CNN Newsource
By Spencer Joseph
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LOGAN, Utah (KSTU) — It’s the dream of every father to provide the best life possible for his children.
A big part of that for one Logan family is the peace, quiet, and rejuvenation of the great outdoors.
LJ Wilde is the founder and “Principal Sherpa” of Huckleberry Hiking in Logan. In his journey to get outside, he faced an uphill battle when his daughter Luci was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder.
“We’re told that she might never walk,” Wilde said.
For a family that loves spending time in nature, this presented a significant challenge.
When Luci was younger, they used a hiking backpack, but as she grew older, options became limited since there really wasn’t anything on the market to help.
“I’m faced with this decision — this crossroads of whether we leave her at home when we go out and do things like that, or we just don’t do that anymore,” Wilde said.
But those options didn’t sit well, as he said, “I thought both options were no good.”
As a determined father and a mechanical engineer, Wilde decided to create a third option: a specialized hiking chair for his daughter.
The process was challenging as he worked in his garage to create something for Luci.
He admitted that at one point, he loaded what he had built into his car in a fit of frustration to take it to the dumpster, but a voice in the back of his head urged him to keep trying.
After multiple prototypes and testing, the family took their invention on its first real adventure.
“We took a little family trip to a national park and took it on its maiden voyage. We went on a 6-mile hike, saw a waterfall, and it was just so magical to be back out there together,” Wilde said.
While he knew there was a need for others, he wasn’t sure exactly how big that need was — until literally five minutes into that first hike, when people started asking about it.
Seeing the potential to help others facing similar challenges, Wilde made a bold decision.
“I left my employment and focused entirely on finishing the development. The benefit of being naive is that you just kind of go for it and figure things out as you go,” Wilde said.
With potential customers lining up, Luci began to play a crucial role in the development process as the “Test Pilot.”
“She has endured some experiences that were not great in figuring out what worked and what didn’t,” Wilde said.
The process of building took a while.
“I probably made about seven different models that were all just slightly different,” he said.
Today, Wilde runs his operation full-time in Logan, Utah, with a workshop cranking out the final version of his design.
Almost all of the custom-designed pieces are sourced from Cache Valley, and 100 percent of it comes from Utah, making the Huckleberry Hiking Wheelchair a uniquely Utah entrepreneurship.
Wilde’s hiking chairs have now helped more than 1,200 children, families, and lives experience the outdoors across 23 countries.
“Their barriers have been broken,” he said. “We’ve learned a lot about how much people hunger to be out there.”
While his invention has grown to help many families worldwide, Wilde’s motivation remains the joy it brings to his daughter.
“She told me the other day, ‘Dad, I’m so glad that we have this,'” Wilde said. “I’m really grateful for the opportunity and all the people that have helped make it a reality.”
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