An 80-year-old woman named Betty Kellenberger finished section hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT), becoming the oldest woman to accomplish this feat. Kellenberger is an inspiration to all, not only because she’s still hiking during her eighth decade on Earth but also because she continued to go back to the trail time and time again after set backs like Lyme Disease and knee-replacement surgery.
Kellenberger told The Trek that she didn’t set out to break any records. Thru hiking the AT was simply a long-time dream and goal of hers. She said folks on the trail started asking her age and suggesting she might be breaking a record. And, in fact, she was.
Previously, the oldest woman to complete the thru hike was Linda Vanderloop, who finished the AT last year at 74 years old. The oldest person to ever earn this accolade was M.J. Eberhart (“Nimblewill Nomad”), who completed the AT in 2021 at age 83.
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Kellenberger began section hiking the AT back in 2022. Various set backs took her off trail, but she always came back to pick up where she left off. She finished the final stretch of the famed 2,200-mile trek between Georgia and Maine on September 12.
See Kellenberger, the 80-year-old woman who just finished section hiking the Appalachian Trail, here:
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