On Monday, Dale Sanders was about 1,000 feet from the end of the Appalachian Trail when he lost his balance.
The 91-year-old, who is known by the trail name “Grey Beard,” was headed to the summit of Mount Katahdin, the highest peak in Maine and the trail’s northern terminus. The weather on the mountain is too harsh for much besides lichen to grow, and he fell heavily onto sharp granite.
He lay on the ground and prayed. After a few minutes, he was able to get to his feet. Soon, he was standing on the summit, having reclaimed his record as the oldest person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. It was a final reminder of a lesson he said the trail had taught him repeatedly over the previous year. “When it hurts, keep going,” he said. “It’ll probably go away.”
Mr. Sanders had previously set the age mark in 2017, at 82. That record was broken in 2021 by an 83-year-old hiker, M.J. Eberhart, known on the trail as “Nimblewill Nomad.” Mr. Sanders had befriended and encouraged Mr. Eberhart, but was also inspired to try to reclaim the record.
Mr. Sanders began chipping away at the trail last September. While most thru-hikers complete the distance end-to-end in one direction, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy requires only that hikers cover every mile of the trail within a 365-day period for it to count as a thru-hike — in any direction, in any order.
Working with a rotating team of volunteers, Mr. Sanders devised a plan to divide the hiking to make the most of a year’s hiking weather. He planned to cover around 12 miles a day and sleep most nights in a camper in the back of his pickup truck.
That went more or less according to plan until early August, when numbness in his left arm sent him to the hospital, where a doctor advised him to return to his home in Memphis for a thorough assessment. Shortly after, he received news that his mother-in-law had died.
With roughly 140 miles left to hike in sections of the Southeast and Maine, he left the trail and let go of the idea of finishing within a year. “I accepted it, but I wasn’t happy about it,” he said.
After spending time with his family and receiving clearance from his doctor to return to hiking, he received a detailed plan from two of his volunteers that would allow him to finish in time. They said making the record-setting deadline would be tight, but doable. After some hesitation, he returned to the trail on Aug. 16 for a final push.
When Mr. Eberhart got word that Mr. Sanders was back on the trail, he rushed from his home in Alabama to surprise him on the trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and offer support in camp in the evenings.
“This is not a competitive thing at all,” Mr. Eberhart said after Mr. Sanders had reclaimed his title. “He helped me and encouraged me when I took the record away from him. You have no idea how happy I am to have this relieved from me, and to have it go on.”
Reached on his way back to Tennessee, Mr. Sanders said he was looking forward to some rest. But, he added, he has also started thinking about a long hike in the Grand Canyon.
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