82 Year Old Sets Record Hiking Appalachian Trail

Another record has been broken on the Appalachian Trail. It was accomplished by 82 year old Dale Sanders, aka Grey Beard.

Sanders is the oldest person to hike the 2,190 miles of the Appalachian Trail but there was a time while he was in Maine that he considered giving up.

In the middle of the 100-Mile Wilderness in Maine he was bleeding internally and having heart palpitations but decided to continue on. It was his wife that convinced him to finish after he called her to say he was about to give up.

With her encouragement and the go-ahead from his doctor, Sanders made the 2,190 mile trail to become the oldest person to complete the hike in a year.

Most of trail he hiked alone but was joined by family, friends and other hikers during his final mile.

According to washingtonpost.com Sanders is quite an athlete having completed other impressive feats. A couple of years ago, he paddled the length of the Mississippi River. He broke the record for underwater-breath-holding in 1959 and was IUSA spearfishing athlete of the year in 1965.