**For more details make sure to read my in-depth article on adaptive camping in New Mobility magazine, click here.
Handcycling in Yosemite national park on an catered and guided adaptive camping trip put on by Access Leisure Sacramento
Camping Options: Minimalist to Glamping
One of the many cool things about camping is it can be adapted for yourself; you can be a camping minimalist up to luxury glamping:
- Minimalist: Sleep under the stars with just a sleeping bag and pad next to your car, or the back of a van, the bed of a pick-up truck, or a station wagon. This type of camping can also enable extended adaptive mountain bike, handcycle, and sea kayak adventures.
- Car camping: Taking more gear, including a tent. As a bonus, I’ve found my aching shoulders really like car camping, especially adding a quality camping cot-about the same height as my wheelchair for easier transfers. A bonus on car camping is that designated campgrounds are supposed to have accessible bathrooms and many offer roll in showers. If you want to validate this, I would suggest you call the campaign site in advance.
- Glamping: This term ranges from adaptive camping trips where staff set up your tent, and cot, and do the cooking and cleaning, to permanent tent-type units with accessible beds, tables, mirrors and electrical outlets, to accessible yurts and tree houses.
Car Camping in Colorado
Packing-List Essentials and Go Bags
For me, the dullest part of any trip, whether camping, a road trip, or traveling by plane, is packing. The most tedious and stressful part is ensuring I don’t forget any crucial SCI supplies (for bladder and bowel care) and medications and bring enough to last the entire trip. To make this easier, and make sure I don’t overlook a vital item, I make a list of what I will need so I can print it, check off each item as it’s packed, and adjust amounts (catheters, medications, etc.) for how long I will be away and add enough for a few extra days in case I decide to extend my adventure or my return gets delayed.
I also keep a dedicated day pack -that I refer to as my ‘go bag’- filled with 3-days of SCI supplies that I can grab for a quick weekend getaway, yet it is big enough to add extra supplies for an extended trip. And I keep my ‘go bag’ where I control it. For instance, in a vehicle, I want to see the bag packed before leaving the driveway; when flying, the go bag goes with me-in the overhead or at my feet. I find the Newton Backpack is the perfect size for a go-bag.
Other items I have on my list are Wet Ones for clean catheterizing and a couple packets of disposable bathing wipes to freshen up in case there is no accessible shower--these also come in handy when visiting friends that may or may not have an accessible shower. I also carry a patch kit, spare inner tube tire tools, and a few tools for changing tires and basic repairs.
Fully loaded jeep and trailer for car camping. Mendocino, CA
Skin Protection
One of the most important lessons I learned in SCI rehab is how essential is skin protection. For me, having a dedicated wheelchair cushion that I leave on my car seat is just as important as having the proper cushion on my chair. I have an extra cushion that I use when I’m out of my chair around the campsite. I also bring a small cushion to place on the campground shower seats, as they tend to be hard.
It is also essential to choose the proper sleeping pad and/or cot for comfort and, again, to avoid pressure spots. For more on cushions, sleeping pads, and cots, make sure to read my New Mobility article, click here.
An area of skin protection caution involves one of my favorite parts of camping: which is sitting around the campfire trading stories, and keeping areas of limited or no sensation, like feet and legs, far enough away from the fire to avoid burns.
Tire/Wheel Options for Campgrounds and Off-Road Wheeling
Although most campgrounds offer at least one dedicated accessible campsite that is a bit more level and ‘should’ be easier to roll on, I prefer campsites close to my friends’ camping. To that end, instead of my regular 25” rims with (559) X 1” "street tires", I use 2” -2.25” knobby mountain bike tires because they roll better over rough and/or soft ground. I have two sets of wheels; my everyday "street" wheels are 25” (25” 559) with a 1” tire, and for camping and off-road pushing, I use 2.25” knobby tires. However, 2.25” knobby tires are significantly taller than 1” tire, so I use a set of 24” rims mounted with 24” (540) X 2.25” knobby tires, which are approximately the same diameter as my 25” everyday tires and can be easily swapped back and forth for camping, snow, gravel or sand. The caveat is that since the mountain bike tires are wider, I move the camber plugs out about ½”-something that only takes a few minutes thanks to the design and precision markings of Motion Composites camber plugs.
In addition to rear tires, I find that if I’m not doing a wheelie, it is all too easy for my front wheels to catch on the soft ground. To avoid this, I use a FreeWheel that attaches to my APEX Carbon, which enables me to roll easily without the worry of catching my casters on the soft ground and possibly tumbling forward out of my chair.
National parks have designated accessible campsites and many accessible trails. Yosemite national park
Staying Warm
Another important item, discussed in detail in my New Mobility article, is an extra-warm sleeping bag. Reduced circulation due to SCI, especially in the legs, makes it easier to get cold and tougher to warm up. I prefer a sleeping bag that is rated to minus 20 F° (-6.67 C°). In reality, that keeps me warm to about 32 F° (0 C°).
Managing Bowel and Bladder
For those that do intermittent catheterization, a closed system catheter -where urine drains into a bag is ideal for camping, road trips, and even airline travel because voiding can be done discretely into the collection bag. I find this is especially helpful when I wake up in the middle of the night with a full bladder and don’t want to transfer into my chair. The same holds true on road trips; if need be, one can void into the bag in the car. A lower-cost option is to get some surgical tubing, attach it to the end of the catheter, and run the other end into an empty plastic soda bottle or milk jug that can be sealed and disposed of later.
For managing bowel programs, there are a variety of portable, foldable camping toilets available online for as little as $30 (USD). Caveat: If need be, have somebody level the ground when setting them up, and it is even better if they are set up next to a sturdy tree for support. In a pinch, a 5-gallon bucket with water pipe insulation around the top and a trash can liner to catch the waste is a great option if your guide says, “Oops, we forgot the porta-toilet.” Something I learned on a 7-day sea kayak trip.
Get Out There and Experience the Adventure
I’ve been fortunate to learn and incorporate these camping hacks on many trips ranging from 1000-mile solo road trips across the Great Basin of Nevada and Utah, a 7-day sea kayak trip from Seattle to Vancouver, BC, a 100-mile off-road handcycle trip through the Canyonlands of Utah, camping with my family in the Havasupai canyon and countless other adventures. The challenges, experiences, and joys are memories that have enriched my life. Give camping a try!
Sea Kayak trip from Seattle to Vancouver BC
