Dale Sanders, 91, has his record back as the oldest hiker to finish the Appalachian Trail.

He completed the 2,193-mile route on Monday at the top of Maine's Mount Katahdin.

Sanders, known as Grey Beard, first set the record in 2017 when he was 82.

His friend M.J. Eberhart took the title in 2021, which made Sanders plan a return.

Sanders counted 71 falls during the hike, including six hard ones.

One fall led to a short hospital stay, and another happened just 200 yards from the end.

In June, he fell in a rocky area in Vermont but kept walking without cleaning his wounds.

Weeks later, a numb arm sent him to a Maine hospital.

Doctors found a pinched nerve, not a stroke.

He thought about quitting for a short time, but his wife encouraged him to go back.

Sanders said his goal is now bigger than the record.

He said people feel motivated by his efforts, and this surprised him.

Fellow hiker Meredith Ewenson said Sanders showed that the journey matters most.

She remembered his "victory dance" and said his fitness at that age seemed impossible.

Sanders was born in Kentucky in 1935, two years before the trail was finished.

He holds other age-related records, like being the oldest person to paddle the whole Mississippi River.

During this hike, he once lay down for a two-minute power nap and then kept walking.