Britton Hill, FL

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Pushiking Book Update #1

 To say we are behind in the progress of writing our book would be a vast understatement. Kellisa and I need to hike at least one trail in all 50 states and write 90,000 publishable words with supporting pictures, maps, etc. by November 1, 2019. As of May 29th, we pushiked in 8 states and had just over 8,200 words written in a very rough draft.

Most of you know Kellisa and I already pushiked a trail in all 50 states by her 18th birthday and Laurel also accomplished this goal. Our book deal is to write a guidebook with some narrative non-fiction woven in our adventures. I did not view our first tour of the United States through the scope of writing a guidebook. I didn't keep the proper details and documents for a guidebook. Plus, we didn't complete every trail and sometimes we made our own trail. Not very guide worthy, in my opinion. So our second quest to pushike a trail in all 50 states started last October and due to many reasons, we are off to a very slow start.

With summer approaching fast, it was getting close to the point of not having a chance to have the book completed on time when I realized that we had a tight 7 day window between Kellisa getting out of school and Laurel's 10th birthday festivities. We actually had 8 days, but wanted to return with one day to spare just to make sure we would be back in time to celebrate Laurel's birthday. Even though Laurel was very happy to complete the original goal and is very proud of herself, she decided that she didn't want to participate on our new trail adventures.

Restoring a Little Faith in Humanity

 I know we are behind in updating the blog, but life has been busy. Our goal is to post like crazy all summer!

Those in the disabled world might agree that life is hard most of the time and often it seems like the world is against us. I don't like to complain, but I'm usually vocal about pointing out some of the discrimination and injustice we face on an all too regular basis.

While most people we encounter are probably neutral and at most guilty of staring a little. It is rare for individuals to go above and beyond to help strangers with disabilities. And when they do, they are usually "club members" themselves, because they "get it". 

I know we like to say people act like CP, Epilepsy, Hydrocephalus, "fill in your disability" is contagious because so many turn away and actively ignore. Yes, we get people who offer help like trying to hold a door open for us. While we appreciate the gesture, these people are usually in the way more than they are helping. How are we supposed to get through the door with you standing in the door holding it? And then when we say, "We've got it" and go through the door like nothing, we usually hear, "Looks like you've done this before."

Yeah, been doing this for more than 18 years! We just carried Kellisa for the first few years of her life.

So...Kellisa and I just returned from one of our epic father-daughter trips that will provide many blog posts in the near future. We often return home without our faith in humanity restored and that's OK. That's not our motivation for travel. However, this trip was different. Within a 24 hour period, we had multiple people offer help...real help!  

Marriott Hotel Not Exactly ADA Compliant

Springhill Suites - Lincolnshire, IL

ADA compliance thoughts hurting my head.

We're staying at a Marriott property and they have a shuttle van that will take you anywhere within 5 miles, but you need to give the desk 2 hours notice. I thought this was odd and asked.

I was told the shuttle van was not ADA compliant and someone complained because able bodied guests could leave anytime without notice. Guests in wheelchairs would have to wait two hours for an accessible van to arrive. Since it wasn't fair to make some guests wait 2 hours, they are now making everyone wait two hours.

Not surprisingly, most guests are not happy having to wait two hours and Marriott is getting a lot of complaints. They are now planning on buying an ADA shuttle van.

So they wouldn't do it because it was the law and the right thing to do, but are doing it to keep business travelers happy.

Airports Visited - 2018 Update

Evie 1st Flight: SAC - MDW

All Time List of Airports Visited:

Chris- 114   Kellisa- 55   Lisa- 45   Laurel- 39   Evie- 5


At the end of last year, we created a post with the number of airports we've visited. 2018 was a slow travel year for us with three trips back to Chicago as our main destination. Kellisa and Chris went on a few hiking trips which added new airports and we flew to Southern California to pick up the newest member of our family, Evie. Since Evie went on all our flights back to Chicago, she was the big winner with 5 new airports visited.

