Double amputee planning 21-mile hike through Castle Mountains

REED POINT — A double amputee from Reed Point is planning a 21-mile hike through the Castle Mountains near White Sulphur Springs.

James Daniels, who lost both of his legs in a semi-truck accident nearly 20 years ago, said he is going on the hike in September and will only be accompanied by his chocolate lab Remy.

Daniels uses a unique wheelchair that has multiple tires and allows him to do outdoorsy things like hiking, hunting, and more. His chair — along with his can-do attitude — have made him a staple in his community.

"James is busy," said Daniels' friend Sandra Counter on Thursday afternoon. "So, don't let that wheelchair fool you. He does more than people without a handicap."

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Fellow Reed Point resident and Java Gypsee coffee shop owner Jennifer Schubert said he's always looking for ways to help the community.

"You see his little tracks everywhere and he's just always stopping in and checking on everybody," Schubert said. "He's just a really good person and it's an honor to know him."

Both Counter and Schubert said his positivity is contagious.

"I don't think it's in his wheelhouse, I mean, to think he can't do something when he sets his mind to it," Counter said. "I think that's just the way he's wired."

"Just embracing life, especially after the accident," Schubert said of what impresses her the most.

That accident nearly took Daniels' life. When he was living in Kentucky, he ended up sandwiched between two semis.

"They took my right leg, and then years later they took my left one due to complications," Daniels said. "I almost gave up on life because it was so hard."

The adjustment to life without legs was challenging at first. But eventually, Daniels made progress.

"I started moving around again and sort of realized that I can still do some stuff, it's just different," Daniels said. "It was one of those things like, they took my legs, but they just slowed me down. They couldn't stop me."

Daniels eventually got back to his living in the outdoors. He moved to Montana and obtained his current wheelchair, which gives him the freedom he was used to.

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"He just does difficult things," Counter said. "Things that would be difficult for anybody."

And that's a big reason behind the 21-mile excursion he's planning for September. The trek begins on the Castle Checkerboard Trail and ends on the Four Mile Trail. Daniels said his love for the outdoors outweighs any fears he could have.

"Nothing scares me," Daniels said. "I mean, you get smashed between two semis and it's going to take a lot to scare you after that."

It's another courageous choice respected by his peers.

"It's heroic," Schubert said. "It's healing. It's getting up and it's moving on."

And one no longer surprising to those who have been around him long enough.

"It's not just respect anymore," Counter said. "It's like 'Wow... There he goes again.'"