March 2, 2016 - Grandma Gatewood

Emma Rowena Gatewood, "Grandma Gatewood" walked out of her house one fine day in 1957 at age 69 and hiked the entire Appalachian Trail — 2,180 miles, from Springer Mountain, Ga., to Mount Katahdin, Maine.

Gatewood never stopped walking. In 1959 she celebrated Oregon's Centennial by walking from Independence, Mo., to Portland, Ore., on the Oregon Trail — 2,000 miles. She thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail again in 1960, and for the third and last time in 1963, at age 75. 

"Most people today are pantywaists," she told lightweight-backpacking guru Ray Jardine.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_28230445/long-haul-lightweight-gear-hiking-colorado-trail