Guide dog aided trail hiker in 1990

When Mike Hanson sets out to solo-hike the Appalachian Trail in March, he will begin an expedition many might deem impossible. But in 1990, a blind man from North Carolina, Bill Irwin, completed that very feat, hiking the entire trail with his guide dog, Orient.

Last update: October 9, 2007 - 4:42 PM

Irwin averaged 12 miles a day, hiking almost nonstop from March 9 to Nov. 21. He hiked up to 18 hours straight some days to make a camp, wearing a headlamp so that his guide dog could see.

"One advantage of being blind is that you can hike at night no problem," Irwin said.

Irwin did not use a GPS device, relying instead on audio cassette tapes that described each mile of the trail. The guide dog alerted him to rocks and low-hanging branches.

Along the route, Irwin battled floods, ice storms and blizzards. He cracked a rib in a fall. He once was swept downstream while crossing a whitewater river, losing his dog temporarily.

"I had to pull on the boulders underwater to move my way across," he said. But the toughest part of the trek was mental: "I tell people the hardest part was 4 inches. I mean that 4 inches between your right ear and your left."

After his expedition, Irwin wrote a book and became a professional speaker, but not until after a long break. "I literally stayed on a couch eating, drinking and sleeping for three weeks once it was over," he said.

STEPHEN REGENOLD

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