TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Closing The Deal

Photo by EMILY CRUZ

Todd Murphy of Plant City along the Appalachian Trail at 100 Mile Wilderness in Northern Maine.

ADVERTISEMENT

By KAREN HAYMON LONG

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 4, 2008

TAMPA - Todd Murphy almost made it. He hiked all but 410 miles of the Appalachian Trail, even as he broke an artificial foot and 16 foot bolts. And though the hike was tougher than he expected, he's heading back to finish the trail Saturday to fulfill his lifelong dream.

"I put in six months and 1,765 miles," he says of the trek that even hikers with two good legs find daunting. "I was disappointed, but I had so many little hang-ups. I spent one month of the six waiting for parts, recouping from falls."

On the positive side, though, he became somewhat of a celebrity among the hikers and in the little towns through which he passed. People everywhere seemed to have heard of "Murphy," the man hiking on artificial legs. They offered him encouragement along with meals, supplies and places to stay.

Murphy, who lives in Plant City, was born with badly deformed feet. His lopsided lope caused other medical problems. By the time he turned 9, doctors had amputated both of his legs below his knees and fitted him with artificial lower legs and feet.

His mom, Alice Murphy, says his new legs never slowed him down. He climbed trees, rode dirt bikes and even played football. He was such an active kid, he broke a leg and 20 artificial feet, but he always hung in there with the other kids.

So she wasn't surprised when he started planning a through-hike on the Appalachian Trail.

To prepare, he took a leave from his job as a prosthetic technician, sold his house and hiked on Bay area trails to get used to a heavy backpack and new hiking boots. He even had a new pair of legs made and fitted to ease the hike from Maine to Georgia.

He mostly worried about being so far from his son, Dylan, 10. But he knew his ex-wife and parents would take good care of him.

On June 2, he and three friends struck out at the northern end of the "AT," as it's nicknamed, on Maine's Mount Katahdin. One friend dropped out the second day. The other two, Charles Suggs and Emily Cruz, went the whole way and made it home for Christmas. Murphy arrived home Nov. 26 after leaving the trail in Tennessee.

Before starting out, they had expected to stay together so they could cook and eat together and keep each other company. But it didn't work out that way. The three were often separated, once for three weeks. Another time for 10 days.

Murphy, fighting blisters and sore stumps, hiked 15 to 20 miles a day and had two bad falls along the way.

Birthday In New England

It took five weeks to get out of Maine. Too many rocks, too many mountains, he remembers. He forced himself through New Hampshire, where Suggs and Cruz surprised him with sandwiches, cheesecake and cold beer on his 34th birthday.

"There were times when I wanted to give up," he says. "It was much harder than I expected."

But Cruz says Murphy was always positive.

"He was so enthusiastic about it all," says the 24-year-old, who will return to the AT next weekend to finish up the hike with Murphy. "He was always cheering me on."

The last few weeks were the hardest, she says, because it was cold, and the trees were brown and dreary.

"I was tired. It was mentally tough. It wasn't fun anymore," she says.

Since her return home to Tampa, she has worked at Sweetwater Organic Farm, where she is able to be outside, eat right and stay in shape for her upcoming hike.

"It's been nice to rest my bones for a while," she says.

And on the upcoming hike, it will be springtime along the last stretch, so it should be much more pleasant.

Murphy remembers the worst stretch as Virginia in November.

"All the leaves fell at once, it seemed. I kept slipping and sliding," he says. "My prosthetic socket broke. I had to put my foot and the broken part of my leg into my backpack. So I was 8 inches shorter on one side. It was like walking on a high curb."

It took him 31/2 hours to walk 31/2 miles. A new leg arrived by UPS, and he headed back out after bunking for free in a church.

In Grayson Highlands, Va., wild ponies came right up to him. It was also in Virginia that he heard the gunshots of deer hunters.

"I even saw a hunter on the trail near Troutville, Va.," he says. "I came up behind him and started singing, 'I am not a deer. I'm a hiker on a trail.' Because of the hunters, I had to wear an orange bandana so they could see me."

Back in Pennsylvania, he had heard 30 to 40 gunshots from the trail and figured they came from turkey hunters.

Popularity Ensues

It didn't take long for word to pass among hikers and townspeople along the way that a hiker with two artificial legs was doing the AT.

"Every town I got to, people at the post office, grocery, hostel knew about me. Friends had told them about me. People were fantastic, more than generous to me," he says.

At Ye Olde Backpacker in Port Clinton, Pa., an outfitter listened to his story and gave him free gear — trekking poles, a hammock, a water purifier, a bed mat and other things — and even drove him back to the trail from his store.

In Harper's Ferry, W.Va., someone paid for a room at a lodge so he could shower and take a break from the outdoors.

"Everywhere I went, people honked, hiked with me, gave me food on the house. It was like being in a movie," he says. "They would recognize me and say, 'Murphy, yours is on the house. You with Murphy? Yours is on the house, too.'"

Hikers asked to have their pictures taken with him. One told him his younger brother had just gotten an artificial leg and asked whether he would mind talking with him. Murphy talked with him on his cell phone for an hour.

Just after reaching the Great Smoky Mountains, 70 miles into Tennessee, he grew discouraged. He had had too much.

"The weather got sour. Temperatures fell. It was so slippery and muddy, I couldn't see the rocks and roots. I was carrying a guitar with a rain cover over it. My waterproof bag got wet. It was in the teens. My sleeping bag was soaked."

As snow pelted him, he sang "The Thrill Is Gone." He got off the trail, called his mom and told her about his falls and injuries.

"She told me if I was hurting, it's time to come home."

He caught a Greyhound bus back to Tampa. He had lost 30 pounds. His thighs were so skinny, he had to stuff socks into the sockets of his artificial legs to walk.

Back home, he slept a lot, regained all the lost weight, plus some, and bulked up by working out.

Next weekend, he plans to head out again with Cruz and Lana Bucciarelli, who look forward to joining him on his 400-plus-mile trek.

This time, he says, he'll finish for sure.

Watch for Todd Murphy's journal at www.trailjournals.com. His trail name is "Murphy."

Reporter Karen Haymon Long can be reached at (813) 259-7618 or klong@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT