Steve White knew he’d finish the 2,185-mile Appalachian Trail, despite the odds.

Each year, approximately 2,000 people attempt to hike the entire trail that runs from Georgia to Maine. Only one in four will finish as injuries, bad weather or poor planning stop many.

“It takes over five million steps to finish the Appalachian Trail, but it only takes one bad step to send you home,” said White.

The 53-year-old Wareham native finished the trail on Aug. 30 with his son, Josh, by his side.

The next day, he celebrated the feat with his sister Cheryl Wynot and mother Roberta at her Wareham home. His wife Kyoungah and daughter Jenn joined him too having flown from California where White lives now.

White started his trek on New Year’s Day in Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia. It ended at the trail’s northern terminus atop Mount Katahdin in Maine.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said White. “But it was so exciting to climb Katahdin. I had a smile on my face the whole day during the climb.”

Thru-hikers generally start in early spring and hike north as the weather gradually gets better. White said he started sooner than most because he wanted to take it slow.

“My wife gave me eight months to finish and I took every single day of those eight months,” he said.

His steady pace and quiet persistence earned him the trail nickname “Santiago” after the protagonist in Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea.”

White averaged approximately 10 to 12 miles per day while most hikers notch up to 20 miles, depending on the terrain.

He endured snowstorms in the beginning and then 90 degree days and high humidity during summer.

“I was prepared for anything,” he said.

Along the way, he stopped in trailside towns to pick up food and supplies in care packages made by his wife. At night he slept in a hammock he designed and built.

White has done tough hikes before, including peaks in the Colorado Rockies, but nothing nearly as long the Appalachian Trail.

He became interested in the idea a few years ago after a friend gave him a copy of “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson. The book chronicles the author’s attempt to finish the trail with a friend. However, Bryson ultimately failed.

White said one of the best parts of the hike was experiencing “trail magic,” where people who live near the trail would leave food and water for hikers, give rides or just show acts of kindness.

In one Maine town, he couldn’t find a place to stay because all of the motels were booked. He was prepared to hit the trail in the rain when a stranger offered to find him a bed. After a few hours, the owner of a bed and breakfast, who never takes in thru-hikers (“We tend to stink,” noted White), was convinced to give him a room due to the stranger's efforts.

“That’s the kind of people you find on the trail,” he said.

As a solo hiker, White was mostly alone except for a week long stint when his son joined him in Virginia and a few days in Massachusetts when his sister joined him.

That showed her how difficult White’s trek was, she said.

“I was an experience I’m so glad I did,” she said. “I could never have fathomed what he went through without joining him those couple days.”

With the journey of a lifetime behind him, White said he’s still reflecting on the trip and recalled one his favorite moments. One day, before dawn, he woke up and started walking down a mountain in Maine. As the sky lightened in the east he saw shooting stars in the Perseids meteor shower. Further down the mountain, loons called out.

“Moments like that I’ll never forget,” said White. “They make it all worthwhile.”