This Colorado pair brings new meaning to the word “determination”. When one couldn’t walk and the other couldn’t see, they teamed up to share their love of the great outdoors.
Melanie Knecht was born with spina bifida, so she uses a wheelchair to get around. Trevor Hahn only recently became blind after he contracted glaucoma five years ago. Both living in Fort Collins, Colorado, the two met at an adaptive boxing class—and they soon ran into each other again at an adaptive rock-climbing class.
They immediately bonded over Knecht’s lifelong hobby of camping and Hahn’s passion for outdoor sports. When she told him about her recent trip to Easter Island, where she got the opportunity to be carried on another person’s back, it was a “eureka” moment.
Even though his sight was gone, he’d been able to scale a Himalayan peak, using poles and spoken directions from his companions.
They started small, but next month—with her vision and his strength—they will trek to the top of a 14,000-foot mountain.
“It just seemed like common sense,” Knecht told Good Morning America. “He’s the legs, I’m the eyes — boom! Together, we’re the dream team.”
At the start of each hike, a friend lifts Knecht into a carrier on Hahn’s back. From that point on, she gives him verbal directions to navigate the trail. Since February, they have been sharing their hiking adventures on Instagram.
“It made me so happy to help someone experience what I’ve been able to experience my whole life,” Hahn told GMA. “The best part is being able to make her smile—that gives me purpose.”
In addition to this sense of purpose, the two share an understanding of how difficult it can be asking able-bodied or sighted people for assistance in everyday life. They get immeasurable satisfaction from being able to do this on their own.
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“That’s the human spirit,” Hahn told Outside magazine. “If you want something bad enough, and you find the right people—who also want what you want—you can do anything.”
While the two accept that others appreciate what they’ve been able to do, they’re not looking for accolades—they just want others to encourage inclusive and adaptive solutions for their friends with disabilities.
“Don’t not include them because you think they won’t be able to do something.”
(WATCH a video from Good Morning America) – Photos from Hiking_with_Sight on Instagram
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They never saw Ben Hur (1959)? Exactly what happened to the slave girl’s father, Simonides in prison. He was beaten until he lost the use of his legs. There he met a giant of a man named Joseph that couldn’t speak. They teamed up just like this.
Oops. Not Joseph. Malluch. “Do not pity me, Master Judah. In fact, I’m twice the man I was. There’s Malluch, my other half. We met in the dungeons at the citadel We were released on the same day, Malluch without a tongue and I without life in my legs. Since then, I have been his tongue and he has been my legs. Together, we make a considerable man.”
This is is beautiful!