Travel Tidbits For Special Needs Travelers

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

23 Aug 2007 10:59 PM

There's nothing more relaxing than retreating to the woods for some R&R. Especially when a cool breeze sweeps over you as you gaze at a colorful vista of wildflowers bordered by deep green vegetation. Our country's park system gives us the opportunity to soak in all that nature has to offer, but what if you are wheelchair bound? How do you navigate the windy trails that lace up and down areas such as Vermont's picturesque Green Mountains?

These days it is much easier. A new trail, which opened there earlier this summer, is making the park's picture-perfect settings much easier to access for visitors with physical needs. It is the state's third wheelchair-accessible trail, and a model for similar efforts underway in other national parks.

Also in Vermont, the Baldwin Trail on Mount Independence, dedicated last month features a 1.6-mile wheelchair accessible portion that has gentle grades and smooth surfaces. The trail gives visitors access to an important Revolutionary War historic site, including archaeological sites.

Another trail becoming more accessible to people with disabilities is the world-famous Appalachian Trail. It now includes a new wheelchair-accessible boardwalk. When it opens this fall, it will be the first section of the Appalachian Trail in northern New England to be designed as wheelchair-accessible. In addition, the Camel's Hump View Trail also features a gently sloped loop trail built with tightly packed gravel. It provides close-up views of Camel's Hump, Vermont's most iconic mountain, to wheelchair-bound visitors.

In other news for travelers with special needs, a new study shows more than half of all orthopedic implants can be detected by airport metal detectors. The report was issued to underline the importance of having travelers with orthopedic implants advise security agents that they have an implanted medical device or metal implant, so that a private screening can be arranged.

The report included some interesting facts regarding what a typical airport metal detector can and cannot pick up. For example, according to the report, 90% of total knee replacements and all total hip replacements were detected. However, plates, screws, and wires are rarely detected. Also, the study found titanium implants are much more likely to be detected than stainless steel implants. And, lower-extremity implants are detected 10 times more often than upper-extremity ones. In addition, the report reveals that upper-extremity prostheses, such as total shoulder replacements, total wrist replacements and radial head replacements, were not detected.

Related Articles:

Traveling with a Disability

And You Thought You Had It Bad At The Gas Pump

"Take A Hike"---On The Appalachian Trail

Barefoot and... Crazy?

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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