PIKES PEAK, Colo. (KOAA) — Mary Perkins, a childhood brain cancer survivor using an adaptive wheelchair, reached the summit of Pikes Peak around 10:45 a.m. on Saturday. The hike served as the culmination of a summer filled with impressive hikes around the country.
Perkins accomplished the feat with Luke5Adventures, a nonprofit organization that takes people with disabilities on hikes.
Pikes Peak was her 11th hike this summer with the organization. A goal she had come up with last year.
“Last summer, she came to me and said, ‘I'd like to hike next year with all of the 11 Luke5 chapters,’” said Kevin Schwieger, founder of Luke5Adventures. “And I thought she was kidding, but they weren't.”
Helping Perkins achieve her lofty goal, the organization embarked on what they called the “Queen Mary Ambassador Tour.” Queen Mary is an affectionate nickname given to her by friends and family.
In the week prior to arriving in Colorado Springs, Perkins hiked in Tucson and the Grand Canyon.
“Spent the whole summer be-bopping around the country. Mary hiking with all of the chapters in the country from Baton Rouge in the south to Wisconsin in the north. Bethel, Connecticut in the east, and then now culminating at the top of Pikes Peak,” Schwieger said. “It's awesome.”
Perkins, a 21-year-old college student at Miami University in Ohio, was diagnosed with malignant brain tumors as a young child. She was not expected to live past early childhood, according to Luke5Adventures.
She beat the odds, but the many surgeries left her with paralysis and blindness on her left side.
Schwieger and Luke5Adventures secured a number of specialized, adaptive wheelchairs from France to help individuals like Perkins reach heights they might have thought impossible.
The organization has grown in the past five-and-a-half-years, he said. Two weeks ago, they conducted their 2,000th hike.
“We hike with those who can't hike themselves,” said Schwieger. “You never grow weary. We are weary, but we never grow weary.”
He spoke to KOAA on the summit of Pikes Peak after about 40 volunteers gathered to help bring Perkins to the summit of America’s Mountain through a teamwork-oriented and arduous trek.
Some members, including Perkins herself and some members of the Luke5Adventures team, came from Ohio. Other volunteers drove in from across the state, with many also helping from the Teller and El Paso County areas.
The group met at 1:00 a.m. Saturday morning to go over details, sign waivers, and get to know the program and process before heading out to the Crags Trail Head near Divide.
The hike itself officially began at 3:00 a.m. after a quick crash course on how to best handle and maneuver Mary’s adaptive wheelchair. The product typically has one foreperson leading the one-tired chair with a second guide in the back to help stabilize and direct it.
But due to the length, difficulty, and varied terrain of Pikes Peak, as many as ten or more volunteers would help guide Mary up the trail throughout the journey.
“Oh my gosh. Well, it's so surreal, because this is something that I've been dreaming about ever since I came to Colorado three years ago,” said Perkins after summiting the 14,115-foot peak.
The group’s hike to the summit was completed in under 8 hours. The path up from Crags Trail Head is about seven miles long with around 4,300 feet in elevation gain.
Cold winds, large boulders, and a brief graupel storm didn’t do much to deter the group as they persevered onward and upward to help Perkins gain the summit.
The large number of volunteers were divided into three groups that rotated every 15 minutes due to the difficulty of the expedition. Once the trail turned into a large boulder field near the summit, it was all hands on deck.
“The best part, and I've always said this about Luke5Adventures, is that it's not the hike so much. It's the people,” said Perkins. “I mean, the hike was obviously so cool, but having the awesome team by my side just made it every bit that much better.”
Luke5Adventures and its Colorado Springs chapter said they’re always welcoming volunteers for the many hikes they offer throughout the year.
Those interested can learn more and register on their website at www.luke5adventures.org.
Perkins, who’s no stranger to the work of Luke5Adventures, hoped her journey up Pikes Peak could serve as an inspiration to others with disabilities.
“Never give up on your dreams. It's been possible for me. So, I mean, anything's possible,” she said.
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