Appalachian Trail is next for this ‘adventurer,’ 81
Bartlett’s Dale Sanders doesn’t let age slow him down
He’s back, so to speak, on the record trail.
Since setting his first world record in 1959 by holding his breath underwater a staggering 6 minutes, 4 seconds, Dale Sanders hasn’t let old age keep him from doing what some might call the impossible.
“I’ve never heard of that word (impossible),” said Sanders, who lives in Bartlett with his wife Meriam. “I have been an adventurer for a long time. It just seems the thing to do.”
The “thing to do” next on Sanders’ list is to hike the Appalachian Trail from start to finish in one calendar year, which sounds rather simple for a man who once hiked around the world in 80 days with his wife.
But wait, there’s something we haven’t told you about Dale Sanders.
He’ll celebrate his 82nd birthday on the AT in June, which means if he completes what is known as a “thruhike” of the 2,190-mile trail he will become the oldest person to do it in the same calendar year. He has already completed 40 miles through North Georgia and plans to continue his estimated seven-month journey to Maine’s Mount Katahdin at midmorning on March 14 at Neel’s Gap, Georgia.
The number of AT thru-hikers in their 60s is fewer than 500, and only about 25 people age 70 and above have completed thru-hikes. One person was 81 when he completed his fifth hike of the entire AT.
No worry, says Sanders, who spent 37 years with the Navy, including four years of active service. His first “real” job was lifeguarding on Kentucky Lake not far from where he grew up on his parents’ tobacco farm in Lickskillet, Kentucky, about 50 miles north of Nashville.
Adventures are what Sanders thrives on.
In 1983, Sanders and his wife made a journey similar to the one Jules Verne created in his 1873 book, backpacking around the world in about 80 days, plane-hopping from land to land starting and ending in the Philippines. They passed through 26 countries, walking whenever possible, using commercial transportation only when necessary.
Obviously, Sanders’ most memorable adventure was paddling the full length of the Mississippi from “Source to Sea” in 2015, celebrating his 80th birthday during the trip and making him the oldest person to solo paddle Old Man River. He used that accomplishment to raise support for Juvenile Diabetes research.
Even before he made his historic solo paddle on the river Sanders’ home had been a stopping-off point for other paddlers. He welcomes kayakers and canoeist passing through Memphis to add artwork and sign what he calls his Paddlers Hall of Fame.
“I call myself a River Angel,” he said. “It means that people paddling down the Mississippi River can come spend some time at my house. I offer logistic support to them. All the paddlers who stay at my house sign the wall.”
Most of them also have their picture taken with Sanders, whose appearance (full beard, shaggy hair-cut and long pony tail) perfectly fit his “The Old Grey Beard” nickname.
He has been in a full get-ready mode for the AT for months, spending hours hiking through Shelby Forest, especially in the park’s more mountainous portions. Of course, he’s wearing a 25-pound backpack, too. During the training he has lost weight, down to about 150 pounds, the lightest he has weighed high school.
“At almost 82 years old the preparation has been really hard,” he said. “Physically, of the nation’s three big trails (Continental Divide, Pacific Crest and AT, known as the Triple Crown of hiking in the U.S.), the AT is by far the hardest. I have done several sections (of the AT) in the past but unfortunately I have to re-hike those to get the record.”
Sanders said he has been approached by about 100 people wanting to spend time on the AT with him, maybe a few days or a week. Technically, he will be hiking alone.
“It will be just me, myself and I,” he said with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.
It’s that twinkle that quickly lets a person know that Sanders enjoys life to the fullest, and has no qualms about spending the next seven months on the AT, which is the longest hiking-only trail in the world as it passes through 14 states.
What a better year to hike the AT than 2017 as it celebrates its 80th birthday, which means that Sanders was two when the AT was completed in 1937 after more than four decades of work.
So, what does Sanders plan for his next record quest?
“I’m going to take it easy for about 12 months,” he said. “And then, I’ll start planning something else big and try to set another record in 2019 . . . if I am still here.”
You can follow Sanders’ journey on Facebook, his website (greybeardadventuer.com) or SPOT Track (share.findmespot.com).
Got an outdoors item of note? E-mail Larry Rea at lroutdoors@att.net or go to his web site at lroutdoors.com; listen to Larry Rea on Outdoors on Saturday mornings from 6-7:30 on ESPN 790-AM.