83 Years, 2,190 Miles, & Zero Excuses: The Oldest Woman to Hike the A.T.

Breaking the "Rules" of Age

Stretching nearly 2,200 miles between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, the full length of the Appalachian Trail (known as the “A.T.”) is as rugged as they come.

With the trail packing in roughly 515,000 vertical feet, hikers face the boggling equivalent of climbing Mount Everest around 16 times. From muddy bogs to exposed roots and rocks, it’s no wonder that only 25% of the people who set out to thru hike the A.T. (hiking all sections in a year) follow through.

Betty Kellenberger took that superlative even farther. At age 83, she currently holds the record as the oldest woman to thru hike the A.T. That’s reason enough to talk to this elder hiker who earned the trail name “Legend.”

Yet it’s her attitude that makes her stand out. Betty didn’t set out to break a record, but she did set out with a mindset of enduring toughness. Her A.T. accomplishment comes second to her pursuit of staying active and connected — a masterclass for any outdoors person, or person in general, that wants to live a full and thriving life.

The Motivation to Tackle the A.T.

Betty had heard about the A.T. since she was in elementary school. And ever since retiring from her job as a teacher, she’d been steadily ticking items off her bucket list, from cross-country cycling adventures to destination hikes. But the A.T remained something she’d always wanted to try.

As for why she wanted to do it now, like many of us, COVID changed her perspective. Betty describes a moment sitting on the couch during lockdown when the A.T. bubbled back to the fore. She remembers thinking that, given the hike’s reputation, she should take a beat to consider it.

“Then,” recalls Betty, “I kid you not, my next thought was, ‘How long do you actually have to think about it?’ I was pushing 80 at that point. So I started training. I got out there, and I started doing it. And once I get started, I'm somewhat persistent.”

The Definition of a Tough Mindset

Betty stuck with it. She attempted her thru hike three consecutive years before completing it successfully, weathering Lyme disease, a concussion, a knee replacement, and her trail partner Joe passing away.

“Toughness is defined as you just keep going,” says Betty, reflecting on her unwavering return to the trail. “You don't allow things or people or obstacles to keep you from progressing onward. It's picking up and carrying on. And sometimes it takes a while to do that.”

The perseverance it takes to keep coming back, day after day, year after year, is something we can relate to here in Vermont. Sometimes things can get gritty, and you need to roll up your sleeves and keep moving. Betty’s attitude is right in line.

“We all hike the same trail,” explains Betty. “Everybody else out there is struggling with exactly the same thing you are. You haven't accomplished anything that any other thru hiker hasn't had to go through. I'm not a hero. I never have been.”

The Daily Grind

Hike, sleep, repeat. The A.T. demands so much from hikers, and it doesn’t relent. Far from being glamorous, it’s all about making your own food, setting up camp, waking up sore, tired, and facing another long stretch of trail in the early chill of damp mornings.

For Betty, it was the most difficult undertaking she’s been on, and that’s after riding a bicycle across the country multiple times.

“Not only your whole body is affected and involved in it, but so is your mind,” explains Betty. “It's long days, and it's total exhaustion, and every day you get up and you do it again, and you love it. It's absolutely incredible, but very, very hard.”

What Stories Are Made Of

The stuff it takes to cross those miles, and all those peaks, goes beyond being humbled by the trail. It means being neighborly to everyone you meet. Betty talks with joy about the communal spirit — sharing supplies, gear, camaraderie.

“It's an unusual society you're in,” says Betty, “everybody is willing to help everybody else. If someone is struggling, there's somebody there to pick you up.”

Betty recalls being hunkered down in a Tennessee shelter during a wild stretch of snow, rain, gale-force winds, and thunderstorms. One of the hikers sharing the shelter only had one meal left the night before and was trying to get off the trail the next morning. Betty knew that facing a stiff hike on an empty stomach wasn’t safe, so she shared some of her carefully rationed provisions.

“I'm not going to sit there and eat when somebody else has nothing,” says Betty. “It's that sort of taking care of your neighbor, taking care of whomever is out there and whatever the need is, that happens all the time.”

