[nfbmi-talk] Deaf-Blind Man Hikes Appalachian Trail

[Fred Wurtzel]

Blind, deaf Winthrop native completes Appalachian

Trail hike

Bangor Daily News

Aislinn Sarnacki, Bangor Daily News

Maine

| Saturday, June 28, 2014 at 8:20 am

MILLINOCKET - Roger Poulin, who is deaf and blind, ascended the summit of
Mount Katahdin

on Tuesday to likely become the first person with both disabilities to
finish the

entire 2,180-mile Appalachian Trail.

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Roger Poulin (right), a deaf and blind man from Washington, and his service
provider

Roni Lepore of New Jersey, who also is deaf, pose for a picture Friday after
the

two finished hiking the Appalachian Trail together on Tuesday in Baxter
State Park.

He hiked the rugged footpath, which spans from Georgia to Maine, with the
support

of Roni Lepore, a support service provider who happens to be deaf herself.

"As a young child, I had so many barriers in my life," Poulin said, his sign
language

translated by an interpreter at a celebration in Millinocket on Friday.
"People kept

telling me I couldn't do things, and I really took that on. . So I wanted to
really

let go of that and show people I could do things."

Now 46-years-old, Poulin, a native of Winthrop, has achieved his dream, one
that

took him four years of sweat, diligence and some blood to accomplish. When
he reached

Baxter Peak at the AT's northern end, he said, it was all worthwhile.

"I wanted to prove to the deaf-blind community that they could do something
like

this," said Poulin, who now lives in Washington state. "You don't have to
sit at

home all day. You can go out and really adventure."

Poulin was born with Usher syndrome, a very common condition that affects
hearing

and vision. He's deaf, totally blind in his right eye, and has tunnel vision
in his

left eye. Because of this, he has balance problems and isn't able to walk
steadily.

By completing his journey, Poulin now joins the ranks of legendary hikers
such as

Bill Irwin, who was the first blind hiker to finish the AT when he reached
the summit

of Katahdin in 1990. Irwin died earlier this year at age 73.

Poulin's remarkable journey started in 2007, when he met Lepore at Helen
Keller National

Center in Long Island. He told her about his dream to hike the AT. By
coincidence,

she had the same dream, so she agreed to be his SSP - support service
provider -

to help him along the way.

"The SSP's role is to guide," Poulin said. "And so that person can walk
ahead of

me and come back and let me know if there's something dangerous ahead or
something

valuable that I don't want to miss . if there's a stick ahead of me at eye
level

or the mountain's dropping off."

The hiking duo set out on April 6, 2010, starting at the AT's southern
terminus,

Springer Mountain in Georgia. As is AT tradition, they soon adopted trail
names;

Poulin became "Adventurous Cane" (Ad-Cane or Cane), and Lepore, proud of her
Irish

heritage, adopted the name "Rambling Shamrock" (Ramsham for short).

Before setting out, both took courses in backcountry skills and researched
the trail

tirelessly. Lepore became a certified Wilderness First Aid and Wilderness
First Responder.

"I planned to go through the whole thing in six months," Poulin said. "But
once I

started hiking, I realized how difficult it was for me. My pace was much
slower than

other hikers. It was really hard for me to see and I was falling all over
the place."

Lepore usually hiked ahead of Poulin, taking note of hazards on the trail.
She has

a hearing aid, but she didn't want to ruin it on the trail, so she left it
at home.

On the trail, she communicated with Poulin through American Sign Language,
as well

as tactile sign language (signing on his hand) and tracking (having him hold
her

wrist while she signed). She struggled to guide him, while also trying to
give him

space to experience the trail on his own.

"An SSP makes all the difference," said Poulin, who hopes his journey raises
awareness

that SSPs are needed throughout the country to help others the blind-deaf
community.

The Appalachian Trail runs through 14 states. That year, the duo hiked from
Georgia

to Virginia in seven months. Four states down, 10 to go.

