Two years ago, Kevin Schwieger had an amazing time hiking at Red River Gorge. He was excited to share his adventure with fellow members at Grace Chapel but the words stuck in his mouth. “I realized Debi would never be able to experience that hike because she was in a wheelchair from a car accident,” he said. “That conversation that never happened haunted me for a number of days, and I wanted to figure out how to get people to experience what I had.”
It took time and research, but Schwieger found an all-terrain, one-wheeled adapted chair. He raised money to buy the equipment and took Debi on a hike at Caesar’s Creek, down through the gorge to Horseshoe Falls. “It was incredible. It had been 20 years or more since she had been able to experience anything like that,” Schwieger said. “I posted some pictures on social media and then it blew up.”
Since that initial hike, Schwieger founded Luke 5 Adventures, which gives people with mobility difficulties an opportunity to explore parks. They’ve been on 250 hikes in seven states, thanks to an army of volunteers called Sherpas. “Cincinnati has world-class parks, and we’ve built really close ties and friendships with the park systems,” he said. Luke 5 Adventures hosts regular hiking events, and partners with local organizations to get people outside to experience nature.
Sign up for a hike or learn about volunteering at luke5adventures.com.
