🥾 Betty the "Legend"

At 80 years old, Betty “Legend” Kellenberger recently became the oldest woman to complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, covering roughly 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine. And while the record is impressive, it wasn’t the point.

💭 A dream decades in the making…Kellenberger first dreamed of hiking the AT as a child, back when the trail itself was still young. Decades later, she finally set out, only to be knocked off course repeatedly by injuries, illness, and bad luck. Her first attempt ended with Lyme disease and a concussion. A later try was cut short by a fall. Another came after knee replacement surgery. At several points, quitting would’ve made perfect sense.

• But Kellenberger kept returning to the trail, motivated in part by a promise she made to her late hiking partner, Joe “Tracks” Cox, a Navy veteran who encouraged her to finish even when he no longer could.
• When Hurricane Helene disrupted large sections of the AT in 2024, trail officials adjusted the rules, allowing hikers like Kellenberger to complete the journey in stages—giving her one last, real shot.

She took it.

🏔️ A living legend…By September 2025, Kellenberger had completed every mile, earning the trail name “Legend,” first given to her by a Boy Scout troop she met along the way. She didn’t adopt it until she really felt she’d earned it, which, by New Hampshire’s White Mountains, she had.

Ask her what made the experience special, and she doesn’t say the views. She says the people: fellow hikers, trail angels, shuttle drivers, and strangers who showed generosity without expecting anything back.

Her advice to others—especially older women—is simple: stay active, start where you are, and don’t let anyone else decide what you’re capable of.