Found this story on the Smoky Mountain Hiking blog.
A 57-year-old man broke his fibula in two places and tore a ligament in his ankle 100 miles before the finish line of hiking’s Triple Crown (Appalachian, Continental Divide, PCT).
Bob Behrens (pictured above on Katahdin) started his triple crown attempt in 1987 when he hiked the Continental Divide. In 1998 he hiked the Appalachian Trail. And in April of 2008, he began the PCT.
In September, one hundred miles before finishing the PCT, Behrens stepped on a rock that gave way and sent him tumbling down a hillside. He grabbed onto vegetation and during the fall he heard something snap – a sound he described as a gun shot going off.
No bones protruded from his leg but it was swelling. Instead of finding the nearest road to get medical attention, Behrens and his hiking partner continued the last 100 miles to Canada. He finished the hike on Sept. 16.
He immediately went to the hospital where he confirmed that his fibula broke in two places and he tore a ligament in his ankle. Behrens is now recovering at home wearing a cast. I wonder what his PCT name was…
He is already planning a two- or three-month trek through Alaska with his wife. According to the American Long Distance Hiking Association, fewer than 100 people in the world have completed the triple crown.
Read the story here.
What a nut!
That’s for sure!