The Appalachian Trail isn’t an easy expedition, even for serious hikers and climbers. But Trevor Thomas truly defied the odds:

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.

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.

Those who attempt such a feat face months of aches and pains, extremes in weather, intense physical challenges and long periods of loneliness.

For Thomas, stricken by a rare eye disease in 2004, the challenge offered something valuable — a chance to restore faith in himself.

But along the way it did more than that. It restored his faith in others. Many hikers lead the way and then “switched off” in the lead. It was the help of many and the dogged perseverance of Thomas that made him the first blind man to have completed this intense journey. Read more about the details here.

Source: Timesleader.com