HULDA CROOKS has done it again! Now what? Climbed Mount Whitney, of course! On August 15,1976. And what is newsworthy about that? Well, for one thing Hulda Crooks was eighty years old last May 19. For another, this was her fifteenth climb in as many summers. Furthermore, for years of her life she was in poor health, suffering from chronic fatigue (from overwork in gaining an education), and lack of exercise. And Mount Whitney? The highest peak in the United States, exclusive of Alaska, it towers 14,495 feet above sea level. The climb itself is more than twenty-one miles round trip, and includes in one section of the trail 97 switchbacks up a steep 2,000-foot ridge. Though a very good trail, the altitude and length force many persons far younger to retreat without achieving their goal.
Hulda was born into a vigorous farm family in Saskatchewan, Canada. Until 18, she knew no formal schooling beyond the fifth grade—her services were needed, along with her brothers', to help with work on the farm and in her father's country store. Then came an opportunity to continue her education—if she could work her way, which she did, receiving her degree in dietetics at age 29. At 31 she married Dr. Samuel Crooks, much beloved physician-teacher, who served in later years as chairman of Loma Linda University's Department of Gross Anatomy.
But long hours of indoor work, sitting in class and at study, took their toll. Hulda recalls being perennially tired. The thought struck her one day, I wonder if I'm going to die? Quick as a flash came another thought, Well, if I die, I won't be tired any more! But her perceptive husband did everything he could to entice her outdoors: gardening, nature study, raising lovebirds, calves, and goats, hiking, and kindred activities. Especially helpful were the inspired suggestions in Counsels on Health and Counsels on Diet and Foods—these provided the framework and inspiration for a life-style she has followed for many years! Early to bed and early up. Out about 5:30 A.M., she can jog a mile in 12 minutes and walks back in 15. She carries out some exercises for her upper trunk, works in her yard, and walks everywhere she goes locally—market, work, church. A vegetarian for 62 years, she uses milk and very few eggs.
Work? Indeed! Until 1974 she was the full-time and highly valued research assistant of Dr. Mervyn Hardinge, dean of LLU's School of Health. Since her "retirement" (from the pay check!) two years ago, at 78, she has continued her work for the dean unchanged—except that now it is voluntary.
You can't live to be 80 without having experienced a lot of heartache, and Hulda Crooks is no exception. The loss of her much-beloved husband, and later of their only son, has contributed much to her sorrows. But in the majesty of the mighty mountains and their closeness to heaven, she finds new resources of peace and tranquility—and she partakes liberally. At 75 she crossed the Sierra Nevada crest from the east in a 50-mile backpack trip and came up Mount Whitney from the west. That same summer she took a weekend trek down Grand Canyon and up again.
At 76 there was an 80-mile trip across the Sierra Nevada range from Giant Forest in Sequoia to the top of Whitney and down to Whitney Portal. This she fol lowed ten days later with a 50-mile hike from Thousand Island Lakes into Yosemite. The same year she tramped the 20 miles down into Havasu Canyon and back. At 77 she backpacked 96 miles, much of it on the John Muir Trail, plus Havasu Canyon again. At 78, a 64-mile trip over five mountain passes in the vicinity of 12,000 feet elevation. In five summers she completed the 212-mile John Muir Trail, which skips along west of the crest of the high Sierras between Yosemite National Park and Mount Whitney. Access to the trail from roadsend for autos, and return, added many miles!
Hulda Crooks is a deeply devoted Seventh-day Adventist Christian and an inspiration to her many friends. Her recipe for a happy, productive, healthful life? "Look for the good things in life and practice being grateful for all life's blessings."
