Access is key for Disabled Adventure Outfitters

By Heather Shelton

The Times-Standard

ARCATA -- Bill Wing of Arcata has been kayaking since he was a boy and, in his

lifetime, has run some of this country's wildest rivers.

Bret Leach of Salyer has hemophilia, a hereditary disorder that -- because the blood's clotting ability is impaired -- causes episodes of excessive bleeding. As a child, he wasn't allowed to do many things other kids could, like play football, ride a bike or run freely down the street with his buddies.

"My hemophilia and society kept me from exploring that side of things until I was much older," said Leach. "I had a fairly protected life. I went to school, went to college, got a degree, entered the business world, then basically sat behind a desk for years."

These two very different lives melded one day a decade ago. Leach, who had started working at a summer camp for kids with hemophilia, brought up a group of San Francisco area youth to Humboldt County for a week of camping, rock climbing and rafting. Wing was leading the whitewater portion of the trip.

"I've got inspired by these people. You look at their problems and the pain they're in and they never complain," Wing said.

Wing is also owner of Electric Rafting Company and of WING Inflatables, which makes durable boats, tubes and sponsons in a 13,000-square foot facility in Arcata for clients that include the U.S. Coast Guard and Boston Whaler. He also teaches swiftwater rescue and boat handling techniques to state and federal agencies like NASA and the U.S. Navy.

Though his life is busy, Wing knew he wanted to continue offering outdoor fun to people living with disabilities.

"We're sitting down at camp," said Leach, now 43, "and Bill started saying, 'I see a real need to a get a foundation together so we can start doing trips for people with disabilities. Their access is so limited' ... I thought, 'Let's create it.'"

Disabled Adventure Outfitters, which became a nonprofit organization last year, was born. It now serves people with a wide array of disabilities and conditions, including hemophilia, Multiple Sclerosis, cancer and paralysis.

"One of prime activities for quadriplegics is to fish on a lake," Leach said. "They've been restricted as far as movement is concerned. This will not only get them to a specific site, say a high alpine lake, it will take it to the next step and get them on a vessel of some sort and get them out on a lake in a safe environment."

In addition to fishing, the several-day to week-long Disabled Adventure treks -- which also include extensive training for participants -- can include activities like whitewater rafting, camping, rock climbing and riding all-terrain vehicles on approved Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land.

"We use the (all-terrain vehicles) for access. It turns them into hikers almost ... It gives them access to an inaccessible world they don't usually see," said Wing.

Integral to the outdoor programs are the boats -- WING of course -- that are used, including kayaks and the sturdy Solo Cat.

"The Cat is a very forgiving kayak. It's very maneuverable for kids and for people with disabilities ... Hemophiliacs use them a lot. We pad them up a little bit more because of the bruising factor," said Wing, who is also overseeing design and construction of the innovative HandiCat, a raft that can accommodate two people in wheelchairs.

"We're doing research and development to get disabled user-friendly units. A disabled person can roll right up into the rowing station and row the Cat solo. They can launch it and do everything themselves, on their own," said Wing, who is working with folks at WING Inflatables and at Yakima Products Inc., in Arcata to complete the project.

When done, HandiCat, he said, will also be equipped with a wireless, hands-free, voice-activated motor.

"If they get tired ... they can say, 'Drop the motor' and the motor will come down, then 'Forward' and the motor takes them forward or left turn or right turn. They're as mobile as you and I are now ... If they can talk, they can run this with their voice. They're in control," he said.

All Disabled Adventure Outfitters programs are led by professional guides from the Electric Rafting Company, which has been running river trips for 25 years in Humboldt and Trinity counties.

Safety, Wing stressed, is of utmost importance.

"We work closely with the guides," he said, "to educate them about the physical and emotional needs of our clients. All guides are experts in first aid and rescue."

Adventures are offered at little or no cost to participants, Leach said. Right now, most costs are absorbed by those running the program, Wing added, and guides donate much of their time. Disabled Adventure Outfitters, he said, has received some funding from several pharmaceutical companies, but it is hoped that, with grant funding and community support, this new nonprofit will be able to make more and more trips available.

"My dream is to see access occurring for people who otherwise may not be able to enjoy these experiences," Leach said. "We've been told all our lives that ... anything physically demanding was something out of our reach. This has opened my eyes to the limitations other people put on you and how you can believe them and not explore the possibilities that exist for you."

A "Bands for Helping Hands" concert is planned from 6 p.m. to midnight Nov. 5 at the Bayside Grange to benefit Teen Leadership Education Adventure Program and Disabled Adventure Outfitters. Tickets are $10 at the door. The public is invited.

©1999 Times-Standard
Sun, Oct 24, 1999 ; C 1