He climbed and descended 50,000 vertical feet for 13 days — blind. His dog, Lulu, showed him the way.
Trevor Thomas was stuck near Avalanche Gulch in the shadow of Mount Yale. The trail had been erased by the winter’s avalanches. The reroute of the technical Collegiate Loop Trail around the debris field did not match his directions.
“I had absolutely no idea where to go. I said to Lulu, ‘I don’t know what to do here,’” said Thomas, who lost his vision 13 years ago. “And she chose the way and we got back on track.”
Earlier this week Thomas and Lulu, his golden Lab guide dog, completed the 160-mile Collegiate Loop, climbing and descending more than 50,000 vertical-feet for 13 days as they circled seven fourteeners in the Sawatch Range.
“Two days shorter than I planned,” said Thomas, who started hiking more than 13 years ago, shortly after he went completely blind.
Thomas can’t see the singletrack. Or the signs. Or the cairns. Lulu handles the seeing stuff.
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