Chattanoga Hiking Club members Ray Myers, David Daniels, John Rowland and Bob Rahnstop stop for a rest break while hiking up Alum Cave Trail on their way up to Mount LeConte Lodge.He’s not faster than a speeding bullet, but at 80 years old Ray Myers is still able to hike up Mount LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Myers celebrated his May 12 birthday four days later by hiking with another 80-year-old, Larry Parks, and 17 other members of the Chattanooga Hiking Club to the third highest peak in the Smokies. Myers had hiked the strenuous 5-mile Alum Cave Trail to Mount LeConte for his 75th birthday as well.
The retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant joined the club in 1992 and has been an active hiker ever since.
“My wife’s enthusiasm lured me in,” he said. “Martha came home one day after hiking the Piney River Rail, and she would just not stop talking about how much she enjoyed it. For days she kept talking about it.”
He joined the group the following Wednesday.