Hiker with prosthetic leg attempts Eye of Needle hike

It can be a treacherous climb to reach the Eye of the Needle rock formation in Arkansas.

When I did it in 2014, I encountered narrow paths with 150-foot sheer drop offs, a hill so steep you needed ropes to ascend the face, and a dizzying route along the edge of a cliff that made my palms sweaty.

I can't imagine how Ava hiker Shirley Emerson managed that same clime during the 6th annual Outdoor Rendezvous a couple weeks ago.

When she was 8, Shirley stepped onto the deck of a running riding lawn mower. It somehow slipped into gear. She fell. The machine ran over her right leg, removing her foot.

Now 42, she has lived with a prosthetic leg since the accident. In 2014 she underwent reconstructive surgery to fuse the two bones in her lower leg to make it a more stable platform for her artificial leg.

A couple years ago she read the bestseller "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed about her quest to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. The seed was planted. A goal began to take shape.

"I was inspired by that book," Emerson said. "I've always liked nature, but I never felt like I could do any long-distance hiking."

She found some local hikers online through Hiking the Ozarks. She took outdoor classes. And she started walking and doing Zumba classes to get in better shape.

Emerson did a couple of easier Rendezvous hikes last year and learned a lot about hiking with a pack.

"I needed to be in better shape," she recalled, laughing. "I also was overdressed and was sweating profusely. And I carried too much weight in my pack. I actually carried a spare prosthetic foot just in case and it was an extra 6 or 7 pounds."

During this year's rendezvous, Emerson thought she'd give the Eye of the Needle hike a try. It's the most physically challenging trek of all the guided hikes during the three-day gathering at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch west of Jasper, Arkansas.

"I didn't really realize what I was getting myself into," she said. "I had no idea I'd be walking along ledges with like a 400-foot drop."

She asked hiking guide Carmen Steketee Hallock if she should give it a try. The verdict: If Emerson was in good shape she should go for it.

"Carmen was so supportive, and everybody who was on that hike was encouraging me," Emerson said.

Rain the night before made some of the rocks slick, and Emerson said the toughest part was trying to maintain traction while taking that next step up.

"In slick conditions that foot feels like a pogo stick," she said. "I cannot depend on the fake leg for traction."

She gripped trees and rocks and ropes to pull herself up. The most treacherous part — a narrow ledge with a protruding rock that hikers have to shimmy past — proved daunting.

"I took my backpack off because I didn't want any extra weight shifting around while I crossed that," she said. "I used my arms a lot to cross that ledge, but I was terrified. The thought I had was 'don't look down'."

After crawling through a hole in the cliff, it was a short hike over a boulder field to reach the Eye of the Needle. Emerson's voice cracked and tears welled as she recalled reaching that spot.

"When you hike this, you get this soul-shifting experience," she said, "Carmen came up and hugged me. There was just like all this gratitude coming over me, for all the people who helped me get up there, for my husband who has been so supportive, and for the hikers around me who were so helpful.

"The feeling I gained from the Eye of the Needle hike that day was 'whatever situation life presents to me, don't give up. I will survive'."

Inspired by her success, Emerson said she wants to expand her hiking horizons. She wants to take more classes, go on overnight backpacking trips and eventually give the 2,185-mile Appalachian Trail a try.

"It's now my dream to do some long-distance hiking," she said.

Send your outdoor Outdoors ideas, tips or feedback to reporter/columnist Wes Johnson at wjohnson@news-leader.com or call 417-836-1243.