UPDATE: Victim in Appalachian Trail stabbing planning return to hike complete path

A woman who nearly died during a violent attack on the Appalachian Trail says she plans to return to the historic path.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Kirby Morrill, 28, says her plans are to start in Georgia and hike the entire trail—a ten-year dream cut short by an assault in Southwest Virginia by suspect James Jordan that Morrill said left her with nine stab wounds and numerous lacerations on her face that required 50 staples.

Morrill said she had set up camp with three other hikers the night of May 10 including Ron Sanchez, Jr., 35, of Oklahoma. He was a 17-year veteran of the US Army and completed a tour of Iraq, according to a report from Outside magazine. Jordan is accused of murdering Sanchez in that attack that took place near the Smyth County – Wythe County, Virginia border on the trail.

Jordan is currently undergoing psychiatric tests at a North Carolina prison hospital and is scheduled to go on trial in July in US District Court in Abingdon.

(PHOTO: National Park Service)