Judy Presley is used to long, brisk walks, since she typically hoofs it to the post office or other shops in downtown Helen.
“I live on the side of a mountain. I get a lot of exercise,” said the 61-year-old grandmother, who is blind and can be found around town with her guide dog. In 2001, Presley learned how to cross-country ski in through a program called Ski for Light, a nonprofit, volunteer-based group that aims to teach blind, visually and mobility-impaired adults how to cross-country ski.
Her guide told her about another program, Trekk for Light, a similar idea only it took adults up to the top of the mountain instead. It is organized through the Colorado chapter of the international Ski for Light program.
The idea intrigued her.
“He said there is a summer program called Llama Trek,” she said. And although the hike sounded daunting at first — at one point hikers have to go 8 miles and carry a pack of about 30 pounds — Presley said, “I kept thinking, ‘I think I’d like to try that.’”
“My daughter said, ‘Mom, you can do it. If any blind person can do it, you can do it.’”
The hike was strenuous, she said — she’s not going to sugarcoat it. But she added that is was one of the best experiences she’s ever had, and wanted to share her story with others to help spread the word about the program.
“You really do get a sense of your environment around you,” she said of the hike, which allowed her to experience wide open skies, dense tree canopies and thin, crisp mountain air.
It’s an experience called “echo vision,” she said, and it allows someone without sight to feel the environment around them and get a sense of what it is through other senses.
“When we got to the top of the mountain, I have enough vision to see the blue sky. I could tell there was green grass,” she said. “I felt like I was on top of the world.”
Kristen Morales
Upon hearing of Trekk for Light, a weeklong hike in Colorado’s Rawah Wilderness for the blind, I imagined it to be the ultimate adventure and challenge.
Each blind hiker would be paired with a pack llama and a volunteer who would serve as a sighted guide. Because I love the feeling of empowerment I gain from such an adventure and challenge, I applied right away.
After I was accepted, I enlisted the services of personal trainer Mark Wilkes of Clarkesville. I followed his instructions to the painful letter. I realized that my enjoyment of the trip depended on my level of fitness.
On Aug. 7 I met my sighted guide, Kathleen Bennett, and the other 15 participants at the Quality Inn in Fort Collins, Co. The next morning we were off to the llama ranch for training with our llamas.
At the ranch, we learned the proper care of a llama as well as the proper way to cinch on the saddle to equally distribute the weight of the saddlebags. We then drove to a campground to learn how to set up a tent and other camping skills. The next morning we took a four-hour hike up a mountain trail so as to determine if all hikers were physically fit for the trek. After many treks, the organizers have perfected a technique of guiding with a short dowel rod and hiking sticks and having the lama rope draped over the hikers’ opposite shoulders.
The next morning we were driven 90 miles to the Rawah Wilderness trailhead. This first day proved to be the most difficult of the trek. It was an uphill climb all the way. We got a late start and did not arrive at our designated campsite until 7 p.m. We were cold and hungry but we first had to haul water from the stream and purify it before cooking dinner. We did not have dinner until 9 p.m.
The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast of blueberry pancakes. My sighted guide and I went to the meadow to check on our llama, whose name was Little Brown Jug, or L.B.J. We found L.B.J. happily munching on the lush grass along with the other llamas. That day we took a day hike up to beautiful Crater Lake.
After a night’s sleep we started our ascent to Grassy Pass, at 11,300 feet. At the beginning of the trek, we were divided up into two groups of eight people. The plan was for group one and two to meet up at Grassy Pass on Wednesday afternoon and have lunch together at the Pass. Group two did not arrive. After a leisurely lunch in the lovely mountain sunshine, we proceeded down the other side of the mountain. We camped twice more before heading for the trailhead. Later we were told that someone in group two had gotten altitude sickness and they made the decision to do only day hikes at a lower altitude before heading back to the trailhead.
We left the trailhead and drove back to the Quality Inn for a glorious hot shower. That night we had a celebratory supper together. The next morning we departed to our different states with a feeling of exhilaration from a unique experience.
I will never forget the calm serenity of that wilderness. The only sound was the wind, the babble of mountain streams and the roar of waterfalls. I also enjoyed the lovely fragrance of juniper and lodge pole pines and the fun and laughter around a crackling campfire.
One does not need sight to experience the exhilaration and beauty of hiking in the Rocky Mountains.