Casey Fulp had dreams of becoming a Green Beret. But after a 2008 motorcycle crash left him with physical scars and emotional pain, Fulp realized that dream would never become a reality. After the crash his spleen was removed, his stomach was torn and he suffered a traumatic brain injury. He has regular migraines and is prone to occasional memory loss.

Fulp, 25, set out to thru-hike the Appalachia Trail … all 2,175 miles of it … in hopes to raise $10,000 for a nonprofit organization – The Mission Continues. Fulp started in Georgia and is working his way up North, he is currently on day 113 and has traveled 1,695.2 miles.

“I get up because it’s hard for me to imagine sitting around on the couch and hanging out while the same guys that I was training with are out doing real-world missions,” said Fulp, who medically retired from the Army in April. “In my mind, I can’t really say that I’m not capable of doing the same things I was doing anymore. I’m just more of a liability.

“So if I can still support the military and the military personnel, and do it where I’m not putting any of them at risk, I’m going to do it.”

Credit: Courtesy of Selena McColley