"My goal changed a little bit," said Poulin in regard to his hiking plans.
"I wanted

to really enjoy the experience and take the opportunities to be off the
trail and

meet people."

In 2011, they hiked the Vermont section of trail, as well as a section from
where

they left off in Virginia to New Jersey. In 2012, they hiked from New Jersey
to New

Hampshire. And in 2013, they hiked through New Hampshire and Maine.

"It really wasn't easy," Poulin said. "I was in a lot of pain every day. But
I had

a goal in mind. I wanted to quit so many times, but Roni was a great
support."

In Pennsylvania, known by AT hikers as Rocksylvania because of its rocky
terrain,

Poulin took a fall and struck the crown of his head on a sharp boulder. They
washed

the gash out with stream water and left the trail to hitch a ride to the
nearest

hospital, 45 minutes away, where he received four stitches.

"I decided I'd buy a helmet at that point," Poulin said. "And I wore it for
the rest

of the adventure."

Poulin relied on his trekking poles to maintain balance. He also wore safety
glasses,

protective guards from wrist to elbow, shin guards and fingerless leather
gloves.

"It was really funny," Poulin said. "Other people hiking with us as support
people

would panic every time I fell, and Roni would just say, 'Don't worry. He's
used to

the pain. He'll do his own thing.'"

When Lepore and Poulin came across fellow hikers on the trail, they'd
usually just

wave.

"At first, people would pass us and think we were cold or unfriendly," said
Lepore,

also through an interpreter. "And then we'd arrive at the campsite later and
start

writing notes back and forth and they'd say, 'Oh, that's why you weren't
talking

to me.'"

Through writing notes, the two developed friendships throughout their
journey and

even taught fellow hikers some sign language. By the end, they truly felt
part of

the AT community.

Both emphasize that they never would have completed the trail without all
the support

they received along the way from family, friends and, most often, complete
strangers.

"Communication makes everything possible, and through a joint effort, we
made it

through," Poulin said.

Poulin and Lepore plan to produce a video about their journey in ASL with
English

captions, and to translate that video into Braille. For them, it's of
primary importance

that their story is shared with the deaf-blind community first and foremost.

In 2013, after Poulin had a pine branch surgically removed from his finger
(just

another price he paid for his dream), the pair hiked through Maine's
100-Mile Wilderness,

a section of trail that doesn't cross a major road from Monson to Baxter
State Park.

On that famous stretch, there aren't any resupply stores or hostels. They
made it

through with the help of a new acquaintance, David Whitney, a registered
Maine Guide

from Sebec.

All they had left was Katahdin - the mile-high monster that all northbound
hikers

tackle at the end of their AT journey. But things didn't work out as
planned. Just

2 miles from the top, they were forced to turn around. At the end of
September, they

were losing daylight fast.

"It was really hard to accept," Poulin said. "I was pretty mad. I had to
learn to

let go and say to the mountain, 'See you later.'"

He descended Katahdin with tears in his eyes, determined to return someday
and reach

the top.

So he did. This June, with support of family and friends, the blind-deaf
hiker duo

returned to Baxter State Park to complete the final leg of their adventure.

The rainy hike took them 14 hours.

"It was really a brutal hike," Poulin said. "The rocks were so slippery and
a lot

of the rocks on the trail were loose. It caused me to stumble and slip, and
a lot

of the time, I'd end up on my rear end, honestly. I can feel there are
bruises back

there, but I can't see them."

"When we got to the top and saw the Katahdin sign, I had chills," Lepore
said.

"There were so many times I wanted to quit, but I persevered, Poulin said.
"So that

moment at the top was really overwhelmingly emotional."

"There had been so many challenges, ups and downs," Lepore said. "I thought,
'Are

we really done? We got to the end of the AT?' But really, it's kind of the
beginning

of the journey of sharing this deaf-blind dream, that no matter what
barriers or

difficulties you experience that you should keep going."

Poulin, for his part, summed his sojourn succinctly.

"Don't just sit back and let life pass you by," he said.

Read about the journey on their blog, atdeafblinddream.wordpress.com.