a room at the inn, and other times, inside a small hut. In the morning, they will be served a hearty country breakfast, plus food to pack for their lunch, which they likely will enjoy in an alpine meadow.
“This is the kind of hiking we love so much,” Altshuler said. “We meet people from all over the world, strangers to us until we share a common meal and talk about how we all just hiked up the same mountain to get there. Mostly in our 40s, 50s, and 60s, everyone is healthy and energized and came all this way to do this crazy, wonderful thing.”
Getting there
Although the “Tour du Mont Blanc” is not until the first two weeks of August, for Amy Altshuler and Frank Hespe, both 61, the training, layered on top of a lifetime of active-outdoor lifestyles, is already well underway.
Three or four days a week, Altshuler, a former triathlete, slips into the pool at Carmel Valley Athletic Club for a rigorous workout. She also lifts weights at the club or at home, where she also meditates and concentrates on breath work, using an “expand-a-lung” device. Reportedly used by Navy SEALS, it is designed to improve endurance through better breathing and lung function.
Hespe climbs on to a club treadmill every morning, sets it on its highest incline, and hikes as fast as he can. In the evening, the couple does yoga together, to stay mobile and flexible and work on balance and agility. On busy days, when pressed for time, they simply head outside for a long run.
On the weekends, the couple has been placing an increasing number of 3-pound sand bags in their day packs, before heading out for a challenging local hike.
“Everything we do,” said Altshuler, “is training specific to our Mont Blanc hike. If we want to build strength, we hike with load. Uphill hiking is about cardio capacity. But you have to have a lot of strength to control your descent. Mostly, our goal is to hike and hike hard!”
The couple also invests in mental training for focus, endurance, logistics, and the ability to anticipate and cope with whatever lies ahead.
“It’s a process of considering all of the different contingencies that might happen while we’re on the trail, both good and bad,” said Altshuler. “Frank’s our big planner, so he often is thinking several steps ahead about what may or may not happen in the course of a day or the entire trip. I’m the gearhead, so I usually work out the kinks when it comes to shoes, clothing, packs, and the first aid kit.”
Altshuler doesn’t like a lot of exposure in the terrain, like when the trail is cut 6 inches into an open hillside, or it’s covered in snow. Hespe is fine, fearless, she says. Aware of her discomfort, he hikes in front, blocking her view of what might be fearsome. Otherwise, he hikes behind, just to be sure of her wellbeing.
“I don’t actually like heights,” she said, “but I deal with it a lot, so I just have to muscle up.”
“You are courageous and brave,” her husband said.
“You tell me that every time.”
“And every time, we’ve both gotten up the mountain and back down.”
Their personalities seem to complement one another while hiking, as well. Hespe sees the world from the 30,000-foot level, says Altshuler, while she has a micro view that zeros in on tiny details. This means that he experiences the trek from his broad, internal map, while she remembers where the tiny blue flowers were.
“Traveling well together is a great skill set,” Hespe said. “We do amazingly well, maybe because only one of us is allowed to melt down at a time.”
