“Wanted Something to Prove to Himself’: Son-In-Law of 92-Year-Old Who Allegedly Became the Oldest Person to Hike Grand Canyon Rim-To-Rim

Why settle for a rocking chair when one can rock the Grand Canyon? At the age of 92, most people enjoy an afternoon of bingo or a leisure stroll in the park, but not Alfredo Aliaga. 

Aliaga decided to conquer the Grand Canyon embalming his name in the upcoming Guinness World Record as the oldest person to accomplish the hike completing the Rim-to-Rim of the canyon. The article records the adventurous feat of Aliaga as he defies the challenges posed by senility.

Breaking hiking records at 92, Aliaga outperforms himself

The 92-year-old, born in Spain, took up the exhilarating trek covering 24 miles, comprising climbing an altitude of over 10,000 feet. It is within 21 hours that Aliaga completed the challenge, surpassing the record previously set by the 91-year-old and 152 days old John Jempka.

Reminiscing his achievement, Aliaga’s son-in-law, Jurgen Buchenau shared his insights in an interview with Backpacker, “This is not a family that usually goes for records or anything like that. He just kind of got interested in it. I think he wanted something to prove to himself.”

Having completed the Rim-to-Rim hike twice before accompanied by his daughter and son-in-law, it was during the lockdown that interest spiked in Aliaga to break the records. Since, in the past, he had missed the age cut-off by only three months, his desire to complete the challenge aggravated.  

Aliaga’s road to creating records in hiking history

Since the path to accomplishing victory in the face of the treacherous terrain of the Grand Canyon is a difficult task, Aliaga surrendered himself to a preparatory training session. He started walking three hours a day back to his home in Berlin. He even went to rigorous training sessions to raise his fitness level for the upcoming adventure.

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Even though the initial plan was to hit the grounds in the spring of 2023, but it got postponed due to the harsh weather conditions leading to the closure of the North Rim. The Canyon is famous for its unforgiving terrain that left the Buchenau couple immensely worried. However, Aliaga overcame all doubts and triumphed in tackling the trail with ease. As he pushed his boundaries, clicking selfies with fans along the way, Buchenau stated, “I think he does want to show that you are, to some extent, only as old as you feel.” 

On his way to make his dream come true, Aliaga garnered massive support from the community on whom the hiker had left an inspiring impact. As the 92-year-old hiker is gearing up to make a comeback next year, Aliaga stands as an embodiment of the fact that with the right mindset and determination, you can emerge victorious in every battle of life. 

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