Inspiration

Hey again!
I'm just back from Mt. Hood.  I chickened out, and didn't try for the full circle around the mountain, since a section of it is actually closed, and well, I'm not in as good of shape as I thought I was. (sigh.)

But how's this for inspiration:
Hike the Pacfic Crest Trail. Start at the Mexican border. Go all the way to Canada. Do it alone.  And one more thing: You're completely blind.

I met Trevor Thomas, aka Zero Zero, who is doing exactly that.  It's not immediately obvious that he is disabled- in fact, I wouldn't say he is "disabled" at all.  He's doing something most sighted people will never do, and just as well as any other hiker.

I was sitting down at a creekside on the Mt. Hood section of the PCT, and he came walking up behind me, went around me, and sat down as well.  I asked him if he was a thru-hiker, and he said he was (I'd met several before that as well- this is the time of year when most of them are passing through this area.)
We were chatting merrily, and I happened to ask him if he had a map I could look at, because I accidentally left mine in my car.  He said (and I'll never forget this) "Yeah sure, but I can't read it. I'm blind."
"You mean legally blind, like it's just really blurry?"
"No, like I can't see you in from of me."

Wow. I was floored!  There was NO indication that he was blind- he looked at me while he was talking, and skillfully navigated around obstacles. And lots of hikers carry ski poles for balance, that wasn't unusually at all.
"How do you know which way to go at forks in the trail?"
"Well, my friends walking ahead of me will leave three sticks in a pattern, and when I find that I know that's the right way."
"I bet you can tell a LOT about people from how they sound."
"Yep, and I echolocate too. That's how I knew you were sitting on the ground there."

This guy's hearing is SERIOUSLY acute.  He said that he knew I had a dog even though Bruno was just lying quietly on the ground, because he could hear him breathing- over the clatter of a rushing stream!

This guy is so inspiring to me- even more so now that I've looked him up, and found out he's only been blind for about 5 years- I supposed one had to be born that way to get around so well sightless.  He said in the interview I read "that it was like being in the prime of your life and having to go back to kindergarten. You have to learn everything all over again."  Bravo to you, Zero!  I would never have known, if you hadn't told me.

Oh, and he's a SUPER nice guy.  He'd be worth meeting even without the dose of wow.