[Blindtlk] GPS and Hiking the Appalachian Trail

[David Andrews]

>Ultrafit: Tapping his way along the Appalachian Trail
>With the help of a voice-enabled GPS, Minneapolis attorney Mike
>Hanson, who is blind, is training for the hike of a lifetime.
>
>By Stephen Regenold, Special to the Star Tribune
>
>Last update: October 09, 2007 - 8:25 PM
>
>
>Mike Hanson is blind and will use a GPS transmitter and receiver
>with voice-recognition technology to hike the Appalachian Trail from
>Georgia to Maine. Hanson hopes to hike the 2,174-mile trail solo
>next spring using the technology.
>
>On a Wednesday morning in mid-September, Mike Hanson zipped on a
>red windbreaker, checked his GPS device, then set out to hike a dirt
>trail at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis. It was a training day
>for Hanson, a 42-year-old attorney from St. Louis Park who next
>March will start hiking the 2,174-mile Appalachian Trail, from
>Georgia to Maine, solo and unsupported.
>It would be a big deal even if Hanson, a lifelong outdoorsman,
>weren't blind.
>
>"I want to show the independence of people with disabilities," he
>said.
>
>Indeed, a journey on the trail -- which Hanson anticipates will
>entail eight months of travel at about 10 miles of trekking per day
>-- defines self-reliance: Hikers live out of their backpacks, pick
>up food once a week in towns, and sleep under the stars each night
>for weeks on end.
>
>Detailed maps help hikers navigate the trail's twisting route. But
>for Hanson, who will bring no maps and does not use a guide dog,
>progress each day will be made by literally feeling his way along
>the trail, tapping a cane thousands of times a mile to avoid roots
>and rocks.
>
>A voice-enabled GPS system will alert Hanson of his proximity to
>preprogrammed waypoints -- trail shelters, huts, road crossings,
>streams, mountain peaks -- keeping him on course as he treks through
>the wilderness.
>
>"GPS is changing the way the blind and visually impaired can
>explore and learn about the world," said Janet Dickelman, president
>of the American Council of the Blind, Minnesota. "We're seeing the
>very forefront of the movement."
>
>At Theodore Wirth, where paths weave through the woods adjacent to
>Highway 55, Hanson practiced his technique. He held a GPS-enabled
>cell phone to his ear, pressing the 1 key for a prompt.
>
>"Olson Memorial Highway Service Road, 670 yards northwest," piped
>an electronic voice.
>
>"I know where I'm at now," he said.
>
>Hanson's GPS system, which consists of a small receiver unit and a
>software-enabled cell phone, is a custom setup assembled a year ago
>for about $1,200. GPS data for the Appalachian Trail is available
>from trail clubs, government agencies and hiking websites. But to
>customize the data for his expedition, Hanson has spent more than
>100 hours synthesizing these sources, uploading thousands of points
>of latitude and longitude along the trail's nearly 2,200-mile
>course.
>
>"If it goes as planned, I should never be more than a few yards
>from a GPS point," he said.
>
>Earle Harrison, president of Handy Tech North America, a New
>Brighton company that sells products for the visually impaired, said
>Hanson is something of a pioneer. "He is among the first to adapt
>the GPS system for a wilderness expedition."
>
>Hanson will carry two GPS units, 10 batteries and a small solar
>panel to charge equipment. USB thumb drives will hold extra copies
>of data. As a backup parachute, Hanson has old-fashioned audio
>cassette tapes that describe in detail every mile of the route.
>
>"I'll be out there alone," Hanson said. "The system needs to be
>fail-safe."
>
>Tapping through a practice run
>
>It was 11 a.m. at Theodore Wirth when Hanson paused to take a
>reading. The trail ahead skirted a lake, swooping northeast past a
>marsh where the sun burned mist from the ground. He held the phone
>to his ear for a cue, then trekked on.
>
>Walking steadily, Hanson tapped his cane on the trail once, then
>into the rough beside the path, back and forth in a staccato rhythm,
>tap-tap, tap-tap, tap-tap. His feet adjusted to the terrain, dancing
>around roots, setting firm on dirt, waiting momentarily to feel for
>traction, then stepping ahead.
>
>"This feels like some thick brush," he said, raking his cane at hip
>height through trail-side vegetation at a junction.
>
>Hanson will train all winter while seeking corporate sponsors to
>help finance the trip. His website, www.blindhiker.com, went live
>last month.
>
>A local production company, Travel'n Light Films of St. Bonifacius,
>plans to create a documentary. Dan Miller, executive director, said
>the plan is to film Hanson along four sections of the trail,
>following for a week at a time.
>
>Blind since birth, Hanson has accomplished much, earning degrees in
>law, speech-language pathology and psychology. He has hiked, camped
>and fished his whole life. Now he hopes to show the world what raw
>ambition can do. Highlighting a new technology comes in as a close
>second.
>
>At Theodore Wirth, now heading back to the trailhead, Hanson picked
>up the pace as voice cues piped in from the phone, signaling points
>of reference.
>
>"A big part is remembering the terrain in case you have to go
>back," he said. He stopped by a pond, frogs creaking quietly below.
>He said he could feel the sun on his face.
>
>The trail veered left ahead, then down a hill, a large rut tracing
>its descent where water had worn through to roots. But Hanson hiked
>without pause, touching the cane into the green brush beside the
>trail, then onto the hard-pack dirt, feeling for footing, then
>stepping confidently ahead and onward into the woods.
>
>Stephen Regenold is a Twin Cities writer and author of the
>syndicated column the Gear Junkie. See www.thegearjunkie.com.

David Andrews and white cane Harry.