It. An 87 year old man has become the oldest person to paddle the Mississippi river. Hear about it at urban legends and stranger truths a Tennessee man became the oldest person to paddle the length of the Mississippi river when he completed the 87 day journey at the age of 87. Dale Greybeard Sanders departed from Lake Etasca, Minnesota, on his 87th birthday and arrived in Luling, Louisiana, 87 days later, earning the Guinness World Record at the age of 87 years and 87 days