Injured hiker's trek up Hawk Mountain driven by determination, friendship and love

Mar. 19—HAWK MOUNTAIN — Approaching the South Lookout, renowned hiker Todd Gladfelter gazed upon a vista that it once seemed he would never see again.

About 16 months ago, Gladfelter fell from the roof of his blacksmith shop in rural East Brunswick Twp., not far from Hawk Mountain.

Partial paralysis made it appear he might not walk again, let alone hike.

On Sunday afternoon, in a triumphant gesture, Gladfelter made his way up a winding, 900-foot-long trail to the summit of Hawk Mountain.

"It's a miracle," declared Howard Reid, a friend who rang a celebratory bell as Gladfelter reached the lookout accompanied by his wife, author Cindy Ross.

"It's a reflection of how Todd and Cindy have worked together," said Reid, a Montgomery County businessman. "Cindy has nursed him, guided him and encouraged him day in and day out. It's all about love."

Gladfelter and Ross are holders of the Triple Crown of long-distance hiking — completing the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide and the Pacific Crest trails.

Ross's books "Hiking Toward Peace," "Journey To The Crest" and "A Woman's Journey" have chronicled the couple's hiking experiences.

A well-known chainsaw artist, Gladfelter's carvings of 30 bears, deer, raptor and other native animals are in the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary.

Braving near freezing temperatures and a biting wind, about 75 family members and friends accompanied Gladfelter on his hike.

Pushing a walker over the compacted gravel trail — itself a feat — Gladfelter rested for a few minutes on benches several times along the way.

He walked unaided, with his son Bryce Gladfelter pushing a wheeled chair behind him, in case it was needed.

On the way up the mountainside, a moderate grade, he passed markers to the eastern imperial eagle and Madagascar fish eagle. People applauded and posed for photos with Gladfelter at rest stops.

The hike took about an hour, a half-hour ascending and descending.

Chuck Wood was among those who accompanied Gladfelter, whom he met in 1984, the year before he hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1985.

Wood, 71, a retired Norristown welder, relied on a walking stick etched with his hiking handle "Woodchuck."

"Todd and Cindy have played such a big part in my life," Wood said. "They're excellent people."

Sean Grace, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary president, called Gladfelter's accident an ironic twist of fate for a man who had led such an active life.

"Todd's a super robust guy," he said. "And he's worked incredibly hard to get where he is today."

Jody Streckler, Gladfelter's sister, said she was proud of her brother's determination to walk again. She and her husband Tim were among the group that accompanied him on the hike.

"What Todd is doing is inspirational to so many others," Tim Streckler said. "It shows that there is hope, if you persevere."

Aura of inspiration

On March 27, 2021, Walter "Bud" Palmer was riding his bicycle along Route 32 on the way to New Hope, Bucks County, when he hit a pothole filled with water.

He was flown to St. Luke's University Hospital, Bethlehem, where he was diagnosed quadriplegic.

Palmer, 76, a former football coach at Wilson High School in Easton, joined Gladfelter in the trek up Hawk Mountain. Using only a walker, he was first to reach the summit and received applause and chants of "go, go, go" from the crowd.

Given his condition, Palmer said he understood what Gladfelter was going through and found it inspirational.

David Hughes, an Orwigsburg wildlife artist who lost movement in his right leg about a week ago, also joined Gladfelter.

"It's fabulous seeing him now compared to what he was," Hughes said. "He's come so far. It's really great."

Jared Fenstermacher was riding cross-country to raise money for cancer when, on Aug. 11, 2016, he was struck by a pickup truck in Sioux City, Iowa.

Severely incapacitated, he still relies on a walker more than six years after the accident.

Fenstermacher, 38, a Berks County native who lives in Bloomsburg, finished the last leg of his cross-country trek — Sioux City to Ocean City, N.J. — last summer on a hand bike.

Fenstermacher, who posed for a photo with Gladfelter at the South Mountain lookout, said he meets once a year with the driver of the pickup that accidentally ran him down.

Therapists recognized

Cindy Ross said her husband had intended to clean leaves from the roof of his blacksmith shop when he fell on Nov. 26, 2021.

"I believe he crossed his feet on the ladder," she recalled. "When he fell, he landed on his neck."

At the South Lookout, Ross insisted that therapists pose for a photograph with Gladfelter, who was seated on an Ice Age boulder overlooking farmland cultivated by Pennsylvania Dutch families for generations.

Modest about her own role in his recovery, Ross heralded the role played by therapists from Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital in Bethlehem.

"All these people put their hands on my husband and helped mend him in more ways than one," Ross said of 10 therapists lined up for the photo. "They helped him emotionally, psychologically and physically, and all have become wonderful friends."

In an impromptu celebration that caught the uplifting spirit of the day, Berks County folk singer Keith Brintzenhoff led hikers in a singalong of the "Happy Wanderer" on the way down Hawk Mountain.

In an ode to the outdoors, hikers sang the refrain "Val-deri, val-dera, ha, ha, ha," as Brintzenhoff sang, "Oh, may I go a-wandering until the day I die. Oh, may I always laugh and sing beneath God's clear blue sky."

Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007