An Oregon native, a cross country runner, and a backcountry hiker, West Livaudais has always had a preference for trails over the pavement.
Now, as a wheelchair user, West is still able to spend time outside on the trails but he finds it “nearly impossible” to find the deeply quiet spaces in nature that he enjoyed before.
West has lived with a spinal cord injury since 2013 due to a hospital-acquired infection. Before the injury, he “discovered” Forest Park. One summer, West ran the entirety of the 30.2 miles of the Wildwood Trail.
After his injury, West searched for groups and resources for building relationships and community with other people living with spinal cord injuries. He was shocked that nothing existed in Portland. So, in 2014, one year after his injury, West founded the Oregon Spinal Cord Injury Connection (OSCI) using his background in public health and lived experience as a member of the spinal cord injury community.
OSCI has since grown and now employs community health workers that serve as a link between healthcare, social services, advocacy, and the whole host of needs someone might encounter when their life is turned upside down by a permanent injury.
In addition, the group hosts an annual adaptive camping trip where wheelchair users can explore the outdoors together in community. Campers can bring family and often meet new people in the spinal cord injury community which can have a deep impact on their life.
Adaptive Mountain Biking – Getting Deeper into Nature
Recently, West got his first adaptive mountain bike. Adaptive mountain bikes are relatively new and are an incredible tool that can be customized to suit the rider’s physical, intellectual, neurological, and sensory abilities.
With his new bike, he is excited to explore Forest Park’s fire lanes and be able to get to different parts of Leif Erikson.
One experience in Forest Park that West often thinks about is his time on the soft-surface trails.
“The undulation of the hills and the soft compression of the soil under your feet – there’s a rhythm and an energy that I miss.”
There are significant barriers to the outdoors for people living with a spinal cord injury. Barriers include expensive equipment, a lack of organized programs that support outdoor adventures, and environmental barriers such as gates, and policies.
Recently, West encountered a gate blocking the entrance to Leif Erikson that he was not able to get past. The gate made it too narrow for his adaptive mountain bike to get through. After sharing the issue with Portland Parks & Recreation, trail staff fixed the issue.
Access is a huge benefit to the environment, as it grows the community of stewards. The more people who love and use Forest Park, the more people there will be to care for it now and in the future.
What can other patrons of the park do to be more accommodating on the trails?
West works to amplify the truth that “outdoor enthusiasm is alive and well in the disability community.” People living with disabilities want to be out camping, climbing mountains, or out on the trails.
“The thought is, ‘well, of course, they can’t do that because they’re disabled and they leave it at that. But, that’s not true. In our day and age, anything is possible. The cost is the biggest barrier that allows people to do that. And, commonly held beliefs.”
Everyday users of Forest Park can make a difference for disabled off-road cyclists (DORC’s, as West and his friends refer to themselves as) by keeping these members of your community in mind and remembering that Forest Park can be more inclusive. There is and always will be more that we can do to share this special place.
West invites users to walk through the park and think about what it would mean to not be able to have access to that experience.
“That’s the case for me. I’m so glad I got to run the Wildwood Trail, but I miss it. I really do.”
West points out that there are people like him who have lived in Portland their entire lives and have never been to Forest Park.
“And it’s one of the most beautiful places in Portland. In true Portland spirit, how do we think together to make something really great, spectacular?”
Learn more, get involved, and donate to the Oregon Spinal Cord Injury Connection through their website, here: https://oregonsci.org/