GPS and trail experience helps a blind man hike the Appalachian Trial, alone

Slat has a good story about a blind man who is hiking virtually the entire Appalachian Trial, using GPS, hiking poles and his own trail sense.

Hanson gathered data from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and other sources and converted the information to the Loadstone GPS format on his phone. Hanson then used tools on the Loadstone website—such as a route planner function—to generate checkpoints along the trail. These locations—created by entering geographical coordinates into the route planner—included things like campsites, trailheads, and water sources. Most importantly, the Loadstone tools allowed Hanson to store oral instructions along with each point, which would be necessary on the trail.

My family was on a small stretch of the AT last weekend - Glencliff Trail near Mt. Moosilaukee, breaking trail through a couple feet of snow. Of course, through-hikers don't go in the winter.