Meet the hiker bringing off-roading wheelchairs to LA

It's a crisp, clear Southern California day, and I'm at Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park with Austin Nicassio. He’s ripping up a steep dirt trail covered in rocks and roots in what looks, at first blush, like a miniature bulldozer. Until this moment, I wouldn't have considered this particular hike to be accessible to those in wheelchairs, but with Nicassio's all-terrain rig, it’s a possibility.

- Jaclyn Cosgrove, Tribune News Service

Inspired by organisations across the US that are advocating for public access to trails for those with disablities, Nicassio launched the nonprofit Accessible Off-Road in October. His plan is to expand free access to off-road wheelchairs for Los Angeles County residents with mobility disabilities to use at popular trails across the region. The chair he’s using, he said, is the first of many.

“I was thinking so small-minded — I was like, ‘One or two chairs is going to be so life-changing for thousands of people,” Nicassio said. “I'm talking to all these superintendents, I'm talking to rangers, everyone is excited, they started crafting an agreement... and (officials at California State Parks) say, ‘This is great, I think we're going to gauge interest across our 280 park units.” That's the dream, but it would require Nicassio’s organisation to raise millions of dollars in funds. To start, Accessible Off-Road is fundraising for $45,000 to launch a pilot program with two chairs at two parks, and then use lessons learned through the pilot program to add more chairs to other parks across Southern California. He's talking with officials at L.A. County Parks and Recreation, California State Parks and the National Park Service (although the current funding crisis has delayed those conversations).