N.H. rehab facility seeks new heights

Wheelchair access for mountain trail

GREENFIELD, N.H. - A scenic trail being built for people who use wheelchairs will not be the first handicapped-accessible trail in the country, but it might be the first one on the side of a mountain.

"It's easy to build an accessible trail on the salt flats of Utah," said Mike Redmond, vice president for advancement at Crotched Mountain, an organization that is building a 4-mile trail on the side of the mountain on which its rehabilitation facility rests. The first stage, a bit more than a mile, is scheduled to be finished next year.

"As far as we know, this is going to be the longest accessible trail system in a mountain environment in the world," Redmond said. "We do not know of any others that are in a mountain-based environment."

The project began in 2003, when Crotched Mountain created a master plan for its wooded land. In 2005, the organization hired Tom Kokx of Gilford, a former US Forest Service worker who had designed a camping and hiking program in the Adirondack Mountains for people with disabilities. He laid out eight distinct areas for different activities, including camping, fishing, and hunting.

Peter Jensen of Barrington, designed the trails.

"The whole idea is to have variability in the grades, so the trail users have an opportunity to get a workout," he said last month while building a bridge over a stream on the trail.

"What is it like to experience nature up close?" Redmond said. "I think that everyone should have that ability, and that should speak as a model for what trails can be."

Crotched Mountain has established a budget of $2 million for trail building, camping areas, and other amenities. So far, it has received nearly $400,000 in grants and gifts.