Scott Rogers (hiker)

Scott Rogers (born October 4, 1968 in Milledgeville, Georgia) is the first above-the-knee amputee to complete the 2,174 mile Appalachian Trail. [cite news |title=CNN SATURDAY MORNING NEWS |url=http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0403/13/smn.03.html |work=CNN |date=March 13, 2004 |accessdate=2008-10-03 ]

The Bionic Hiker

Rogers became an amputee following an accident with a shotgun on Memorial Day 1998. [cite news |title=Bionic Hike Up Appalachian Trail |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/23/tech/main608143.shtml |work=CBS News |date=March 23, 2004 |accessdate=2008-10-03 ] His leg was removed below the knee on June 29, 1998. A revision was necessary in March 2002 to the above-knee level. He began his journey across the Appalachian Trail on March 22, 2004, hoping to become a "thru-hiker" (one who completes the trail in one calendar year), but that dream was cut short upon Rogers' learning of his brother Barry's tragic suicide on November 7, 2004. At that point, Rogers was some 300 miles from finishing. He eventually went back in August 2005, and finished on September 21, 2005 at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Several media outlets, including CNN, Associated Press, and NBC, reported extensively on his 2004 hike. Duncan Mansfield, AP writer from Knoxville, Tennessee coined the term "bionic hiker", [cite news |title=2,168-Mile Trail Awaits 'Bionic' Hiker |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-79362743.html |work=AP Online |date=September 8, 2003 |accessdate=2008-10-03 ] which Rogers was stuck with.

On the trail, hikers knew him simply as "One Leg". Rogers completed the majority of his hike with one or more of his children by his side. His wife and remaining children would parallel him in a van and camped out at road crossings in order to bring him supplies.

Where is he now?

Rogers now resides in the East Tennessee with his wife and seven home-schooled children. Employed with the United States Postal Service, he continues to hike, but not to the scale he did during the 2004-'05 hiking season. He also speaks at Wilderness Wildlife Week, an annual gathering of outdoor enthusiasts in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

References

External links

* [http://www.onelegwonder.com Scott Rogers' personal website]