He's 91 And Fell 71 Times Hiking The Entire Appalachian Trail, Making Him The Oldest Person To Accomplish This Feat

A 91-year-old man named Dale Sanders has officially become the oldest person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. His supporters have given him the nickname "Gray Beard." The trek is 2,190 miles long, and he finished it in just under a year.

On August 31, shortly before noon, Sanders reached the peak of Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine. He stopped to celebrate his accomplishment and reflect on his journey. He broke a record that he previously set in 2017. Back then, he was 82 years old and completed the hike in seven months.

His record stood for four years until 83-year-old M.J. Eberhart, also known as Nimblewill Nomad, claimed the title in 2021. Eberhart had wanted to quit several times, but Sanders actually went up and hiked with him the last few days for encouragement.

Eberhart is now 87 years old and has returned the favor to Sanders. He was part of a group of volunteers who drove a camper van to meet Sanders at rest stops during the first 800 miles of the hike.

On September 6, 2025, Sanders set off from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, which was right in the middle of the trail, making it an unconventional starting point. He then hiked south into Georgia to reach Springer Mountain.

He took a break in the winter and resumed his journey in the spring. He went north from Harpers Ferry to Katahdin. He averaged 12 miles per day and had only one day of rest each week. Along the way, many fellow hikers offered snacks, supplies, and words of encouragement to Sanders.

As he made it to the last stretch of his hike, Sanders ran into some barriers. Throughout the year, he experienced a total of 71 falls, and six of them were what he described as hard falls.

In June, he was descending Killington Mountain in central Vermont when he fell forward in a boulder field. Luckily, he didn't have any broken bones, just a few scrapes on his hands, arms, and legs. He was able to keep going without even wiping the blood off.

But after this particular fall, he was hospitalized with a pinched nerve. He also found out that his mother-in-law had passed away around that same time.

aheflin- stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only - pictured above is the Appalachian Trail in Tennessee

After his hospital stay, Sanders went back home to Tennessee. He was cleared to continue hiking, but he considered quitting. His wife convinced him to finish the trail, so he hiked a section of the trail in the Great Smoky Mountains before returning to Maine.

Sanders was born in Kentucky in 1935, two years before the Appalachian Trail was completed. As a kid, he was bullied for being smaller but gained confidence by participating in sports such as swimming and acrobatics. He later served in the Navy and had a long career in parks and recreation before retiring in 2002.

In 2020, he became the oldest person to complete the "rim-to-rim-to-rim" trail at the Grand Canyon at the age of 85. The trek was roughly 42 miles and took place in harsh desert conditions.

Then, in 2022, when he was 87 years old, he paddled the Mississippi River in 87 days. Seven years ago, he completed the same trip in 80 days as an 80-year-old.

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