Thursday, July 12, 2018

Settlers Grove of Ancient Cedars


Idaho Panhandle National Forests

Idaho
June 2018


** 2023 Update **

The trail is no longer considered ADA Accessible

I'm beginning to think the state of Idaho has a different definition of "accessible" when they use it to describe trails as you can see by the picture to the right. For the second day in a row, Kellisa and I drove a great distance to hike a trail that by all accounts is accessible. 

The trail started out as a wide, hard packed surface mostly flat through a dense forest, but the ground quickly included mud, rocks, roots, and narrow sections. The trail crossed a creek several times with nicely built bridges, but then there was a crossing of large rocks piled across the creek. I'm not sure if the bridge got washed out or burned in recent fires, but even if you could use a standard wheelchair on this trail, I can't imagine a wheelchair making it across this rock bridge. 

We've been on many accessible trails and far too often, I would describe the trail as "mostly" accessible. For whatever reason(s), there is usually at least one obstacle that would make it difficult at the very least or even dangerous or impossible for a real wheelchair. It's sad because this is a beautiful trail in a remote area to observe ancient cedar trees deep in a black and grizzly bear wilderness. Thankfully, we had Kellisa's Hippocampe trail chair and were able to fully enjoy the trail instead of being turned around prematurely.




































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