Trevor Thomas Blind Hiker
Trevor Thomas is the world's only blind professional long distance hiker. Throughout his career, he has trekked nearly 20,000 miles on America's most rugged and remote long trails. He gained notoriety in 2008 when he became the first blind person in history to complete a solo, unassisted thru hike of the 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail (AT). It was during this first trek that he first attracted the attention of the media and the gear industry.
In 2010, he became the first blind person to thru hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), a 2,645 mile trek from Mexico to Canada along with members of his hiking team, Team FarSight, This trek was the first fully sponsored thru hike in history. That same year, he climbed to the summit of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States-- the first blind person to reach the summit. In addition, the team completed a thru hike of California's John Muir Trail, another first for a blind person.
In 2011, Thomas & Team FarSight completed what would become his first thru hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT), the first blind person to complete the trek. That same year, he filmed his first documentary with PBS (Trail of Trust). In addition, he complete 5 segments of the Colorado Trail (CT) alone, using only his echolocation skills and memorized trail data. This led him to begin working on a system for self navigating the lesser traveled & more technically demanding long trails without the need for a sighted partner.
In 2012, Thomas received his first guide dog, Tennille, from Guide Dogs for the Blind in California. Since then, the pair has trekked nearly 6,000 miles on America's lesser traveled trails without a human partner or guide. Thomas does not use a GPS unit. He relies instead on experience, hyper accurate directions emailed to his iPhone, and the unique relationship he has with Tennille to navigate some of the most challenging trails in the country.
In 2013, Thomas & Tennille completed North Carolina's nearly 1,000 mile Mountains to Sea Trail (MST). The pair were the only hikers to complete a thru hike that year; Thomas was the first blind person & Tennille the first dog to finish the trek.
In spring, 2014, the pair completed their thru hike of the Long Trail., the first solo & self navigated trek of that trap by a blind person. Later that year, they completed his second thru hike of the TRT. This was the first solo thru hike of the trail by a blind person & the first by a guide dog. Additionally, they climbed to the summits of Mt. Rose & Mt. Friel, the tallest peaks in the Carson and Tahoe ranges.
In 2015, Thomas returned to CO, & along with Tennille, completed a thru hike of the 500 mile Colorado Trail (CT). This was the first self navigated trek of this trail by a blind person & a first thru hike of the trail by a guide dog. The pair also climbed to the summit of Mt. Elbert, Colorado's tallest mountain (elevation 14,400 feet), & the first solo ascent of the mountain by a blind person & a new altitude record for the pair.
Mt. Whitney summit
2010
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Trevor Thomas aka Zero/Zero
TRT's Friel Peak
2011
Dunes on MST
2013
Thomas founded Team FarSight Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization devoted to empowering blind & visually impaired young adults in 2014. His foundation currently operates a Blind Ambassador hiking program in Massachusetts, has aided in the development of an adaptive hiking trail for the blind in Manchester, MA, & has partnered with A Brighter Path Foundation (NC) to develop a destination Adventure Camp for blind young adults. Team FarSight Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity, a One Percent for the Planet partner, & a registered PayPal charity.
Thomas has been featured in magazines, newspapers, radio & television domestically & internationally, has been the subject of several documentaries, & has recently completed a viodo project with Facebook. He is a motivational speaker & sponsored athlete who is currently writing a book about his life experiences. He resides in Charlotte, NC.
CO Trail- 2015
Long Trail--2014
Appalachian Trail
2008
For more photos, follow Trevor on Flickr.
