Bob was born with cerebral palsy. He uses a wheelchair, and communicates with a "talk-board"- a simple tablet with the alphabet and common words on it. Bob and Greg Lais, founder of WI, met on this trip to the Boundary Waters in 1979.

A Loon broke into a wild yodel as Greg struggled to get Bob on to the rock. The northern lights thrashed about the sky in phosphorescent green. They sat there in awe, savoring that special moment and thinking about the circumstances that brought them together on a rock in the middle of a lake at night, alone.

Then the mosquitoes found them. What started as an imperceptible whine grew to a maddening scream. Greg was soon overwhelmed with the task of swatting mosquitoes off both himself and Bob. The only escape was the water.

In desperation, Greg stood up, grabbed Bob, and threw him into the lake. He hit with a huge splash, and came up sputtering. Greg jumped in and the two of them clambered onto the side of the rock. Bob indicated he wanted his talk board, so Greg reached over and got it. Greg recalls, “I'll never forget watching his hand move toward the board, as I expected the talk board equivalent of a severe tongue-lashing.” Instead, Bob spelled out: DO - IT - AGAIN!

They did do it -- again and again and again. Since then, Bob has gone on more than 35 trips to wilderness areas throughout North America. Without a doubt, Bob has changed the attitudes of every one of the 350+ people who have gone with him into the wilderness.

He and his fellow paddlers were only halfway through a choppy open water crossing, and their choices had narrowed to paddling hard or letting the weather guide the boat. With an unplanned swim a real possibility, Roger put his head down and his back into it. Before long, Roger found himself safely on the other shore, looking back at the other canoes in his group still struggling in the wind. That moment, he now recalls, “was the first time in what felt like a long time that I had the upper hand, where I could push it, and felt strong.”

“For me,” Roger reflected, “this was the point where I got past the stage of discomfort; that feeling I should feel careful, awkward, and uncomfortable about being in a wheelchair. It was on this trip I realized there are just different ways to do things. This let me move past the uncertainty about what I could and couldn’t do, and let me rebuild my courage.”

Being active in the outdoors was such a part of my identity; I couldn’t imagine life without it. This was a much bigger deal to me than not being able to walk or having skinny legs. While I was in rehab, my therapist brought in a brochure about Wilderness Inquiry and said, “OK Mike, we’re going to plan your next wilderness trip.” I literally couldn’t believe it. When I looked at the trips, they weren’t watered down for people with “handicaps.” They were real wilderness adventures. It sounds cheesy, but the hope and dream of actually taking a Wilderness Inquiry trip someday is what got me through rehab and out of the hospital.

Not only did I go on a WI trip, I set a goal of working there someday, which I did for seven years. Working at WI gave me the skills, confidence and support I needed to start my own kayaking company, which I have now been operating for two years. I am so grateful for the many opportunities that WI afforded me.

Then a friend told me about Wilderness Inquiry. The Wilderness Inquiry (WI) program and its more than capable staff enabled me to make my long held dream come true. At the time I had no idea that I would be able to fulfill that wish so fully. On the WI five day horsepacking adventure I was able to combine many things I enjoy - camping, horses, trail riding, and being in the company of wonderful people who don't look at a wheelchair and see a barrier to physical adventure. I did not just drive by and see the mountains. I rode to the top, I laid on them, I touched them and they touched me back. It was an experience of a lifetime.

In Sam’s words, “Whenever I participate in a WI activity, I feel included, happy, and a part of something. WI helped teach me that I can do much more than I thought possible and that feeling is pretty cool and inspiring. WI has opened my eyes to a lot. Take for example a guy I met while trip assisting in the boundary waters. I took one look at him and saw one thing: his wheelchair. That darn thing makes you think of limitations, but after experiencing WI, I knew that limits were only perceptions.”

Annie was in the middle of Lake Superior with Wilderness Inquiry when she discovered the inner strength that began to propel her forward. Young can still remember the exact moment when she knew that she would be able to handle whatever cards life would deal her. With the encouragement of Wilderness Inquiry’s staff, Young was the first in her group to do the “tip test”—tipping a kayak into Lake Superior and then righting it. “I was very afraid and thinking ‘I can’t do this,’ when I felt a breeze touch my check. I felt the old Annie return to my body.” She took the plunge and led the way for the rest of the group. Annie returned from the trip re-energized, graduated from school, got a job, and rejoined the world as a more confident woman.

An avid outdoor enthusiast, Paul was interested in sea kayaking and wanted to take his first trip with an organization that knew how. He asked his favorite outdoor retailer for advice, and they recommended Wilderness Inquiry. Paul checked out WI, saw the price was reasonable and that WI had been around a long-time. He read that WI serves people of all abilities, but did not think much of it. He signed up for a trip to the Apostle Islands, and joined the van ride to Wisconsin.

After arriving at the site and finishing the kayak orientation, Paul was surprised to learn that he and the man in the wheelchair, Bill, were teamed in a kayak. They climbed in and shoved off. Paul soon realized that Bill was a very strong paddler and quite capable. Chatting as they explored the sea caves together, Bill and Paul found out that they were both architects, and that they had many colleagues in common.

That night, Paul had forgotten about his misgivings and got into the trip. Says Paul, "I came expecting great kayaking, and I got that. But I had no idea that the trip would have such a profound impact on my worldview. I now view people with disabilities as people. It was eye opening, to say the least."

Mary Jo says, “WI has helped to connect me to a broader community of support our family’s struggles and heartaches are not the only ones out there. Also, the integration of Matt on these trips is so natural, so normal an experience that is unfortunately too uncommon for us. Because WI provided an interpreter, Matt is on equal ground.”

