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Vermont Creates Trails to be Wheelchair Accessible
By Maria Trombetta, December 2007
Most people know the Appalachian Trail from photos in Backpacker magazine or through Bill Bryson’s blundering tale, “A Walk in the Woods.” It is the hike of all hikes for serious hikers on the East Coast—a trail that leads over mountains and up the coast, stretching for more than 2,000 miles. In Vermont, work is being done by the Green Mountain Club to make the Thundering Falls portion of the trail accessible to wheelchairs, adding the Appalachian Trail to an impressive list of parkland that is open to everyone.
Camel’s Hump, a 4,080 ft. peak that is part of the Green Mountain Range, is equipped with Camel’s Hump View Trail, a tightly packed gravel trail that offers a close-up look at the mountain. On July 1, 2007, the Baldwin Trail on Mount Independence opened up 1.6 miles of packed trails that give visitors a glimpse of Revolutionary War history.
Fulcrum talked with Deborah Lisi-Baker, executive director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living about the new trails and steps to make more parks and trails accessible.
F: Was making the Baldwin Trail accessible something that the Park Service came up with on its own, or was there a push from disability groups to open more parkland to people with disabilities?
DLB: I think it was a combination of the two - some commitment on the part of people who work for state government and many years of work by a small group of individuals with disabilities contacting the state about the need for accessible parks, recreation and hiking areas. I believe Mount Independence was selected because it was a viable site for an accessible trail. I have always loved being in the woods, with trees on all sides. The sound of the wind moving through the branches and the stream we passed over were beautiful as were the places where the trail opens up to a glorious view of Lake Champlain and the shores of New York State. At the opening I saw a lot of seniors and families with young children enjoying the trail.
One exiting thing about the Baldwin Trail is that it both opens up Vermont's wilderness habitat and Vermont's early Revolutionary War history to individuals and families who need a more accessible trail. As I wheeled by the Revolutionary War sites of soldier's mess halls and a hospital, I also passed by places that in spring are full of rare Vermont wildflowers.
I think it is important for Vermonters and visitors with disabilities to be able to place themselves in Vermont's living legacy and the stories and places of people who lived here before us. There were burial sites of soldiers who had died in the War for Independence. The soldiers stationed at Mount Independence suffered from terrible cold, hunger and loneliness. I thought of the Vermonters sent to Iraq and to other wars and the civilians as well. History is a shared circle of experience. Being able to travel the same ground that others traveled before us is a real gift and gives me a share in the history of the state that I did not have before. I am glad that others will be able to travel this same trail and share this historic spot. I want to go back in the spring to enjoy the wildflowers.
F: How easy is it to maneuver on the packed gravel surface? How often do you think you will go out on these trails?
DLB: I found the packet gravel easy to traverse. I have pretty good upper body strength but I am not a wheelchair athlete. The trail was steep in some area and I needed some help getting up some of the steeper inclines. It would not be a good idea to go alone in a manual chair unless you have a lot of upper body strength. I did not have to worry about my chair getting stuck because of unevenness or rocks on the trail-- the path was broad and open.
F: Have you been out to the Appalachian Trail yet? Do you think it will become a popular place to go?
DLB: I have not been on the Appalachian Trail yet - they said to wait till fall. Now that it is here, I do plan to go. I did go on the Camels Hump View Trail and enjoyed it immensely. Again, I needed some help on the steeper areas and this trail, which is much older than the Baldwin Trail, had both grass and rocks in areas and was not as level. It was gorgeous though. My son has long been a fan of the Camels Hump climbing trails. It is nice to have one we can enjoy together. I will send you the photo he took while we were there in August. I think that the Appalachian Trail will be popular and that many Vermonters with physical disabilities have been asking for accessible wilderness and hiking areas. Finding them has been difficult and I am excited that Vermont and the National Park Service are creating more opportunities for individuals with disabilities to enjoy the beauty of our wilderness area and historic sites.
F: What has been the response from the community? What other parks (in Vermont or elsewhere) would people like to see become accessible?
DLB: I have gotten calls from Vermonters and from people who read the Associated Press article. Everyone who has called was very excited. Many people would like to see more sites accessible across the state, so that people who live here can find places in their own communities and will not have to travel a long ways to be in a wilderness area or to explore a historical site. We also get calls from people who want to visit Vermont but are afraid there won't be much they can do here because of inaccessibility. They see pictures of our hills and wonder ...
Many of the state parks have some wheelchair access for camping but it is difficult to determine how much of the park experience in these sites is accessible to visitors with disabilities unless you go there and check it out for yourself. The Vermont Center for Independent Living is trying to collect this kind of user information so that more people begin to experience these resources as something that people with disabilities can use and enjoy. Not all locations can be made accessible but many have areas that can be made accessible (or may already be accessible with only a little modification). I want children and adults of all ages to be able to enjoy these gifts to the public; the fact that someone has a disability should not bar them from hiking and recreation areas, spaces and historical sites that are meant to be there for all of us and for future generations. Using universal design principles and meeting accessibility requirements prevents what one architect once called “discrimination by design.”
For more parks with disabled accessibility, go to http://gorp.away.com/gorp/eclectic/disabled.htm
Or search National Parks at
http://www.nps.gov/
Accessible hiking in Vermont:
Camel's Hump View Trail, Camel's Hump State Park, Duxbury. Take Exit 10 from Interstate 89; turn south on Vermont Route 100 toward downtown Waterbury, and left where Route 100 joins U.S. Route 2. Go about .1 miles toward Waterbury village, take a right on Winooski Street. Cross a bridge over the Winooski River and turn right. Go 4 miles, with the Winooski River on your right much of the way. Go left on Camel's Hump Road. About 3.4 miles (watch for the small Camel's Hump sign where the road hooks left). At 3.4 miles, take left over single-lane bridge. Follow road to parking area at the trailhead. Both ends of the .8-mile looping trail end at this parking area. Admission is free.
Baldwin Trail, Mount Independence Historic Site, Orwell. It's located near the end of Mount Independence Road, six miles west of the intersection of Vermont Routes 73 and 22A in Orwell. Carefully follow the signs. Admission to this Revolutionary War historic site is $5 for adults and free for kids under 15.
Thundering Falls Trail, Killington. This wheelchair-accessible section of the Maine-to-Georgia Appalachian Trail was scheduled to open in the fall, but the Green Mountain Club now expects that the trail won’t be finished until summer of 2008.
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