A 91-year-old has become the oldest hiker in the world to complete the Appalachian Trail. Dale "Greybeard" Sanders celebrated the achievement.
"It's harder on you physically when you get older and you simply cannot do what a 21-year-old can," Sanders told People. "Those limitations are the reason why I'm the only one in their 90s that has ever hiked the entire Appalachian Trail."
Hiking the Appalachian Trail
"My wife didn't want me to be gone for a year, so I did it for six months, then came home for the winter, and then went back to finish," Sanders explains. It was difficult work. He struggled to the summit of Katahdin, falling on rocks and couldn't get up. "It was so bad. I was there laying on the rocks, couldn't hike up, couldn't hike down. God must have been with me because I'm in such good shape, the pain started subsiding after about 30 minutes and I was able to walk to the top."
Despite his accomplishments, he's not resting on his laurels at 91. He holds the record for the Grand Canyon but wants to break his own record. He's not done by a long shot. The hiker explained, "I have that record now, but I want to raise the age to 91."
Sanders has a bit to go before attempting that. As far as next, he's planning a scuba trip.
"I got an offer to scuba dive with the fish in the Atlanta aquarium. And that's a fun thing," says Sanders. "I'm going to pick them up on that offer. That's my next thing to do."