Rachel’s father recently wrote to WI: “Everybody needs a place to express their unique abilities. Thank you for providing a place for Rachel to fit in and develop.”

In Rachel’s words “I have been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, which is why I have such an intense interest in animals and have trouble communicating with other people. In ALP, I like the fact that we can leave city things behind. I also like canoeing and kayaking the physical stuff and I like expanding my knowledge and experience both with animals as I’m out in the wilderness. I have grown from being given the opportunity to teach others about these things.”

WI’s trips got him back on the trail and into the great outdoors once again. “By getting in touch with the ‘wilderness’ you are able to give thought to what is truly important in life. WI has helped inspire me to make my life mean something.”

Mark has been on 17 WI trips, from the Boundary Waters to Alaska. “I have been on some great trips with Wilderness Inquiry. One of my favorites was the Porcupine River. WI’s mission to provide programs for people of all abilities and backgrounds and to offer financial aid to participants made this and many other trips possible for me.”

“You kind of anticipate the changes in the physical things you do, but there was no preparation for the social changes,” said Jay. “My friends, the people I went hunting and fishing with, never bothered to see me after I got out of the hospital. That was the toughest thing.”

Jay was an avid outdoorsman prior to his injury. After he broke his back he thought his days in the outdoors were over. Jay found out about WI and participated on a trip up to Ontario where he caught the biggest fish of his life. He has since renewed his connection with the out of doors, gone on 8 or 9 trips with WI, pioneered techniques for paraplegics to go bow hunting (he gets his deer every year), and founded and a Center for Independent Living Skills in northwestern Minnesota. Says Jay, “WI reconfirmed for me that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Becoming disabled did not diminish my will—getting through those tough times actually made it stronger.”

Pa says that she volunteers with WI for many reasons. “It has truly touched my heart to see the opportunity that WI has created for people with different levels of ability. I chose to be an intern because it gives me the opportunity to develop my leadership skills, learn from positive and negative situations and work with a wonderful group of people.”

Bill is a carpenter who relishes big challenges despite suffering two broken backs, several severed fingers, and near blindness. At the time of this photo, Bill was carrying both Mitch and a 70lb equipment pack. No doubt Mitch was spinning another spellbinding tale from his years on the road.

After a few days on a WI trip, the fact that a person has a disability is about as significant as the color of their eyes or hair. The wheelchairs and crutches become secondary to the person. In this group, the woman on the left has a spinal cord injury, the woman in the white shirt in front has Multiple Sclerosis, the man in the plaid shirt has Muscular Dystrophy, the woman wearing the neckerchief has epilepsy, the woman second from the right has diabetes and is totally blind. Wilderness experiences helps to strip away cultural biases and encourages us to really look at each other as simply humans.

An insulin dependent diabetic, Steve has managed his diabetes for years, though he’s lost his sight and some sensation to the disease. A wilderness trip—with new activities and a new diet—posed special challenges to regulating diabetes. Says Steve, “learning to manage my diabetes in a wilderness environment gave me the experience and confidence to tackle any environment —including law school.”

Margo uses a wheelchair and needs help getting across the wilderness trail. Steve, though strong, needs a stabilizing force to walk because of cerebral palsy. By combining their strengths, Margo and Steve are able to overcome a challenge that neither could do alone. These types of synergies are commonly found on WI trips. Born of necessity, the challenges of the wilderness naturally bring out those symbiotic relationships. They are tremendously powerful for everyone on the trip, reinforcing the notion that no one goes through life without help.

Kit spoke on behalf of WI at an event a few years later: “I never dreamed I could go somewhere like this - into the wilderness without lots more help. My injury had me frustrated with life and I was afraid something like this trip would never happen for me again in my lifetime. The trip also helped me realize that you can live your dreams and get places other people without disabilities can go. I was on top of the world! Not just because we were up in the mountains either, I mean I was on top of the world!”

Helen enjoyed her trip, and stole the show with her attitude, her insights, and her amazing life story. Born in Czarist Russia, Helen was 16 during the Bolshevik revolution. She has a Ph.D. in Chemistry, and ran a huge operation in the paper pulp industry in Siberia on Lake Baikal. She was exiled in the 1970’s for her outspoken criticisms of state-sponsored pollution.

On the WI dogsled trip, Helen made friends with Jill, a troubled 16 year old from Minneapolis. Jill was an anti-social youth with very low self-esteem. On their trip, Helen reached out to Jill and became the best of friends with her—a friendship that lasted long the past the trip.

Helen saw in Jill a bright kid with lots of promise. Though she had poor grades in High School, Jill went on to enroll as a Chemical Engineering major at Colorado College and ultimately pursued a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering. Jill credits her relationship with Helen as having turned her life around.

Barbara explains how WI provided the support, equipment, and training necessary to make the leap to a family of outdoor adventurers: “Our family includes three young boys — Kevin, 12, and twins Matthew and Bryan, 10. Bryan has spastic quadriparesis cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder and recently had an intrathecal baclofen pump inserted (to reduce his spasticity). Our apprehension about traveling with a medically fragile child was a focal point during preparations for our trips.

We learned that adaptations for Bryan while camping are similar to what is needed at home. We were able to take both his power and manual wheelchairs on our trips and strapped a car seat into the canoe so that he could paddle.

Our journey to Wyoming included camping in a campground, giving the children the chance to socialize with children from other places. We canoed Yellowstone Lake, saw a bald eagle and other wildlife. Each day was filled with adventure and opportunities that met the needs of everyone in the group.

Would we do it again? We did! We recently bought a tent and camped on our own. Waking to the sunrise, the birds singing and the breeze blowing through the trees was like music to the ears of these ‘seasoned beginners.’”