People with disabilities | Tackle the trails in a joëlette

The hike begins in a very cushy way, along Beaver Lake, on Mount Royal. It thickens after the Kondiaronk belvedere, when hikers take a rocky path that descends steeply into the forest. A little push here, a brake there, enthusiastic guides allow people with disabilities to leave the main roads and explore small rugged paths leading to discreet lookouts.

The key is the joëlette, a one-wheel all-terrain wheelchair that can maneuver over rocks and roots and tackle fairly steep slopes. It is enough to use at least two companions, one forward, one behind, who have an appropriate level of fitness for the challenge. You don’t have to be a superhero.

Enthusiastic guides, there are several during an inclusive hike recently organized on Mount Royal by Rando Québec, in collaboration with BivouaQ and DéfPhys sans limit.

“Inclusive hiking is very important to us, especially since the joëlette is distributed in Quebec, says Grégory Flayol, assistant general manager and program manager at Rando Québec. The objective of this activity is to show people that it exists, that hiking is accessible to people with disabilities. »

In some parks, we have worked hard to make certain hiking trails accessible to people with reduced mobility. This is a much appreciated initiative, but it is expensive and there are hundreds of kilometers of trails left that cannot be transformed for a variety of reasons. But that does not mean that people with disabilities cannot venture on the more difficult trails.

“With the joëlette, the question is not whether the trail is good, but whether the team is good! “says Mr. Flayol.

Rave reviews

Marie-Hélène Tanguay, project coordinator at DéfPhys Sans Limite and herself with a disability, clearly enjoys the ride aboard the joëlette. “It’s comfortable, there aren’t too many blows,” she says. We are higher [que sur un fauteuil conventionnel], it gives a new perspective on nature while being well accompanied. »

Mégane Savary, student, particularly appreciates the passage in the narrow paths, in the heart of the woods. “It’s as if we didn’t have a disability,” she says. It’s really hot, I have two good drivers. »

What the director of Kéroul, Bruno Ronfard, particularly appreciates is that this type of outing does not divide people: people with disabilities on one side, other people on the other side. Everyone must cooperate.

“Inclusion is that everyone finds themselves in the same society. »

This is how a few people with a visual impairment join the hike with the help of the organization Le Bon Pilote, which offers accompaniment services.

For their part, Vincent Roy and Chloé Brosseau got wind of the activity through social networks and decided to come and have a look. They are part of a small organization, Les Courses solidaires de Montréal, which leads duo running outings (runner and co-runner) using adapted wheelchairs. His slogan ? Countering social isolation, one race at a time.

For its part, the BivouaQ solidarity cooperative organizes outdoor activities and stays with adapted joëlettes and kayaks. “We’ve been around for two years, we want to create an inclusive outdoor community in Quebec,” says Dominic Viénot, co-founder of the cooperative.

Joel’s thing

The joëlette was designed by a French guide, Joël Claudel. It is still made in France. With shipping, it costs just over $7,000, notes Gilles Roure of Zero Limit, which distributes the joëlette in Canada. “We sometimes sell it to individuals, but mostly to non-profit organizations, municipalities or regional parks. »

They can be found in Portneuf, Trois-Monts-de-Coleraine, Sutton and Mont-Ham parks. But not in the parks of the Society of Outdoor Establishments of Quebec (SEPAQ). “I offered them, but they prefer other types of equipment,” says Roure.

Instead, SEPAQ offers adapted wheelchairs that can be used on groomed trails. But not the rougher trails that are accessible to joëlette enthusiasts.