Kary Wright is the author of New Mobility’s Outdoor Tracks column. Wright, a C5-6 quadriplegic for 35 years, lives in Canada and is married with two children. He grew up in the city but developed a deep love for the outdoors through camping and fishing with family on the weekends. Whether 3D printing, tinkering with friends or simply brain¬storming new ideas, he is always looking for new ways to work around access obstacles and enjoy the outdoors.

Since my accident, I’ve focused on making my favorite outdoor adventures accessible for as many people as possible. I’ve been fortunate over the years that with help from my family and friends (lots!), I have been able to return to many of my favorite activities. I’ve been able to drive vehicles, including an ATV, camp, fish, fly sailplanes and drones, shoot, hunt and more. The outdoors are open to us folks living with disabilities, but enjoying them often takes a great support network and the resources to figure out obstacles.

One of the first things that I wanted to get back to after leaving the hospital was fishing. At first, I even got set up with my old fly rod taped to my arm in the backyard. I cast on the lawn for hours. I was elated that it was working and that trout fishing was going to be possible once again. For a quadriplegic who wants to go fishing, the main obstacles are holding a fishing rod, casting and reeling in, and getting to a fishing spot. One day my wife came across a fishing cuff online and ordered one. This solved the problem of holding the fishing rod.

I soon realized that line control was a major issue for me while fly-fishing. How could I stop the line from spooling out while casting? How could I reel back in, especially with a fish on on the line? I posed the problem to a pre-accident fly-fishing buddy. He thought for a minute, then remembered a spring-loaded fly reel he picked up at a sportsman’s show many years ago. He immediately offered it to me. Now I had a way to reel in. I have enjoyed fly-fishing as a quadriplegic for about 30 years now and hope to have many more fishing adventures to write about in the future.

Another sport I was anxious to figure out after my accident was shooting rifles. I had hunted with my dad since about age 12 and enjoyed many hours outdoors with him. After my accident, we made our own gun rest, and it worked pretty well, but we wanted a more stable option. My shooting got better and better with practice but never got as good as pre-accident, which always bothered me. I was also limited in the direction I could shoot, which forced me to make noisy chair movements that scared game away. We finally found an affordable product, and it changed everything.

The more time I spent outside after my injury, the clearer it became that having the right tools to protect my body was just as important as having the right equipment for hunting, fishing or whatever I was doing. Like many with spinal cord injuries, my body temperature fluctuates wildly. It is very easy to get chilled on a cold day and just as easy to overheat on a hot one. In the winter, a soft (therefore quiet) camo jacket and a hand warmer are musts, just like a sun hat is in the heat of summer. Whether it’s hot or not, I drink a lot of water to help keep bladder issues at bay.

Clothing to Help Regulate the Elements

Carhartt Big Mossy Oak Camo Active Jacket

A heavy coat with a hood works best for me in the cold. I’m not fussy about brands, but I look for soft and quiet fabric, not loud like nylon. In the wild, animals can quickly locate you if your clothing makes noise. $79 at amazon.com.

HeatMax HotHands Heated Handwarmer

I like to bring along a hand warmer on cool days. I simply slide my hands in to warm them up. I prefer this to mitts or gloves, as they are inconvenient to put back on after taking them off if I want to move my chair, adjust a camera or take a shot. $24 at basspro.com.

Tilley Endurables LTM6 AIRFLO Sun Hat

Tilley’s wide-brimmed hat keeps the sun off me and can be soaked in water to keep me cool on hot days. $90 at basspro.com.

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Even with the right gear, sometimes bad weather can rob the outdoors of much of their appeal and access. When this is the case, I’ve found game cameras can provide a welcome alternative to rolling in the mud or unbearable heat. I first set cameras up to find the big deer, but now it has become an activity on its own and a wonderful stand-alone hobby. I love getting up in the morning and checking my phone to see my new pictures — every day is like Christmas!

While trail cams can set you back a little, enjoying the outdoors doesn’t have to hurt your pocketbook. I’ve spent many memorable hours identifying and calling birds with my phone. Simply sit near any forested area and listen. You can use a phone app to identify birds by sound and offer calls to bring them closer. The same goes for identifying plants. I’ve enjoyed learning how many “weeds” are edible and taste good. With the right apps, you will be an expert in no time.

Here are some of the items I’ve used or come across that can help you master the outdoors.

Strong Arm Rod Holder

(Fishing cuff)
The Strong Arm Rod Holder straps to your arm, and the rod slides into a tube-shaped pouch to securely hold it. I know it’s designed for fishing, but I’ve used mine to hold a unit that grabs an aircraft joystick for flying gliders and an ATV steering-wheel attachment. I’m sure you’ll find many uses for one of these.

Pflueger 1195 Spring-loaded Fly Reel

As line is pulled out of a Pflueger 1195 Spring-loaded Fly Reel, a spring winds up. Then when you hit the trigger, it reels back in. When fighting a fish, I raise the rod slowly to pull it closer, pull the trigger and drop the rod tip down quickly to take up slack. Using this pump-and-drop technique, I’ve
landed some rainbow trout nearing 10 lbs.

Platypus Big Zip EVO Hydration Pack

The Platypus Big Zip EVO holds 3 liters, plenty of water for a day outdoors. With a quad-friendly tube and bite valve, the Platypus makes it easy to keep myself hydrated while on the go. My power chair makes lugging the large size easy, but a smaller pack may be better for manual wheelers.

Caldwell Deadshot Treepod Gun Rest

When I ran across the Caldwell Deadshot Treepod online, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. After it arrived, we looked at the parts and decided to mount it to a piece of plywood that we then sandwiched between my seat cushion and wheelchair. My weight holds it firmly in place. There are also several purpose-built gun rests on the market that fit wheelchairs.

GoPro Chesty Camera Mount

The right mount can make it easy and fun to record video of your favorite trail in summer and enjoy them in winter. Figuring out which mount works best for you is the key. I like to use an action camera chest mount and head or hat mount. Chesty allows for smooth video while wheeling.

GoPro

I use a GoPro Hero 8 [newer models now available] to record soaring, driving ATVs, mowing, wheeling trails and even underwater fishing — all in high-definition. They are tough, waterproof and have good battery life and automatic image stabilization for smooth video. Voice and app control allows me to take photos, start and stop video recording, and turn it on or off despite my limited hand function.

Lammcou Flexible Camera Mount

A universal mount that you can attach nearly anywhere. It can hold on to armrests, wheelchair handles, etc. I have used these for stand-alone tripods and even clamped one onto the seat of a sailplane to take video. It is durable, inexpensive and strong.

Spypoint Trail Camera

Spypoint trail cameras eliminate the need to wheel to your camera and disturb the area to check and replace SIM cards. You can take a picture, send it to your phone and instantly see the picture on your phone. They are surprisingly inexpensive to run and free to operate if you only transfer 100 pictures per month.