Evie: Sacramento, Oakland, Denver, Chicago- Midway, and Indianapolis. Kellisa's new airports: Spokane, Kansas City, and Little Rock. Laurel: Ontario and Indianapolis. Lisa: Ontario. Chris: Spokane.

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Rugged Access for All - Update #2 (November 2018)

Volo Bog, Illinois

 Back in November, Kellisa and I added 4 more states to our current goal of finding some of the best pushiking trails in the United States. Our plans to visit a few states in the middle of the country changed at the very last minute when I found out that I was needed in West Virginia (for my job) on the Monday before Thanksgiving. I had planned to take the entire week off, but we rearranged everything so I could take care of my work responsibilities. The family joined me on this trip and graciously waited in the hotel while I worked. All was not lost, we completed this weird loop where we pushiked in Indiana, West Virginia, Ohio, and Illinois. We also got to visit family in Ohio and spend Thanksgiving day with grandma in Chicago. All in all, November worked out extremely well.

Stats: November - RAfA Totals

States: 4 - 7

Miles Pushiked: 11.3 - 23.1

Elevation Gained: 679 - 1,513 feet

Flights: 2 - 6

Miles Flown: 3,866 - 8,136

Miles Driven: 1,539 - 2,279

Places Pushiked:

County Park- 1 (IN)

National Preserve- 1 (KS)

State Natural Area- 1 (IL)

State Nature Preserve- 1 (OH)

State Parks- 3 (AR-MO-WV)

Volo Bog State Natural Area

Illinois

November 2018

Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve

Ohio

November 2018

Beech Fork State Park

West Virginia

November 2018

Eagle Creek Park

Indiana

November 2018

Rugged Access for All - Update #1 (October 2018)

Back in October, Kellisa and I started our latest adventure...finding the best pushiking trails in the United States to share in our book, Rugged Access for All. 

Our first trip for this project had us enjoying a few amazing trails in Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas over a long weekend. The chapters may not be finished, but we're 6% towards our goal of hiking in all 50 states (again) to find the best mix of trails to include in our book. 

Stats from the trip:  

States: 3

Miles Pushiked: 11.8

Elevation Gained: 834 feet

Flights: 4

Miles Flown: 4,270

Miles Driven: 740

Placed Pushiked:

National Preserves: 1

State Parks: 2

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

              

                   

Mt. Nebo State Park

Arkansas

October 2018

Prairie State Park

Missouri

October 2018

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Kansas

October 2018

Far Reaching

  Kellisa's Path blog has been online for more than 7 years and it still surprises us that 49% of the people reading the blog are from outside the United States. Second place historically belongs to Israel with Russia, France, Ukraine, and Germany rounding out the top 6 places where viewers originate. India, Brazil, Canada, and the United Kingdom round out our Top 10 countries.

As we approach 150,000 views, I thought I'd check our "stats". Most of the recent views come from the United States, but then Vietnam comes in second. With China, Indonesia, and Cambodia coming in 4th-6th respectively, it's exciting that Kellisa's Path is somehow growing in this part of the world. 

We are very excited to be reaching new corners of the globe and as always, appreciate everyone who finds Kellisa's Path. Hopefully, more than a few have been inspired to go out and find a trail.

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Rugged Access for All - Overview

Rugged Access for All is the working title for our book project under contract with Rowman & Littlefield. 90,000 words are due to the publisher on November 1, 2019. One question we've been asked is about the book's content.

There are thousands of hiking books on the market (and we own hundreds) that cover just about every topic: guides, reference, how-to, memoirs, best sellers, books made into movies, narrative non-fiction, hiking with families, hiking with babies, and even a few are written about accessible trails.

The only thing missing is a book written for families who have a member that uses an all-terrain jog stroller for toddlers and families with a child or adult in a wheelchair who use special mobility chairs designed for trails that don't meet ADA requirements.

