AMERICAN FORK — Summiting Mount Timpanogos is a feat not everyone dares to attempt, but even though 19-year-old Emily Traveller can't walk, she is undeterred.

In April 2022, Traveller was in an ATV accident at the sand dunes while with friends. The vehicle rolled and she hit her head on the ceiling, breaking the C4 vertebra in her neck. Initially, Traveller had no movement below her injury after the accident.

After undergoing a feeling test, Traveller discovered she had some feeling below her level of injury, resulting in her now having some arm and upper body functioning. Her legs and hands are a different story, but that is not stopping her from continuing to push herself.

Traveller was very active before her accident and a talented gymnast and cheerleader. At first, she was hesitant to try sports again and said it was humbling not being able to do things as easily.

"I used to be able to do all these things super easily, but it's all very different now. I've just had to do whatever I can do, and ever since I did hand cycling last summer I loved it and I've wanted to do more adaptive sports," she said.

She has fully embraced adaptive sports — tackling water skiing, snow skiing and even scuba diving.

"I love it. It just makes me feel like the same again. When you're riding a bike, everyone is riding a bike and you're all going the same speed," she said. "It's just different but it feels the same."

Traveller's next goal is the peak of Mount Timpanogos: 11,752 feet above sea level reached by hiking 14.2 miles, gaining almost 4,500 feet of elevation along the trek.

"I wasn't a huge hiker before, but I feel like when people say I can't do things I want to do them," she said.

Her mother came up with the idea, but Traveller was immediately on board and thought it would be "so fun and so cool if I could get up there."

Her physical therapist helped her find a device from Huckleberry Hiking, which is a tandem hiking cart where one person can strap in and pull the second person seated in a chair on top of a wheel. This device is one of the first of its kind and was designed by a man who has a child who isn't able to hike.

The Huckleberry hiking devices are backed up on orders, but the owner is letting the Travellers borrow his own device for her to use on the hike since the Travellers wouldn't be able to order one in time.

Traveller's whole family, several therapists and multiple friends will all be climbing the mountain together. She said some of her friends who will be hiking with her have also endured forms of paralysis but are walking now and want to tackle the mountain with her.

Her dad, brother, physical therapist and five others will be switching off pulling Traveller up the mountain. Traveller said she is excited for the hike, even though it will have its challenges as she is pulled up the mountain.

The Travellers were planning to hike to Timp on July 27, but due to snow and trail conditions, the family has decided to postpone until Aug. 24 when the trail is in better shape.

An ambassador for adaptive

Going from being busy and active to paralyzed is a major shift for anyone, but it is especially hard for young people to experience, Traveller said. Being a proponent of adaptive sports is a way she can get outside and represent to others that it's still possible to do hard things.

"It's hard to want to do things when you're hurt; like, you don't want to have things different. But hopefully, it's encouraging to people, to get them to do things, because your injury doesn't define you," she said.

Traveller has worked with Wasatch Adaptive Sports and TRAILS Adaptive from the University of Utah to try new sports and activities.

She has been an ambassador for young kids who go through life-changing injuries, visiting with them and showing them how to get involved in adaptive sports for both mental and physical benefits.

Traveller said it's really rewarding talking to people who recently got hurt. She has made some great friends through these connections and helped others navigate life with paralysis.

"This injury is nowhere near easy, it's really hard," she said. "For younger people, it's just tricky because you don't know where to go. There's a lot of young kids that get hurt, and it just feels like their life has been taken from them.

"Being able to show people that even if you get no mobility back — or you do — you can still live a beautiful life even though it's different."

Traveller started a fundraiser* to help with the costs of adaptive devices and generate support for her goal of pushing herself. She wants to get an arm cycle, but the bike she wants would cost around $17,000. The bike is low to the ground and has two wheels in the back, an electric assist and a chin throttle to aid on hills when the rider gets tired.

Related:

Family of man killed in biking accident remembers father as hero, pioneer for adaptive sports

The family of Jeff Page, a man who died in a biking accident on Halloween, is hoping everyone remembers him as someone who loved helping others, improving wheelchair users' access to sports and feeling the wind on his face.

"I really want to get a bike so I can get better at it. It's a way for me to exercise because it's harder for me to find ways to exercise. Maybe I'll try to do some races because I was very competitive before and I want to get back into something," she said.

Traveller is working an internship with The Runway of Dreams, a foundation that creates adaptive clothing for people with limited mobility and other disabilities. She will travel to New York later this year to help with the runway show for the clothing.

"For people with any disability, it's trickier to get dressed ... and there aren't a ton of great options for it. I think it's super cool (that) the girl I'm working for is trying to make these clothes that look normal," she said.

*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

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