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True Grit! 80-Year-Od Woman Sets New Record Hiking Appalachian Trail
New York Post ^ | Jan. 10, 2026 | Jeanne Erickson

Posted on 01/10/2026 3:07:06 PM PST by nickcarraway

At age 80, Betty Kellenberger set a benchmark for endurance last summer, becoming the oldest woman to complete the treacherous 2,193-mile Appalachian Trail.

Kellenberger, who spent 41 years teaching middle school in Carson City, Mich., said she’d dreamed of hiking the 14-state footpath — which runs from Springer Mountain in northern Georgia to Mount Katahdin in central Maine — since childhood.

But, as she put it, “life got in the way,” she told The Post.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Hobbies; Outdoors
KEYWORDS: appalachiantrail; elderly; hiking
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1 posted on 01/10/2026 3:07:06 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Did she run into Mark Sanford?


2 posted on 01/10/2026 3:10:53 PM PST by dfwgator ("I am Charlie Kirk!")
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To: nickcarraway
Here is a pictue of her before retirement:


3 posted on 01/10/2026 3:14:40 PM PST by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and his mercy endures forever. — Psalm 106)
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To: nickcarraway

She’s old enough to be a rock star.


4 posted on 01/10/2026 3:21:16 PM PST by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
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To: nickcarraway

Sounds like she did half the trail by herself

I don’t think its a good idea for an old woman to travel that alone.


5 posted on 01/10/2026 3:24:24 PM PST by PGR88
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To: nickcarraway

Impressive! was impressed when my dear friend hiked at least 5 miles every day until she suddenly died at age 83. (Yes; she did get the clot shot.)


6 posted on 01/10/2026 3:30:38 PM PST by MayflowerMadam ( "Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away". - B. Franklin)
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To: PGR88

You ever try and tell an old woman not to do something?


7 posted on 01/10/2026 3:30:44 PM PST by Jonty30 (Escasooners are faster than escalators,)
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To: Jonty30
You ever try and tell an old woman not to do something?

I said “calm down”.

once

8 posted on 01/10/2026 3:41:45 PM PST by onona
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To: onona

Oracle level advice....


9 posted on 01/10/2026 3:44:27 PM PST by Paladin2 (YMMV)
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To: MayflowerMadam

Sorry, about your friend.


10 posted on 01/10/2026 3:47:39 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

“Sorry, about your friend.”

Thank you. The day 9/11 is doubly sad for me.


11 posted on 01/10/2026 5:19:57 PM PST by MayflowerMadam ( "Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away". - B. Franklin)
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To: PGR88

That’s quite a feat for someone that age. How long did it take?


12 posted on 01/10/2026 8:32:43 PM PST by oldtech
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