Told he might soon lose mobility, man hikes Appalachian Trail
At age 16, while he was a student at Middletown High School North in New Jersey, Andrew Crosby was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, told he might not be able to walk by age 30, and prescribed a regimen of high-dose medication.
He thumbed his nose at all that.
“I don’t let this disease stop me from anything,” he said.
For the next 10 years he remained active and engaged in his favorite pursuits of hiking and climbing, but there were days when the condition’s intermittent back and joint pain became debilitating. In late 2021 another symptom emerged – a painful swelling of the eyes that sometimes caused his vision to blur.
“That was when I decided I was going to hike the Appalachian Trail,” he said, “and nobody was going to tell me no.”
One year ago on March 9, Crosby began the 2,200-mile, 14-state hike from Georgia to Maine. He completed it in just over five months, braving 5-degree cold, 105-degree heat and a close encounter with a pack of coyotes.
Most of all, the 26-year-old Middletown resident overcame rheumatoid arthritis – with a surprising aftereffect.
‘Tears raining down from heaven’
About 3 million people visit the Appalachian Trail annually, with roughly 3,000 attempting to “thru-hike” the entire length – a task completed by 25%, or less than 1,000. As a young boy, Crosby hiked a section of the trail in Pennsylvania with his father, Raymond Crosby. That helped instill a love of the outdoors. Raymond Crosby, a construction worker, died in 2015 when a roof collapsed during demolition.
Raymond was never far from Andrew’s thoughts, especially when he traversed the same stretch of trail they’d covered nearly two decades prior.
“I think there’s tears raining down from heaven right now,” Andrew said. “Being out there for so long, I felt I was connected to him. I knew he was looking out for me the entire time. He always had my back.”
That surely came in handy when Andrew found himself face to face with five German shepherd-sized coyotes in Pennsylvania.
“We’re talking 5 or 10 feet away,” Crosby said. “I was so scared, I almost fell on my butt. Before I could make a sound, they were halfway through the forest running and yipping.”
Crisis averted. No one thru-hikes the trail unscathed, though. Crosby spent a week laid up with shin splints. In Connecticut, he attended a party at the invitation of someone he met along the way – and sustained two broken ribs in a mishap. Throughout the trek there was constant soreness from walking 30 miles a day over often rugged terrain. All told, he went through four pairs of shoes.
“It’s a grueling, long-term pilgrimage that after a few weeks becomes a way of life,” said Ken Lewaine, a family friend who thru-hiked the trail in 1982 and served as Crosby’s adviser of sorts. “You have to deal with a broad array of experiences and emotions that test your mettle, test your strength of character, your resourcefulness, your will power and your heart.”
Lewaine is a former Middletown, New Jersey, resident whose son Mike is good friends and occasional climbing partners with Crosby.
“I have great respect for anyone who completes the trail in one shot,” Lewaine said. “But with a condition like rheumatoid arthritis – I know a lot of times I had bad back pain – that makes it all the more remarkable. I can’t throw enough kudos to him.”
Nature’s medicine
Although the summer sun racked his eyes to the point where he wore sunglasses all day long over the hike’s final two months, Crosby avoided any debilitating attacks of rheumatoid arthritis during his journey.
You could say that was good fortune. Crosby believes otherwise.
“I haven’t had an episode since completing the trail – not one,” he said. “No eye pain, no back pain, no days I can’t walk.”
He’s convinced the experience served as nature’s medicine.
“My body, I would say, is probably 25% to 35% healthier than what it was prior to leaving,” he said. “Walking like that every day just really grinds the arthritis away from the gears. I feel I’m healthier now, and I don’t want to go back to where I was prior to leaving.”
To that end, Crosby plans to attempt the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,600-mile hike from Canada to Mexico, starting in July. He’s testing himself, but he’s also sending a message.
“I want to be inspiring to other people who don’t think they can do these things,” he said. “I was doubted my whole life. Who thought I could walk 2,000 miles after I was told I could be in a wheelchair by the time I’m 30?”
This isn’t just about exceptional endurance feats, either.
“I want to be inspiring to people who have dreams – and don’t think they can accomplish them,” he said.