An 83-year-old from Alabama started walking when he retired more than 25 years ago — and never stopped.
MJ "Sunny" Eberhart strode into the record books this week as the oldest hiker to complete the 3,500km Appalachian Trail in the eastern United States.
Mr Eberhart, who goes by the nickname Nimblewill Nomad, said despite being a seasoned hiker, the trail was tough going at his age and led to quite a few spills on slippery rocks.
"I've a got a couple of marks on me, but I'm OK," he said.
Mr Eberhart hiked the trail in sections in reverse order to take advantage of optimal weather, and had already completed northern sections including Maine's Mount Katahdin.
He completed his final section in western Massachusetts, the same year a 5-year-old became among the youngest to complete the feat.
Joining Mr Eberhart for the finish was the former record holder, Dale "Greybeard" Sanders, who lives outside Memphis, Tennessee.
He completed the hike at age 82 in 2017. He's not sad to see the record fall.
Jordan Bowman, from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy confirmed Mr Eberhart as the oldest person to finish the trail, surpassing Mr Sanders.
Mr Eberhart discovered his love for hiking after retiring from his career as a Florida optometrist in 1993.
With his flowing locks and full beard he was somewhat reminiscent of a famous movie character and actually hiked farther than most who traverse the full trail between Georgia's Springer Mountain and Maine's Katahdin.
He started his hike in February at his home in Flagg Mountain, Alabama, adding hundreds of kilometres to the route.
Hiking to find peace
The journey was a modest distance for Mr Eberhart, who previously trekked 7,080km from the Florida Keys to northern Quebec, which he chronicled in his book, Ten Million Steps.
Mr Eberhart later hiked a greater distance, from Newfoundland to Florida, and walked from Chicago to California.
He said he was feeling his age on this hike and his reflexes weren't what they once were, so he tried to limit himself to eight hours of hiking a day.
But he still got banged up.
He recently took a tumble and bloodied his elbow, causing his hiking companion Odie Norman to ask if he would like to take a break.
Mr Eberhart retorted, "do you think if I complain about it it will go away?", before picking himself and pressing on.
Despite some stumbles Mr Eberhart hasn't lost his desire to keep moving or to seek the sense of calm that he feels while hiking in the company of his tight-knit community.
His first major hike was motivated by a search for peace after struggling with the emotional and mental baggage of a divorce and losing the respect of his children, he said.
But eventually, he found peace and forgiveness.
"You can seek peace. That doesn't mean that you're going to find it," he said.
"I persevered to the point that the good Lord looked down on me and said 'you're forgiven, you can be at peace',"
With the hike completed, Mr Eberhart plans to return to his Alabama home where he serves as caretaker of a fire tower and cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Mr Norman, a friend of Mr Eberhart, said it is unlikely he will hang up his boots anytime soon.
"I don't think it's going to be his last hike. I just don't think he knows what's he's going to hike next."
AP
