What ages are the oldest AT hikers?

[FossilFool]

I'm taking my sons & father in law on a section hike soon. FIL is pushing 80, so I'm curious how old the older folks walking the AT are. How old was the oldest person to ever hike a significant section of the trail?

[rhjanes]

Cinnamon comes to mind. He was 88 and section hiking. I believe his daughter was supporting him with food stops and such.

IIRC, I think the oldest person who thru hiked was like 84?

It really all depends the health and fitness of the person.

[rafe]

Earl Shaffer's last thru-hike was at age 79, as I recall. Lots of retirees on the trail, folks in their sixties or seventies.

I met a 95 year old gentleman on a short hike last summer - Tully trail in MA, not the AT.

[WingedMonkey]

Comparing one 80 y/o to another is no more a barometer than comparing one 30 y/o to another.

My 84 y/o father still goes turkey hunting but does his yard work (7 days a week) on a motorized scooter. His service related foot injuries have gotten more restraining as he ages.

More important is what shape your father-in-law is in, and how much walking he does now.

:sun

[Snowleopard]

Cimarron (Mike Caetano) hiked a lot of the AT at age 86 in 2011 (1114 miles). He recently hiked most of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage at age 91.
http://www.trailjournals.com/about.cfm?trailname=8796
https://www.facebook.com/Mike-Caetano-or-Cimarron-The-91-Year-Old-Pilgrim-339724349461142/

[Another Kevin]

I had an uncle who could outhike me when he was 80 and I was 32. (He went downhill fast after that, and didn't quite make it to 90.) But he'd been extremely active all his life, despite a bad heart. He'd been given six months to live when he was quite a young man, and outlived a half a dozen cardiologists who made the same pronouncement over the years.

But my uncle was the exception, rather than the rule. Most octogenarians aren't that fortunate, or that stubborn. (The old man was a real bastard.)

[Odd Man Out]

My goal is to become the first 90 year old thru hiker in 2049. So if anyone else does it before that, I'm screwed.

[peakbagger]

My dad used to do speeches for AARP, he had standard one that Old retirees are not necessarily old and Young retires are not necessarily young, its all goes down to level of activity. If someone sits down in his lounge chair when they retire and watch the world go by, he/she may never get up, those who stay active and interested will look and feel a lot younger despite their chronological age. He was playing singles tennis into his eighties.

Many long term hikers wear out their joints eventually and some get them replaced and go right back at it.

[Another Kevin]

My dad used to do speeches for AARP, he had standard one that Old retirees are not necessarily old and Young retires are not necessarily young, its all goes down to level of activity. If someone sits down in his lounge chair when they retire and watch the world go by, he/she may never get up, those who stay active and interested will look and feel a lot younger despite their chronological age. He was playing singles tennis into his eighties.

Many long term hikers wear out their joints eventually and some get them replaced and go right back at it.

That said, a lot of sedentary people are sedentary because their disabilities came first. It happens at a younger age in some than others, and it isn't always a result of lifestyle choices. Some of the threads I see around here where people are trumpeting the virtues of the strenuous life come close to blaming the victim.

[Odd Man Out]

My dad used to do speeches for AARP, he had standard one that Old retirees are not necessarily old and Young retires are not necessarily young, its all goes down to level of activity. If someone sits down in his lounge chair when they retire and watch the world go by, he/she may never get up, those who stay active and interested will look and feel a lot younger despite their chronological age. He was playing singles tennis into his eighties.

Many long term hikers wear out their joints eventually and some get them replaced and go right back at it.

My grandmother lived independently in her own house until her 90's. After she was found a couple of times in the back yard unable to get up from a fall, they convinced her it was time to move into a nursing home. When she moved in she observed "everyone here is so old", when in fact she was the oldest person there on the day she moved in.

[FossilFool]

Great replies, thanks! My FIL is in very good shape, though it's hard to train for the hills from down in Florida. We'll just take it slow, and my sons will carry the most weight. I'm 60 but have no doubt i'll be able to do it, have been training with a heavy pack though again, not with any substantial elevations.

Hard research shows now that you should never completely retire. Keep doing things that challenge you physically and just as important, mentally, else you'll go down fast.

[imscotty]

Not exactly what the OP asked for but the oldest AT thru-hikers (as far as I know) were...

'Easy One' in the male category at the age of 81.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/apr/03/nc-man-81-now-oldest-thru-hiker-to-traverse/

and Drag'n Fly in the female category at age 74.

http://appalachiantrials.com/dragn-fly-oldest-woman-thru-hike-appalachian-trail/

I think the female record is just begging to be broken. If I am still above ground in 25 years and Easy One's record remains, I would like to give it a go :)

[MtDoraDave]

A couple weeks ago, I met a 75 year old guy about 10% through a through hike... I think his trail name was Bright Star... something Star. He's hiking with a golden retriever.

[Deacon]

A couple years ago I met Statesman, a 75 year old fellow who had been hiking for the previous 13 years. His goal was to hike one state each year, and when I met him in Georgia, that would be his final state.

[Marta]

Not exactly what the OP asked for but the oldest AT thru-hikers (as far as I know) were...

'Easy One' in the male category at the age of 81.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/apr/03/nc-man-81-now-oldest-thru-hiker-to-traverse/

and Drag'n Fly in the female category at age 74.

http://appalachiantrials.com/dragn-fly-oldest-woman-thru-hike-appalachian-trail/

I think the female record is just begging to be broken. If I am still above ground in 25 years and Easy One's record remains, I would like to give it a go :)

I encountered Easy One in 2006. I was thru-hiking and he was just noodling around on the Trail for a few days. I think he was 83 at that point.

I had just gotten some new boots to, I hoped, improve my traction on the frozen soil, and they'd given me blisters where they rubbed my ankle bones. He stopped and consulted with me about it, and helped me carve some sections out of my CCF pad to hold the boots away from my skin.

He introduced himself, and mentioned his record, of which he was rightly very proud. I was struck by his joyous attitude. It's a sharp change from the ailment-drenched conversation most people that age try to involve me in. What a delightful man!

[Uncle Joe]

Hope to be one of them! So refreshing to hear about these hikers.

[Seatbelt]

The "Pink Panthers" were an older couple who I ran into in May 2011. They were both over 80YO and attempting a thru-hike. Not sure how far they made it.

[LittleRock]

According to the guy who shuttled me on my section hike in SW Virginia last fall, there was one thru-hiker last year who was 91 - went by the trail name "Zeus" because of his long white hair and beard. He didn't complete his thru-hike, but even making it from Springer to SW Virginia at that age is pretty darn impressive.

[Trance]

I met a German "AT tourist" hiking up Raven Cliffs three years ago. He was 87 years old.

[daddytwosticks]

That said, a lot of sedentary people are sedentary because their disabilities came first. It happens at a younger age in some than others, and it isn't always a result of lifestyle choices. Some of the threads I see around here where people are trumpeting the virtues of the strenuous life come close to blaming the victim.

100% agree!

They are called couch potatoes or other juvenile names by some posters in particular. Many hikers who post here want to turn all of Appalachia into virgin wilderness. No road access to scenic vistas or mountain tops and erase all evidence of manmade structures. I know first hand: give a handicapped person an opportunity to drive to the top of a mountain and see a sunset or greet some thru hikers and it will no doubt make his or her day. It may even be the last thing he or she does, in some instances.

[Gramps]

I thought Grandma Gatewood was in her 80's when she hiked.

[magic_game03]

I remember meeting Easy One in 2004. interesting UL fellow who made most of his own gear. His tent was solid black. I've never seen anything like it before or since.