“I wanted to quit, but I persevered”
Last week, Roger Poulin completed a journey. He became the first recorded person who is both blind and deaf to hike the entire 2,180-mile Appalachian Trail.
“I wanted to prove to the deaf-blind community that they could do something like this,” said Poulin, who lives in Washington state. “You don’t have to sit at home all day. You can go out and really adventure.”
Roger and his guide discovered that the quest was harder than they initially expected.
“I planned to go through the whole thing in six months,” he said. “But once I started hiking, I realized how difficult it was for me. My pace was much slower than other hikers… I was falling all over the place.”
The hike ended up taking four years, with many setbacks along the way. But at the end, it was all worth it.
“There were so many times I wanted to quit, but I persevered,” he said. “So that moment at the top was really overwhelmingly emotional.”
More here: We Did It
Hat tip: “Go Out and Really Adventure”
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