As for her favorite trail story, there are too many to say one tops the rest. But she did meet her trail partner and his extra pair of Darn Tough socks after taking a rough spill. Joe offered up his socks to sop up her blood, and the pair (the hikers), ended up tackling a solid stretch of the A.T. together before Joe passed away.

Advice for the Rest of Us

There are plenty of reasons to not keep going, and for many people, plenty of reasons to not start. Age is one of them, and out on the trail, younger hikers were consistently asking Betty how old she was. It wasn’t so much about her age as wondering how long they could keep hiking. For Betty, it comes down to staying active: “If you want to be able to move at 80, then you've got to be moving at 40 and 50 and 60.”

Another question she gets asked a lot is how people that think they’re too old or not fit enough can get into hiking, or any physical activity. Her answer to that one is just as simple: “You start where you are.”

It comes down to making a goal and then assessing how to get there. Betty didn’t just start hiking the A.T.; she trained up to it. Her advice is that you don’t just get up and hike or run ten miles. Maybe it’s walking to the mailbox first; you build up slowly, and eventually you can do more.

The Gear That Made the Hike Possible

“I had a friend ask me at the end of my first hike,” recalls Betty, “‘How much gear that you started with did you finish with?’ I was astounded at how much I swapped out on the trail.”

From shoes to pack, getting outfitted properly makes a big difference when you’re logging 10-15 miles day after day. Betty is a relatively short person, so the first item to dial in was her pack. She originally had a youth backpack that fit well but wasn’t built to last. Getting a Hyperlite pack that fit right sorted that problem.

Betty adds that “there's some things I didn't change out.” Those would be her socks. Darn Tough was on her feet pretty much the whole time. Humble brag, but our performance fit and durability made them her go-to for reliability that doesn’t quit.

“They never got mushy on me,” says Betty. “You never got the top that wouldn't stay up. They have the right fit, and they last forever — which is why I think it's ironic that you offer to swap them out, because they don't wear out.”

Beyond the Finish Line

“After the thru hike,” says Betty, “was all the media coverage, and that was totally unexpected.” She’s been featured on Good Morning America, in magazines, on the radio, and is booked as a speaker at black tie fundraisers.

As for next adventures, she’s taking on hikes in Scotland and Iceland, before coming back to her home state of Michigan to try tackling a section of the North Country Trail, an east-west route that will be the longest trail in the United States.

Pretty Darn Tough

Even before her through hike, we’d go as far as saying Betty embodies the spirit of being “Darn Tough.” Her story resonates with us because of her commitment to always learning and leaning into moving forward — refusing to stay inside, refusing to back down to her fears.

When we shared the Darn Tough motto, “We have yet to produce our best sock,” Betty lit right up. That’s the approach she took to her hike, and you might even say to her life in general.

“I love that,” says Betty, “because that's who we are as people. We can always improve. We can always do something better — but you got to have that as a goal, too. I think if you don't have that as a goal, you can let it slip right by you.”

The Long Trail Ahead & A Neighborly Sign off

Betty knows the journey is truly the goal. And that attitude led to a shift in how she approached the A.T., prioritizing the experience and the people. Betty describes herself as someone who loves socializing but also loves her quiet time.

On the trail, sometimes you’re hiking solo for hours, and sometimes you run into someone when you’d prefer to be alone – but when the former or the latter happens is out of your control.

“I was climbing a mountain in Tennessee and met an astrophysicist from NASA,” recalls Betty. “Now when in my lifetime would that happen? That's just who I ran into that day, and if I'd hurried by, I would have missed that.”

For Betty, it’s the community that’s created through shared experiences that sticks. Not the accomplishment or the feat, but what it took to get there and who she was with along the way.

“When you come off trail, that's what you remember,” says Betty. “It's the connections that are important.”

Your Own Unconventional Trail Hero

Do you have a story about an unconventional trail hero? We want to hear about who’s inspiring you out there, who embodies what it means to live Darn Tough. Drop us a line and tell us more about your own journey and the people who made it memorable.