LEWISTON – Phil Isaacson plans to celebrate turning 85 in high style.

Isaacson, who’s been a Lewiston lawyer since 1950, will hike the Tuckerman Ravine Trail on Mount Washington with 13 others Saturday, three days before his birthday.

Joining him will be his three children, Thomas, John and Elizabeth Isaacson, their spouses and partners; his grandchildren and friends, “including my very dearest friend, Mary T. Hatch,” Isaacson said. “Everybody goes up; no exemptions. They can apply to the governor, but it won’t work,” he joked Friday.

The trail is strenuous for anyone, not to mention someone turning 85. “You have to work. It’s 2.5 miles of ‘up,'” Isaacson said.

The trail does not involve climbing with hands. “You can do the whole thing on your feet,” he said. Coming down can be even more difficult, he said. Descending uses different muscles, and a tired hiker has to be careful not to slip and fall.

Isaacson, who still practices law and is a partner in his firm, has hiked and skied since he was a boy. His children and their children hike. And on most days, Isaacson walks the 1.3 miles to work, leaving his car behind.

“I come from a family of walkers,” he said. He used to meet his father – who was his law partner – as they both walked to work every day. He likes his daily walk so much that if he has errands, he’ll run the errands in his car, drive home, park and walk to the office.

Walking as part of his daily life is enjoyable, he said. “I don’t know how many times I’ve walked down College Street since I was a boy. Yet, I see something new every day.”

On Saturday, when his group reaches the top of the trail, there won’t be a birthday cake. Just peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They’ll blow a ram’s horn in recognition of everyone being together and the family’s patriarch turning 85.

Hiking on Mount Washington is a great way to celebrate a birthday, even in the ninth decade, if you’re used to walking and have an affection for mountains, Isaacson said. “The feeling you get at the top of the mountain is, you’re really in the embrace of nature in one of its most powerful forms.”

As he neared a milestone Friday, he offered some advice on aging.

“Continue to do whatever you have been doing,” he said. “Don’t say, ‘I’ve reached 65 and can’t climb or walk anymore.’ Don’t set arbitrary limits for yourself.”