Blind hiker travels the Appalachian Trail

October 28, 2010

Blind hiker travels the Appalachian Trail

CLAY BARBOUR McClatchy Newspapers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cracked ribs made it hard to breathe. A chipped bone in his hip ached as he walked. And 60-mph winds stabbed at him like icy needles.

 

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Trevor Thomas walks in McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, N. C., where he trained to hike the Appalachian Trail. Strangers on the trail helped him complete the journey.

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But at that moment, Trevor Thomas of Charlotte, N.C., could not imagine feeling better.

He was a third-of-a-mile from the rocky summit of Mount Katahdin, a granite giant that climbs skyward out of Maine’s 100 miles of wilderness.

The peak marked the end of a 2,175-mile journey, the completion of a through-hike on the Appalachian Trail. And for the first time in six months, Thomas knew for sure he was going to make it.

“Just keep moving,” he said to himself. “Whatever you do, don’t stop.”

Hiking the entire Appalachian Trail is an accomplishment few people can claim. This year about 1,600 have tried and about 460 have finished.

Only one of them — Thomas — was blind.