7.07.2003
Wheelchair ramps in the high alpine zone
[Posted 11:51 AM by James Panero]
Well, I just returned from eight days of hiking in sublime northern New Hampshire (53 miles on the AT, from Pinkham Notch to Franconia through the Presidential Range, Crawford Notch, and the Pemigewasset Wilderness–thanks for asking).
My trip consisted of trekking among the Appalachian Mountain Club’s historic system of White Mountain huts–a national treasure, a gem from the bygone days of mountaineering. In fact, the AMC runs a superb website, www.outdoors.org, where you can learn more (including real-time reservation ability).
Needless to say, the trip has put me in *very* high spirits. So why write into Amavirumque? Well, I have but one complaint–no, not a complaint–rather a mild frisson.
It is difficult to discount how the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act has improved the lives of countless Americans. As with any legislation, however, there is always the risk of pushing things to far. The case of the renovated Galehead Hut is one such example.
Galehead is perhaps the most inaccessible of the AMC hut chain–its easiest access point is a five mile stumble over the jagged granite of New Hampshire. For those able-bodied souls who now make the rewarding trek over the Twin Mountains to this high-alpine retreat, they discover, almost as if to mock their blisters, bumps, and bruises, a wheelchair ramp ascending the final two steps up to the hut porch, as well as oversized doors inside, and so forth. Yes, when this hut was rebuilt in 2000, it was required to be ADA compliant (note the ramp in the lower left corner of this picture, as well as the rocky terrain leading up to it). Naturally most people in the hiking community were amused, if not startled. So to prove a point, a group of advocates for the handicapped carried three differently-abled bodies up the rocky terrain to Galehead soon after its reopening with camera crew in tow. Here is the resulting article, and a quote:
To the trek’s detractors it might appear that Haley, Gray and Krill were “carried up the mountain.” Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Galehead trek was not about individuals, but about teamwork and discovery.
No one doubts the heroics of these individuals, or their handlers. Yet now that the press attention has faded, I would be surprised if another such attempt were made anytime soon. This misadventure was little more than a media stunt in support of, let’s face it, a militant and litigious subgroup of Americans who will push the ADA into extreme and radical applications. Here is one such like-minded fellow writing into a chat room:
…I hate the group that has
the shelters I can sue on behalf of every person in the united states of
America for violation of the Americans with disability act. and they will
be forced to rebuild every shelter and make them handicapped accessible. I
am the state coordinator and regional coordinator for the ada in the area i
live and Ic an go into any place in the united states and cite them into
court for not being complaint with the ada and I might just do that.
Even in the solitude of the Pemigewasset Wilderness, the rumble of contemporary politics can be deafening.