BY GUEST BLOGGER: NATALIE MILLER

Have you ever had the opportunity to experience something so incredible that you found it hard to describe? No? Just me?

It’s early June, the weather feels more like fall than late Spring… I’m 44, and about to go sea kayaking for the very first time. Yep. Me.  A wheelchair-using, adventure-chasing, slightly chaos prone human who somehow stumbled upon this moment and… without hesitation decided that gliding across the open ocean in a skinny floating red tube sounded like a great idea.

Natalie Miller with Will Steinharter pretour

Sea kayaking might sound tranquil and picturesque-and it is—honestly there’s nothing like the sun breaking through the clouds of a coastal Maine shoreline—but the logistics of getting a sometimes rigid, semi uncooperative body into a kayak on a wobbly shoreline? This was sure to be the biggest task of the day.

Will taking notes with Natalie

I had paddled a bit before in the past on area lakes—and until this moment it had always been with another person in a tandem kayak. I didn’t know much about the day ahead in terms of what to expect or how it would go but I knew we had a willing team and some newly acquired adaptive equipment. I loved being on the water, especially the ocean so as goes the popular phrase “I was here for it”

As we drove up the trail to Osprey’s Echo, a local family-owned sea kayaking outfit in Stonington, ME– I am greeted by my new friend Will, his dad Mike, and their dogs Gimli (of LOTR fame 😊) and Surrey, the company mascot—we chatted like old friends as I worked my way out of the car–

I rolled up to the hill, overlooking the water’s edge with the kind of wide-eyed excitement usually reserved for kids given carte blanche at a candy shop—or me at an all-you-can-eat taco bar.

I try my very best to pay attention as Will and team outline the different equipment, while finding me a properly fitted personal flotation device. He tightens the fit snug around me, as I remind him, I have zero plans of going for a swim— “Want to see something cool?” he says as he points up and out towards the direction of the water. In the distance I spot a bald eagle just as it leaves its nest—the day already felt surreal, and I hadn’t even left the shore.

Will wheeling down Natalie

Once everyone had signed their waivers, found the perfect PFD and coordinating cell phone pouch, it was time to wheel down to the beach. Seeing the outfitted kayak for the first time was a little intimidating, but also at that moment it was the most epically awesome piece of outdoor adventure equipment I had ever seen. Once aligned with the kayak, I was able to transfer from my wheelchair smoothly onto a bench-like seat which had a unique center section that was easily removed when ready so that I could gently slide down into the kayak itself. Like Buttah—

Once I was comfortable, in my kayak the team was able to wheel me and the kayak on a set of giant wheels into the water. Soon we were deep enough that I floated off my adaptive kayak “training” wheels and out to sea.

Armed with a paddle and the biggest smile I could physically muster, I embarked on a one-of-a-kind tour of sea air, wildlife and limitless possibilities. I couldn’t believe it; I was paddling independently out on the open ocean under my own power. The realization of the moment overwhelmed me—it was emotional, slightly terrifying, and freeing—it was even kind of exhausting, but in the very best way. Being on the water has always been a source of great joy for me, it’s my happy place—being there in this new and unbridled way, paddling at my pace in a kayak as I waved hello to a playful harbor seal was… magic.

Natalie smiling on the water

The experience of suddenly being able to take part in something that you never thought possible–It’s rather a difficult task to put into words an experience that leaves you forever changed and feeling invincible.

“Thank You” doesn’t even begin to express the gratitude I feel towards Osprey’s Echo Sea Kayaking and the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center for being open minded and understanding the true impact of inclusivity in outdoor activities.

Natalie Miller is a proud mother, passionate writer/blogger and adaptive athlete.