Amanda Powell

Amanda Powell is originally from Salt Lake City, Utah. In her words, “I am an outdoorsy mama living with Mild Cerebral Palsy. I love visiting the National Parks and exploring the beautiful mountains around me as much as I possibly can. I want to share outdoor opportunities for people of all abilities – with and without disabilities – who just want to get outside.” Amanda's favorite adaptive activities include: hiking, camping, mountain biking , and skiing.

On Instagram As

@Nationalparkcapable

Visit Amanda's Website

Path to the #AdaptiveNation

I got started with outdoor recreation more recently. Growing up, my family would go on skiing trips once a year or other friends and family would go mountain biking. This usually meant I stayed home or I didn't know about it because they didn't want to hurt my feelings - thinking I wasn't capable of joining in on these activities. A few years ago, I learned about adaptive skiing and adaptive mountain biking. I knew that I wanted to learn so that I could ski and mountain bike next to my own kids. I now have a toddler that is starting to learn and I am so happy that I can show her and others that having a disability does not need to limit the things you want to accomplish and that you can do anything that you set your mind to. This year my daughter and I will both be learning to ski and mountain bike, I want to show the world that being a disabled mom does not have to limit opportunities or opportunities for your kids.

Goals

My main goals are to show others (including my daughter) that despite their ability level that the outdoors is for EVERYONE. I do this by sharing trails for all abilities and sharing my own outdoor recreation activities and adventures. My ultimate goal is to be able to provide more tools and gear for more people with disabilities to be able to get outdoors with confidence, safety, and with excitement. I also want to share the message with the world that inclusion with the outdoors is so important, we all deserve to feel like we belong somewhere. Having felt like a outcast myself in the outdoor community, I feel that sharing about inclusivity can help change the mindset of what "abled" bodies are and aren't. We all just have different needs and ways of adapting.

I Am Most Proud Of...

Raising my daughter in the outdoors and for her to grow and learn despite my struggles. We have found ways to adapt in the outdoors and while hiking together, even on days that are very hard.

Connect with Amanda

Amanda is doing incredible work by sharing outdoor adventures that are accessible to people of all abilities. Follow her journey on Instagram at @NationalParkCapable and refer to her website for past blog posts and meet-ups for local Utah hikes!

Read Amanda's Latest Ability Blog Post