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blind person seeking to hike, camp, whatever

 
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n7zzt





Joined: 27 Feb 2011
Posts: 4
Location: phoenix

PostPosted: 3/1/2011, 2:30 am    Post subject: blind person seeking to hike, camp, whatever Reply to topic Reply with quote

hey guys,
I have been having a run bad of luck finding any hiking clubs here in the valley. I seriously need to get back out on the trail and would certainly enjoy the outings. The only hitch that seems to come up every time: I'm blind.

I will not allow my disability to slow me down or prevent me from doing what I can. I tandem ride weekly and sometimes even solo trail ride (following a sound source and verbal directions from a guide on the bike ahead of me).

so? any openings I can get in on?

-Eric
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Eric Oyen
phoenix, arizona
(623)399-5635
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desertgirl





Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 3350
Location: Chandler, AZ

PostPosted: 3/1/2011, 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

What & where is your prior experience with hiking & what was your set up to support you on your hiking trips?

We have not had anyone pose this question to us so far -- so this is a new area for us.
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n7zzt





Joined: 27 Feb 2011
Posts: 4
Location: phoenix

PostPosted: 3/1/2011, 5:19 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

my previous hiking experience was all over the state of arizona prior to 20 years ago.

for support, I used to be in a college based hiking club at Glendale Community College prior to 1993. Before that was the BSA (Boy Scouts of America)

I recently went from low partial to totally blind and have tried to change up my life a bit as a result. I am pretty good at following sound and with a minimum of verbal instruction and perhaps some assistance on the roughest spots, I shouldn't have much difficulty. I have my own equipment (day pack, shoes, canes, tent, etc.). Basically, I am looking to get back into this activity after more than 20 years of doing without.

I really want to find out what my limits are, then push them back a bit.

-Eric
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Eric Oyen
phoenix, arizona
(623)399-5635
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azbackpackr
Hi Tech Wizardess




Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA

PostPosted: 3/4/2011, 5:24 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Eric I'm sending you a private message on here.
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desertgirl





Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 3350
Location: Chandler, AZ

PostPosted: 3/4/2011, 10:09 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Hey Eric

Thanks for posting your experience. I have another person that has contacted me willing to work with you if I set something up. I am going to be travelling for a bit but once I am back I will contact you to see if I can set up some thing that we can try out and see how this goes. I have no experience with this so it will be a learning experience for all of us...
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Trishness
The Snake Charmer




Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 2530
Location: Apache Jct, AZ

PostPosted: 3/8/2011, 7:50 pm    Post subject: Hiking deaf and blind Reply to topic Reply with quote

Eric,

Hi...I just saw your post and thought I would reply. I'd be happy to take you on a hike with me but need to know what I would have to do as far as guiding you along.

We both have disabilities. I'm deaf (in one ear) but it does impede on my everyday business and certainly on my hiking.....I can't hear rattlesnakes or people zooming up behind me. But people with one disability make up for it somehow. I have great vision and have heard (no pun intended) that people with vision disabilities usually have terrific hearing.

So if you want to hike sometime, let me know. I live in AJ and hike in the Supes all the time.


Trish
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~~~Trish~~~

"Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into guess; it was no more than a glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of the memory and old tales, of the high and distant mountains." � J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings.
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n7zzt





Joined: 27 Feb 2011
Posts: 4
Location: phoenix

PostPosted: 3/9/2011, 6:04 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

hmmmm.
you are deaf and I am blind. .. together we make one reliable witness. Smile

I wouldn't mind going pout on hikes. like you I am also partial deaf, but it has not impeded my abilities thus far (I am only at 50% loss in the left side and about the only things I don't hear on that side are frequencies above 4 Khz). as for hiking techniques, I use bells strapped to the ankles of the party ahead of me, or a tapper bell hung from the back of the hat on the hiker ahead of me. I also use 2 canes on the trail (or collapsable hiking poles if available). as for rattlesnakes and others on the trail, I would still hear them at a fair distance.

I live way out on the west side, so getting to the superstition mountains would present some transportation problems unless I can get a ride.
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Eric Oyen
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Suz





Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 3186

PostPosted: 3/17/2011, 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

here is a video that was produced by one of my canyoneering friends.
http://davidwallace.net/images/Movie2.htm
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n7zzt





Joined: 27 Feb 2011
Posts: 4
Location: phoenix

PostPosted: 3/17/2011, 9:27 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

now thats what I am on about. I know EXACTLY how he feels (literally and figuratively). I'm a bit more stubborn though. I r effuse to accept "no" for an answer.

Suz wrote:
here is a video that was produced by one of my canyoneering friends.
http://davidwallace.net/images/Movie2.htm

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Eric Oyen
phoenix, arizona
(623)399-5635
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