Copyright Anchorage Daily News
The day Betty Kellenberger hit a patch of freezing rain on Mount Madison, quitting crossed her mind. She was hungry, cold and sore. “You’re 80 years old,” she told herself in a pep talk atop a mountain in New Hampshire. “You can do it.” A few months later, Kellenberger stood at the Massachusetts-Vermont border, having just finished hiking the entire 2,197-mile Appalachian Trail. She became, without realizing it, the oldest woman ever to do it. “We put all kinds of limitations on ourselves,” said Kellenberger, who lives in Carson City, Michigan. “Sometimes the biggest one is we don’t get up and try it.” The Appalachian Trail had interested Kellenberger since she was an elementary school student. “I was just fascinated by the idea that you could walk from Georgia to Maine,” said Kellenberger, who grew up on a farm in Howell, Michigan. “It was a dream more than anything else, because I never had the time.” Kellenberger was a middle school teacher for more than four decades, and she taught adult classes at night. In her spare time, she was an avid cyclist, biking across every state in the country and every province in Canada. She also rode her bike along the Underground Railroad. “I’ve done Australia and New Zealand and China,” she said. “Then I switched to hiking.” When she retired in 2009, Kellenberger started checking items off her bucket list, including hiking up to Machu Picchu. Next, she set her sights on completing the Appalachian Trail. Only 1 in 4 people who attempt to thru-hike - meaning to hike the trail in 12 months or less - ultimately complete it, according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Kellenberger’s first attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail didn’t go as planned. She started training in 2022 in her small Michigan town, where the closest thing to a mountain, she said, was the staircase at a local hospital. “I did that over and over again,” said Kellenberger, who is not married and has no children. When she embarked on the actual trail, Kellenberger suffered a series of setbacks: Lyme disease, dehydration and a concussion. Her hiking partner, Joe Cox, also had a bad fall, and they both got off the trail about halfway through. “I slipped on a rock and did a face-plant, and he was there,” Kellenberger said, noting that they met on the trail and became close friends. In 2023, Kellenberger started the hike again, though near the midpoint of her hike, she fell and went home. Cox - a U.S. Navy veteran - couldn’t join her on the trail, as he was dealing with health challenges. He died of complications from stomach surgery that year. “That was really hard,” she said. “He was a rather large person in my life for a very short time.” Shortly after, Kellenberger had shoulder surgery, then a knee replacement in 2024. Once she recovered, she decided to take another stab at hiking the whole Appalachian Trail - entirely on her own. “I dedicated my hike to Joe,” Kellenberger said. She returned to the trail in August 2024, beginning in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, and making her way south first. About a month into her hike, Hurricane Helene hit, and she and other hikers were forced to evacuate as the Appalachian Trail Conservancy urged people to avoid the southern sections of the trail. The organization changed its policy due to the severity of the hurricane, allowing thru-hikers to stop their hikes and start them again within 12 months without losing their mileage. Kellenberger pivoted, hiking north until the winter weather hit, and picking back up in March 2025. Along the way, Kellenberger toughed it out through steep, rocky terrain - especially in Maine and New Hampshire, which she said were the most challenging parts of the trail. But she also found them among the most beautiful. “A lot of it is just gorgeous, gorgeous country,” she said. “The things that I saw on the trail are things that most Americans don’t have the chance to see. The whole experience is just mind-blowing.” Hiking every day gave her the time and space to reflect on her life and enjoy the serenity of being in nature. “You fill your head with all kinds of things,” Kellenberger said. “You make all kinds of decisions about how you’re going to live your life differently or better.” Kellenberger carried a tent with her and camped out when she could. She also stayed in shelters, hostels and hotels, and sometimes slept in the homes of fellow hikers she met on the trail. She aimed to hike 10 to 15 miles per day. “The other hikers are an amazing group of people,” she said. Kellenberger met a group of Boy Scouts hiking in Pennsylvania, and they insisted on giving her a trail name. They settled on “The Legend,” and other hikers started calling her that, too - including author and journalist Ben Montgomery, who wrote “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk,” a book about the first woman to solo thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. Emma “Grandma” Gatewood completed the trail in 1955 at age 67, after having 11 children and suffering decades of abuse by her husband. “It is a very simple story of endurance and perseverance of the human spirit,” said Montgomery, adding that Gatewood was his great-great aunt. “Her story has inspired many people, women and men alike, in their golden years.” Montgomery completed his first thru-hike this past summer and coincidentally crossed paths with Kellenberger at a hostel in New Hampshire. He spotted her resting on a couch. “Somebody said, ‘that’s Legend. She’s trying to finish a thru-hike and she’s 80 years old,” Montgomery said. “She is coming on the heels of a bunch of amazing female pioneers including Grandma Gatewood,” he said. “I think it’s so cool.” Kellenberger hiked all throughout the summer, ending her journey at the Massachusetts-Vermont border on Sept. 12. Her success was covered by the hiking publication The Trek, as well as several local stations. Before Kellenberger, the oldest woman to thru-hike the trail was Linda “Nana” Vanderloop at age 74. “Once I get my head set on a goal, I am so goal-focused that I keep going,” Kellenberger said. Morgan Sommerville, director of visitor use management for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, said Kellenberger’s hike has resonated widely with people. “Finishing the A.T. at any age is an incredible accomplishment,” he said. “It’s a lot of work, no matter how you look at it … particularly at her age, I think it’s pretty impressive.” Sommerville said the average age of hikers who finished the trail in 2024 was 41, and hikers are most commonly in their early-to-mid-40s. Still, older people are increasingly trying it, though few go on to complete it as Kellenberger did. Although the conservancy doesn’t keep official records, Sommerville said, it is “not disputed” that Kellenberger is the oldest woman to complete a thru-hike. “Seventy is the new 50,” said Sommerville, 72. “Lots of people are getting more active and hiking more.” Sommerville believes Kellenberger’s feat will motivate more older adults to get out on the trail. “I’m sure it will be inspirational to many people,” he said. “It is to me.” Kellenberger said she didn’t intend to become “The Legend” or break any records, but she’s glad she never gave up. “I’ve heard from so many people who have gotten off their couch and have started to move,” she said. “I’m amazed.” Now that she’s checked the Appalachian Trail off her bucket list, she’s hoping to do several hikes in Iceland this spring, and perhaps the North Country National Scenic Trail, which runs from North Dakota to Vermont. “Hiking will be a part of my future,” she said. “I’ll do it as long as I’m able.”
