Here's a video about Mike Hanson, who has been blind since birth and is planning to hike the Appalachian Trail in March. He plans to use the latest GPS technology to keep him between the white blazes over eight months from Georgia to Maine.

Hanson says the latest GPS technology can help millions of blind people become more mobile; he figures 2,175 miles of hiking on the AT should prove his point.  He won't be the first -- Bill Irwin earned the honor in 1990 with the help of a seeing-eye dog. Hanson is a white-cane-and-gadget guy with no plans for taking a pooch along. 

Hanson says he's been an avid hunter, fisherman, and backpacker all his adult life and is confident he knows what he's up against. My guess is that if anything stops him, it won't be because he can't see - it'll be the usual foot, knee, and ankle complaints that hobble so many would-be thru-hikers. 

More on Hanson's quest:

• Blindhiker.com -- site devoted to his hike. | Facebook page here.
• Audio interview at American Hiking Society blog.
• Minneapolis Star Tribune report from 2007

Via TheBackpacker.TV