PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — An 83-year-old hiker who is known as “Nimblewill Nomad” has become the oldest person to complete the Appalachian Trail.
M.J. Eberhart of Flagg Mountain, Alabama, hiked into the records books Sunday.
An official with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy confirmed Eberhart’s feat to The Associated Press.
Eberhart hiked the trail in out-of-order sections for optimal weather and completed the journey in western Massachusetts.
Joining him at the finish was Dale Sanders, who is the former record holder at age 82 in 2017. He told the AP that he’s happy for Eberhart and he said records are meant to be broken.
Eberhart was toasted with Champagne at journey's end.
While has become the oldest person to hike the Appalachian Trail, a 5-year-old boy named Harvey Sutton became one of the youngest to do it this year. He completed the trail in August with his parents.
Eberhart told the AP that he actually ran into Sutton on the trail, adding that the boy “impressed the dickens” out of him.
The Appalachian Trail covers over 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine.
