10/21/2022
Wanting to explore the PNW but concerned about the accessibility? The DOC would like to suggest a great resource, "The Disabled Hiker’s Guide to Western Washington and Oregon" by Syren Nagakyrie ()! Take a look at the different slides to see what makes this book so awesome!
Image description:
Slide 1: On a white background with a black arch in the left corner is the cover of a book that has a yellow heading and text that reads “FalconGuides. The Disabled Hiker’s Guide to Western Washington and Oregon. Outdoor Adventure Accessible by Car, Wheelchair, and on Foot. Syren Nagakyrie”. Underneath is an image of a lake with a mountain, trees, and a purple sky in the background. To the left of the book cover is text that reads "Enjoy hiking? You should check out “The Disabled Hiker’s Guide to Western Washington and Oregon” by Syren Nagakyrie, a local disabled author and founder of Disabled Hikers ()! Swipe through to see what we appreciate about this book." There is also an image of the Disabled Hikers logo that includes a hiker using walking poles, a wheelchair, and walking a dog in front of a mountain.
Slides 2-6: At the bottom of the image is a white outline of a mountain and trees on a dark blue background. Above this is a tan square with rounded corners outlined in light blue. The text reads as follows:
Slide 2: Spoons + reminder of spoon theory
This book luckily enough uses a spoon system to break up the different hikes! It is organized by starting at 1 spoon, to 5 five spoons. The author includes a recap or an introduction to spoon theory, and how they decided what makes something 4 spoons, versus a 3-spoon hike. They also make sure to include scenic drives and viewpoints for those days in which one can get out of the house, but not enough to want or the ability for a hike.
Slide 3: Land Acknowledgements
They also make sure to include land acknowledgments. While this is something that can be performative, the amount of detail that the author, Syren, puts into their land acknowledgments makes us believe otherwise. It is important for us to remember whose land we are on, but also their culturally important locations, which often overlap with memorable nature spaces.
Slide 4: ADA Accessibility Section
Have you ever gone to a place and found out it wasn’t accessible to you? Well having a section for ADA Accessible hikes can make a world of difference for folks. While you might just want to get outside, you may have to fact-check multiple sources for whether this is accessible to you before doing so. This can be incredibly helpful but draining and you might not have the energy for a hike or just getting out, afterwards. This takes this portion of the process away (unless you want to double check) and helps with reducing that barrier.
Slide 5: Public Transit Section
As a college student, sometimes you do not have access to a car, access to a necessary type of transportation (example: 4 Wheel Drive for Mt Baker), or don’t/cannot drive. This section is great for that. It even includes which bus routes (of course, accurate to the time of publication) and what stop will get you there!
Slide 6: Rundown + Elevation Graphics
A great thing about this book is that every hike has a rundown section. This includes things like wheelchair accessibility, spoon level, distance, trail type, surface, trail width, max grade, max cross slope, etc. It is incredibly detailed, especially for a hiking guide, to try to give you as much information as possible. They also try to include things such as tripping hazards like large roots, rocks, steps, etc. There is even an elevation graph if that is useful for you!”
