Jim's Question:
I'm in a senior hiking club in Arizona. There is a 55-year-old woman who is handicapped due to a stroke. She demands to go on hikes, falls five or so times, needs help getting up, needs assistance traversing some terrain. She refuses to wear hiking boots or use a walking stick to improve balance. She and her companion are a pain, slow down everything, and are very demanding. She says she will sue if she can't go on hikes. Her behavior is causing others to not go. Any suggestions?

— Jim Olmstead

Karen's Answer:
Jim,

	Karen Berger Karen is a hiker's hiker. She has finished the Appalachian, Pacific Crest and Continental Divide Trails — making her one of the few who've completed hiking's"triple crown." Meet Karen Previous Answers Hiking Forums

I'm not a lawyer, so I can't give legal advice, which is what you need if you're talking about a lawsuit. However, I checked with Ed Goldstein, who is the Backpacking Chair for the Appalachian Mountain Club's New York-North Jersey Chapter, which runs hundreds of trips a year. He said,"AMC leaders have absolute discretion—and indeed the responsibility—to be sure that people can handle the trip they want to go on, both mentally and physically. Otherwise a trip can be a disaster." He went on to say that AMC leaders interview prospective hikers by phone or e-mail. "It's not a question of handicapped access. For trips to work, the participants should be matched in ability. It's a question of whether the trip can exist."

You should also consider that if this is the type of person to wave the threat of a lawsuit around, what would stop her from suing the club if she were seriously injured on one of these hikes? And if her disabilities cause injuries to others—perhaps she falls and knocks someone else over, or perhaps she subjects herself and others to hypothermia when rain makes the trail slippery and she can't make it back to the trailhead—they could sue, too.

What a mess.

I don't think that any reasonable person would begrudge a handicapped person's right to participate in outdoor activities. Your outings committee should certainly discuss the feasibility of providing trips suitable for the ability levels of all its members. You might find that others in your community would welcome the opportunity to participate in outdoor activities. But it is also appropriate to require participants in certain activities to have the ability to actually do those activities and to use certain equipment in order to ensure the safety and enjoyment of the group as a whole.