Going Camping
- Thread starter PT
- Start date
Ardsgaine
Active Member
kuulani said:Whoa!! Props to the blind guy!!
Props?? Yeah... uh, he had a couple of hiking poles to prop him up and keep him from bumping into things.
[think]never thought Ku'u was the type to make fun of blind people, but hey, if she's doing it...[/think]
My friend, Troy, was up front with a bell on his backpack to help Dave (the blind guy) follow him. I was in back giving him the occasional remark like, "left a half step," "right a step." Dave is pretty independent minded, and he started getting a little aggravated at me for "excessive" helping. He told me not to worry about it if he got a little bit off the trail, just correct him if he stepped way off. About a thirty minutes later, he took a half step off the trail and ran smack into a tree. He completely missed the tree with his hiking sticks and ran right into it with his face. Of course, I couldn't laugh at him out loud, but inside I was rolling on the ground laughing my ass off.
That's when I explained to him that I couldn't see upcoming trees and bushes over his backpack, and keeping him dead in the trail by correcting where his feet went was the best way I knew to keep him from smacking into trees.
Ardsgaine
Active Member
kuulani said:
Yeah, Dave's cool. We were at a party this evening with him and his wife, and he was out on the dance floor having a great time.
Besides the hiking, he has also participated in several triathalons. I've never gone to watch him, so I'm not sure exactly how he's able to do it. I do know that he has a partner who trains with him and helps direct him. For the bicycle part, they have a tandem bike and the other guy steers. Our local newspaper has done a couple of articles on him.