Adaptive Equipment for Wilderness Expeditions

• Main Authors: Buswell, Deborah, Erickson, Beth, Passo, Mike
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: SFA ScholarWorks 2003
• Subjects: access for the disabled; assistive technology devices; national parks; outdoor recreation; physically disabled persons; Kinesiology; Catalina; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/kinesiology/16; http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA111462408&v=2.1&u=txshracd2557&it=r&p=HRCA&sw=w&asid=e687b1e79258fc34fcd404a31aa20eb5

While outdoor recreation activities and adventure sports are on the increase in American society, it is more important than ever that all individuals have knowledge of how they may access their surrounding natural areas. Recent literature has discussed how to make natural areas such as state and national parks accessible and in compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (Lais & Passo, 2000; Sheldon, 1997). Many articles have described programs designed specifically for individuals with disabilities to gain access to the outdoors (Belson, 2001; Blyth, 1999; McAvoy & Estes, 2001; McAvoy & Lais, 2003). First person narrative reports have been published, such as Amanda Boxtel's expedition to Antarctica (2002) or the chronicle of Angela Madsen and Scott Brown's Catalina Crossing, a "32-mile rowing event from Marina Del Ray, California, to Catalina Island" (Madsen, 2003, p. 18). However, limited information has been provided relative to equipment individuals with disabilities may use to access the outdoors. The majority of the literature does not describe the tools necessary, but serves more as a narrative on programs and personal experiences. In this article, the authors describe equipment used by one organization, Wilderness Inquiry, that helps people with disabilities access wilderness settings.