BACKPACKER

Backpacker, June 2004
Signposts: A Leg Up
Scott Rogers lost a limb and doubled his determination. Now he's tackling the Appalachian Trail.

In the tumult that followed a 1998 hunting incident—when his shotgun accidentally discharged into his leg—Scott Rogers figured he'd walked his last step. "I felt that once they amputated my leg above the knee," he says, "my life as I knew it was over."

What a difference two years, some cutting-edge technology, and a bulletproof spirit make. In March, Rogers, 35, of Washburn, TN, set out to become the second amputee to attempt the 2,174-mile Appalachian Trail. (The first, Carl Moon of Georgia, pulled off the feat in 1992.)

Even with his "C-leg," a computerized prosthesis with sensors that adjust 50 times a second to furnish users with a natural gait, he faces a fierce challenge: Only 10 percent of two-legged hikers finish the AT. But for extra motivation, he's dedicated his attempt to an eight-year-old Tennessee boy who faces his own leg amputation. For Rogers, just trying is a victory in itself. "I needed some way of taking my life back," he says. "Being able to hike the Appalachian Trail became a sort of reclamation."