07/23/2026
The first day, he only made it one mile.
But let’s back up a little…
After the motorcycle accident that changed the course of his life, he was left facing a long road of recovery.
He was supposed to be preparing for culinary school. Instead, he was learning how to navigate the world on crutches.
And then came an idea that might have sounded completely crazy to some people…
Hike the Appalachian Trail.
He started at Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the AT—decided against starting at the approach trail.
The first day?
One mile.
That’s it.
One mile might not sound like much, but when you’re learning to move through the mountains on crutches, every step is an accomplishment.
So he kept going.
Slowly, he began working his way up and down those Appalachian mountains.
Some days were harder than others.
Some days meant pushing through pain and exhaustion.
But little by little, his body began to adapt.
One mile became two.
Two became three.
And eventually, he found himself doing 8 miles in a day.
Eight miles.
On crutches.
Through the Appalachian Mountains.
That’s the kind of progress you can’t measure by where you started.
It’s measured by how far you’ve come.
And he had come a long way. ❤️🩼🥾
This journey wasn’t about proving anything to anyone else.
It was about discovering what was still possible when life had already told him what it thought he couldn’t do.
And he isn’t finished yet.
There’s still some more about his story to be told…next time we will share a little more about the accident itself.
While he stayed with us to rest for a few days, he was talking about flipping up to Maine.
Crutches wasn’t feeling super confident due to having a few people tell him he’d never make it….but after spending time with him.
I have faith in his abilities.
If you find his story inspiring and you’d like to follow his journey or help him continue this journey, please follow him!
Samuel Tobin
You can support him simply by following along, sharing his story, and cheering him on.
Sometimes it takes a village to get someone up a mountain.
Crutches would love to have you along for the journey. 🩼🥾❤️