With Rugged Access for All, we intend to fill this gap considering there are millions of families in the United States that fall within this all-terrain jog stroller and mobility chair category. Pushiking (One person pushing another in an all-terrain jog stroller or mobility chair while hiking) is the word we like to call our hobby. 

Rugged Access for All will be a mixture of trail guidebook w/pictures and maps, how-to for those just starting out, and a little narrative non-fiction mixed in to make the book a little more personal.

Even though Kellisa has traveled and hiked in all 50 United States, we didn't hike those trails with the intention of writing a guidebook. Therefore, we will be heading back out across the United States to find the best rugged trails for wheels to include in the book. From mountains to oceans to deserts to swamps to forests to canyons...the United States offers just about every kind of wilderness experience you can imagine. The trails will range from easy to extreme and everything in between. Some trails will be short, while others will be long. We might even backpack a few. We'll hike in all four seasons and in all weather conditions. At the end, we hope to include a little bit of everything our beautiful country has to offer those who want to get out and pushike!

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Harney Peak

South Dakota

October 2006 

Highpoint Elevation: 7,242 feet

Elevation Gain on Hike: 1,550 feet

Round Trip Hiking Distance: 6 miles

After summiting North Dakota, I drove south towards Harney Peak, the highest point in South Dakota. I decided to take a detour to see The Devils Tower. I decided to go for an evening hike and noticed a couple of climbers high on their route. They ended up spending the night on the side of Devils Tower while I had a comfortable evening spent in my tent in the shadow of the famous rock formation.

The following day, I enjoyed a couple roadside waterfalls on my drive to the trailhead for Harney Peak. The hike to the summit tower was uneventful, yet beautiful as the trail weaved around and over countless boulders and rock spires. The views from the top were endless, including the backside of the rocks that were carved in the shape of four United States Presidents. 

After, my third highpoint in three days, I spent my last couple of hours sightseeing. I drove the Needles Highway, passed through Custer State Park, and ended my day with a quick trip through Badlands National Park.

Eagle Mountain

         

Minnesota

October 2006

Highpoint Elevation: 2,301 feet

Elevation Gain on Hike: 650 feet

Round Trip Hiking Distance: 6 miles

My itinerary called for flights from Jacksonville, FL to Minneapolis to Duluth after work, but my second segment was canceled and rebooked for the following morning. I was on a tight time frame with a lot of miles to cover, both driving and hiking and I couldn't afford flight delays. I changed my rental car reservation to start in Minneapolis instead of Duluth and despite the late evening hour, I started my drive north. I stopped just short of Duluth around 2am to sleep in the car at a rest stop. It's been 12 years, but for some reason I did not have a hotel reservation for that night. The cold woke me up several times and I used the car's heat to warm myself. Despite the lack of sleep, the cold made it easy to get an early start on my drive to the highpoint of Minnesota. Along the way, I enjoyed the sun rising above Lake Superior and I stopped at several roadside waterfalls. 

White Butte

North Dakota

October 2006

Highpoint Elevation: 3,506 feet

Elevation Gain on Hike: 406 feet

Round Trip Hiking Distance: 2 miles

   

12 years ago...I had the opportunity to get away on a solo hiking trip for a few days. Back in 2006, I only hiked a few short trails with Kellisa and had no idea what the future would hold for us. Kellisa spent from her birth (May 23, 1999) through early 2006 as a very medically fragile child with only a few outdoor adventures. I had been afraid to leave Kellisa for such a selfish trip, but finally felt comfortable enough to recharge my batteries on a quick trip to reach the highpoints of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

I had the entire trail to myself on White Butte except for one prairie rattlesnake that was blocking the path. The snake was not afraid of me or at all intimidated by my presence. I even tried unsuccessfully to use my trekking poles to convince the snake to move. I really didn't want to go off trail in the high grasses where I was convinced even more snakes lurked, but I had no choice if I wanted to continue.

HIGHPOINTS

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog