A Rockland man is defying the odds by hiking the same trail 500 days in a row, after breaking his back on it years ago.

Tom Javenes, of Stony Point, is about to finish a personal quest - to hike Anthony's Nose in Peekskill 500 days in a row - after experiencing a hiking accident there on the mountain that doctors said should have left him in a wheelchair.

The 51-year-old was alone and waiting for help for hours when he broke his back on Anthony's Nose in 2015.

The restaurateur says doctors told him he’d be lucky to walk again. But he refused that prognosis and instead set a goal to one day hike the very same trail.

Six years later, he's close to hiking it for the 500th day in a row.

Javenes is now sharing his story of inspiration to anyone who may need it - as a reminder to “take one day …and one step … at a time.”