Quadriplegic gets special wheelchair, preparing to hike Appalachian Trail

Lee Griffith and Chad Pepper have been trying to raise $15,000 to buy a special wheelchair and other equipment for fellow Shaw High School graduate O’Ree Crittenden, a quadriplegic, to achieve his dream of hiking the 78.6-mile Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail.

Before the Ledger-Enquirer featured their story in the May 1 Sunday Living section, they had collected $1,725 from 31 donors in two months on their GoFundMe.com page. As of Wednesday afternoon, they have collected $14,075 from 71 donors in three months.

“I am overwhelmed,” said Crittenden, 43, who was paralyzed in 2001 when he jumped into the ocean from a Pensacola, Fla., pier to retrieve a boy’s lost kite. “It was an awesome outpouring. I don’t have the words to say thanks.”

It’s been enough money to buy at least the TrailRider, a one-wheeled chair with an all-terrain tire that moves like a rickshaw, one person pushing in the rear and another pulling in front. They deemed last Saturday’s test ride at Flat Rock Park a success.

“The three of us were like little kids with a new toy,” Griffith said.

They intend to continue their training by doing at least two overnight hikes on the Pine Mountain Trail, leading up to the grand plan: conquer the Georgia AT, starting the last week in August and finishing the first week of September – then make the TrailRider available to other disabled folks who yearn for better outdoor mobility.

Serendipity plays a part in this story along with generosity. Pepper already was scheduled to visit his son, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state. So he was only about 180 miles away from the TrailRider manufacturer in Vancouver. And, thanks to Delta Air Lines, he was allowed to bring the TrailRider with him on the plane from Seattle to Atlanta at no charge, saving more than $500 in fees.

“Funny how everything has come together,” Pepper said.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Quadriplegic gets special wheelchair, preparing to hike Appalachian Trail."