Photo: meinzahn/123RF
Exploring the Grand Canyon is a thrilling experience at any age. For more experienced adventurers, the iconic rim-to-rim hike provides awe-inspiring views and unforgettable memories. For one man, it also means breaking a record. At 92 years old, Alfredo Aliaga has become the oldest person to complete the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim hike.
The 24-mile trek is no easy feat. Less than 1% of Grand Canyon visitors have completed it, and even park rangers recommend training for at least a year before attempting to accomplish the feat. Aliaga, an experienced hiker who has crossed the Grand Canyon multiple times, prepared for it by walking for three hours every day around his home in Berlin.
Aliaga, who is Spanish, first trekked the Grand Canyon alongside his wife, with whom he shared his love for hikes and nature. After she died from ALS in 2006, he once again returned to the Grand Canyon with his daughter and grandson in her memory. Since then, he has returned to the Grand Canyon so many times that he is a bit of a celebrity among park rangers and fellow hikers.
Before his latest attempt, his son-in-law, Jurgen Buchenau, made a Facebook post to look out for trekkers to help the family keep records of this history-making hike. “We'd love to document what we hope will be an awesome achievement. Alfredo last completed a R2R last year when he was 91 and has been hiking in the canyon five times in the last four years, so he's going to be ready for this!” In the end, Aliaga was joined by his daughter Anabel Buchenau, her husband, and hikers Julian Coiner and Peter Todd, who both volunteered to serve as witnesses, as well as a ton of well wishers who cheered for him along the path.
On October 15, after hiking for 21 hours split over two days, Aliaga completed this massive feat. “Alfredo did it!” Jurgen wrote on Facebook. “At 4 p.m. this afternoon, he climbed out of the canyon at the Bright Angel trailhead, super relieved and excited to have become the oldest person on record to have crossed the canyon rim to rim (pending verification by Guinness) at age 92,” Now, it's up to the Guinness World Records to review the documentation before awarding him with the title of the oldest person to cross the Grand Canyon. For now, his legacy as a fearless trekker who has conquered the Grand Canyon at such an advanced age has turned him into a living legend.
At 92 years old, Alfredo Aliaga has become the oldest person to complete the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim hike.
On October 15, after hiking for 21 hours split over two days, Aliaga completed this massive feat.
h/t: [Green Matters]
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