Dale Sanders began his journey on September 6 of last year and today, having covered 3,530 kilometers, reached Mount Katahdin in the American state of Maine, [reports](https://nos.nl/artikel/2629195-91-jarige-amerikaan-loopt-appalachian-trail-van-3500-kilometer-en-vestigt-record) NOS. The hike was far from easy for him. According to ABC News, during his attempt to set the record, Sanders fell a total of 71 times. Seven of those falls, he said, were particularly severe. Moreover, he fell for the last time just 200 meters from the finish. ### Fell on the rocks, wiped the blood, and kept going One of the most serious falls occurred in July near Killington Mountain when there were about 600 kilometers left to the end of the route. Sanders fell face-first on a rocky section and sustained abrasions on his legs, arms, and wrists. However, what happened did not stop him. The traveler wiped the blood and continued on his way. A few weeks later, a new problem arose — Sanders experienced numbness in his left arm. Doctors feared that he might have had a stroke. However, examinations showed that the cause was a pinched nerve. After some hesitation and with the support of his wife, Sanders got back on the trail at the beginning of August. ### "It turned out to be harder than I thought" This is not Sanders' first record on the famous Appalachian Trail. The American, nicknamed Grey Beard due to his long gray beard, had already become the oldest person to hike this route. He first set such a record in 2017 when he was 82 years old. However, subsequently, Sanders' achievement was surpassed by his friend. At the time of hiking the Appalachian Trail, he was 83 years old. Sanders could not come to terms with losing the record and a few months later announced that he would make a new attempt to reclaim the title of the oldest conqueror of the route. According to the 91-year-old traveler, the current hike turned out to be significantly harder than he expected. Before starting, Sanders trained for six months, but in his own words, he was not in optimal physical shape. "There is quite a big difference between hiking this trail after 90 years and at 82 years," he noted. ### Not the only unusual record The Appalachian Trail is far from the only achievement of the energetic American. Sanders also holds the record for the oldest person to completely cross the Mississippi River. He embarked on this journey on his 87th birthday. The entire route along the Mississippi took him exactly 87 days. Now, at the age of 91, Dale Sanders has once again inscribed his name in history: despite dozens of falls, injuries, and health problems, he covered 3,530 kilometers of the Appalachian Trail and reclaimed the record for the oldest person to have completed the famous route in its entirety.
