Background Statement
"Your Dad is in the hospital to have his leg amputated," Roger West was told over the telephone. He listened in shock to these words. It was June of 1985, and Roger's father was preparing for a lifetime in a wheelchair. Roger, who lived in the mountains of Colorado started wrestling with a new question, "How do the disabled access nature?"
Roger shared his concerns with Marge Craig, Gary Steel, and Chuck Glad. Chuck, a wheelchair user, noted there were 30,000,000 disabled persons in this country with minimal access to wilderness environments. They decided to form an organization to address this issue.
In March of 1986, Wilderness on Wheels (WOW) was established as a publicly supported, non-profit corporation. Roger leased his 50 acres of land adjoining the Pike National Forest (at the base of Kenosha Pass) to WOW for $1.00 a year. Roger raised funds, obtained donated materials and recruited volunteers. One of the cornerstones of WOW was the Give a Day program, which still exists today. In August of 1986, the facility opened for weekend use - 320 feet of 8-foot-wide boardwalk along the bank of a trout stream. People on wheels camped under a star-bright Colorado mountain sky. By April of 1987, the first phase of the boardwalk was open 7 days a week. 31 years later, WOW has welcomed over 40,000 visitors and volunteers have given over 150,000 hours of their time, energy, and hard work.
Today, the volunteer built, mile-long and 8-foot wide boardwalk rises to 9,300 feet and is the heart of Wilderness on Wheels. It is the only one of its kind in the United States.