About Trevor

Trevor Thomas is shattering notions about blindness.

He has solo trekked more than 22,000 miles, thru-hiking the most rugged long-trails in the United States.

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Mount Katahdin, Northern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail, 2008

Mount Katahdin, Northern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail, 2008

At the age of 35, Trevor was diagnosed with a rare eye disease. By 36, he was completely blind. Early on, Trevor taught himself to hike in an attempt to regain his independence. When he discovered the world of long-distance hiking, his hobby became an obsession.

Two years after going blind, Trevor set off alone to complete the Appalachian Trail (AT). Trevor shocked the hiking community by completing the 2,175-mile trek. He became the first blind person to solo thru-hike the AT.

Trevor followed up the AT by solo-hiking The Shenandoah Mountain Range, The Great Smoky Mountains (seven times), Grayson Highlands (many times), and summiting Mount Mitchell and Mount Baden-Powell. He also completed five sections of the Colorado Trail.

 

 
Mount Whitney elevation 14,505 ft, 2010

Mount Whitney elevation 14,505 ft, 2010

Trevor founded Team Farsight, a group of thru-hike veterans. Over the next three years, the team tackled the most rugged and remote long trails in the country, including California’s John Muir and Tahoe Rim Trails. Trevor also summited Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States. Team Farsight’s thru-hike of the 2,654-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada was the first fully sponsored thru-hike in history. This hike launched Trevor’s professional hiking career.

 

 
Colorado Trail, 2015

Colorado Trail, 2015

After a failed attempt of the notoriously difficult Colorado Trail, Trevor reflected on his accomplishments and goals. He decided to return to solo hiking and applied for a guide dog. In 2012, Trevor received his first guide, Tennille, from Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Tennille proved to be an intelligent, hard working, high energy dog, eager to learn backcountry guide work from Trevor. In 2013, Trevor and Tennille completed the 1,000 mile Mountains to Sea Trail, their first solo thru-hike together. Since then, they have completed an additional 10,000 trail miles without the aid of GPS, other human partners, or guides. Their more notable thru-hike completions include The Long Trail, The Tahoe Rim Trail, The Ozark Highlands Trail, and The Wonderland Trail. Their 2015 completion of the 500-mile Colorado Trail gained them worldwide media attention.

 

 
Colorado Trail, 2016.

Colorado Trail, 2016.

Trevor’s success has been covered extensively by the media including NBC Nightly News and the BBC. His Facebook Story was among the original Facebook productions. Trevor’s completion of the AT was documented by the Emmy award winning short film, Trail of Trust. He is awaiting the publication of his first book about his thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

Trevor lives in North Carolina with his retired guide dog Tennille and his new guide Honolulu. Currently, Trevor is editing his book and training Lulu for their first long distance thru-hike.