Accessible Hiking Guide to the Open Pond Trail

Having lived in Florida for 16 years, I had explored many Alabama trails but often found central and northern routes too rocky for pushing Kellisa’s mobility chair, while Gulf Coast trails were frequently too sandy. Hoping to find a more suitable option between those regions, we chose the two-mile Open Pond loop as a promising trail.

A Wheelchair Accessible Visit to Cheaha Mountain

Cheaha Mountain, at 2,407 feet (734 m), is the highest natural point in Alabama and the centerpiece of Cheaha State Park. Surrounded by the forests of Talladega NationalForest, it offers sweeping mountain views, historic stone structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and a variety of hiking opportunities.

Kellisa enjoyed the natural beauty and the ease of reaching Alabama's highest point at the southern end of the Appalachian foothills. The iconic stone observation tower and forested landscape emphasizes that this is a destination where visitors can experience impressive mountain scenery with minimal effort.

2013 (Kellisa's First 18 Years)

After Kellisa's cancer scare at the end of 2012, I wanted 2013 to be a big year for Kellisa. I had the idea of hiking a trail in all 50 states in one year and decided to make an attempt at that goal. 

 

We started with a 25K race across the desert in Big Bend National Park in January. Kellisa was the first wheelchair finisher in the history of the race. 

 

2011 (Kellisa's First 18 Years)

 The year started off on a high note as Egypt’s adoption was finalized in January. 

2010 - Part I (Kellisa's First 18 Years)

 We continued submitting on children into the new year without any success. We were lucky if we received an automatic email reply with the subject, "Your Submittal Has Been Received". 

 

Our first trip of the year was during Kellisa's spring break a week after I completed my 2nd Bataan Memorial Death March. The first weekend was also Easter, so we spent a few days in Texas visiting family before Lisa went home and Kellisa and headed for a week in the Southwest. While in Texas, we went for a nice hike at Brazos Bend State Park where we enjoyed its abundant birds and alligators.

 

2009 (Kellisa's First 18 Years)

 

The Okefenokee Swamp - the Land of Trembling Earth.

 

One of our all-time favorite places to explore and we tried to start each year off with a visit. January 1, 2009, was no different and it would set the pace for what would become Kellisa's most adventurous year by far. 

 

Kellisa had outgrown even the largest baby jog strollers, and we broke two frames on a jog stroller made for special needs children. We needed a new solution and after many hours of research, we purchased a WIKE. The chair looks awesome and offers a ton of weather protection; however, it is not built for rugged trails. We still have it and it has its uses; it's just not an all-around mobility device for our needs.

 

Cheaha Mountain

 Cheaha Mountain

2,407ft.

Alabama

December 2012

Egypt's first state Highpoint:

As we arrived, we found Cheaha Mountain surrounded by clouds

 Napping 

The rain and clouds made the easy drive to the summit a little challenging

 Summit of Alabama 

(We were getting out either way, but didn't mind that the rain stopped for a few minutes)

Overlook near the summit

 Egypt enjoying "Gingerbread Junction" in front of the camp store

As we left, this is the same vantage point as the first picture

HOME

Britton Hill

Britton Hill

345ft.

Florida

March 2013

Egypt's 2nd state Highpoint

Exploring Lakewood Park:

View from the parking lot:

HOME

Britton Hill

 Florida's Highpoint Revisited

June 2019

Britton Hill - November 2004

HOME

Black Mesa

Memories Revisited:

Kellisa's 8th State Highpoint

Black Mesa, Oklahoma

4,973ft.

Round Trip Hiking Distance: 8.4 Miles

Elevation Gain: 654ft.

April 2008

Our first father/daughter Spring Break trip happened in 2008. The main objective was to reach the Highpoint of Oklahoma. The plan was to fly to Amarillo, TX and have our cousin Matt pick us up, as he was able to join us for this trip. However, we almost did not make it to Amarillo. We had a stopover in Dallas that included a severe seizure that lasted longer than 5 minutes. Paramedics had to be called and airport police also hustled to the scene. Just as everyone was arriving, Kellisa popped out of her seizure.

Since the paramedics were on scene, they had to check Kellisa out. At the same time, a police officer starts questioning me about Kellisa. "Where is her mother? Is she Hispanic? Do you have the mother's approval to be traveling out of state?" I did not let the questions bother me as I figured he was just doing his job in a border state. Kellisa checked out OK and they offered to transport her to the hospital for further evaluations. Did I ever miss Lisa at this point. We are use to making joint decisions in these situations.

If we go on...am I just being selfish? Would I ever forgive myself if something happened in the air?

If we stay...we are entirely stuck in Dallas and for how long? Matt will be waiting in Amarillo for a long time.

Even though Kellisa struggles with communication, we try and give her a say in these situations. Kellisa was looking good as she did not have the usual paralysis that follows even a mild seizure. I'm sweating bullets as I ask her if she is OK and ready for one more airplane ride. She answers "Yes" and that was good enough for me.

We were far from our gate and it was past the departure time. We hurry to the gate and to our good fortune, the gate agent has held the plane because he had seen us at the gate earlier and knew we where around somewhere. He was also listening to the rescue on his radio and assumed it was us. I was very appreciative that he held the entire plane about 15 minutes just for us.

How about one more problem? We fly Southwest and they are well known for not assigning seats. With Kellisa, we are always the first to board. However, being the last on a full flight would mean that we both would get stuck with middle seats and who knows how close together? I think the gate agent saw some fear in my face and correctly assumed why it was there. He told us not to worry because he had the flight attendants hold two seats in the front row. Gotta love Southwest! The flight was uneventful and we met Matt at the airport just as planned.

The following day we made the long drive to Black Mesa as we introduced Matt to Hannah Montana. Almost 4 years later, he can still sing some of the songs he heard that spring day.

Kellisa is all smiles at the start of the hike:

Views along the trail:

Most of the elevation gained on this hike can be seen in the picture below as the rocky trail works it's way up the side of Black Mesa:

The next 8 pictures were taken by Matt as I pushed Kellisa up the trail to the top of Black Mesa:

Looking back over the landscape from the top of Black Mesa:

Even though we made it to the top, we still needed to hike approximately 30 minutes along a relatively flat trail to the granite monument that marks the actual high point:

The top of Oklahoma:

At the edge of Black Mesa before we started our descent:

Kellisa still smiling back at the car:

Beautiful sunset as we leave the highpoint area:

Original Blog Post Date: January 20, 2012

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