SEA KAYAKING, dog sledding, canoeing, rock climbing-these sound like outdoor adventure activities for the average able-bodied person...but for someone with a physical disability? Simply stated, yes, them too.

In case you haven't noticed, physically challenged people are leading increasingly active lifestyles, particularly since Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. This, coupled with advancements in medical equipment, has empowered disabled individuals to lead more mainstream lives-and go on more cutting-edge vacations.

A Wilderness Welcome IF YOU HAVEN'T noticed this trend, you're not alone. The Med Group, Lubbock, Texas, didn't until it began noticing a large number of hits on one of the links on its Web site. The link was to Wilderness Inquiry, a Minneapolis-based non-profit organization that makes outdoor adventures accessible to people of all abilities.

"We partnered with Wilderness Inquiry about two years ago because we realized they could provide outdoor adventure trips for individuals who were physically challenged," says Sammy Ribble, marketing coordinator. "Our providers expressed an interest in being able to provide information about such trips to their physically challenged customers. We also thought that our providers' referral sources and maybe even their own staff might have an interest in going on one of these adventures."

But before the Med Group could fully endorse Wilderness Inquiry to its home medical equipment providers, and in turn to their providers' customers, Ribble wanted to experience a trip firsthand. "You know, you can read about something, you can see a presentation on it, and you can listen to someone talk about it, but until you've actually been there yourself and done it, you're not sold on it," Ribble says.

Assembling the Crew TO GET A BETTER perspective, John Friend, the feisty, physically challenged co-owner of MaxMed, Colorado Springs, Colo., a full-service HME and oxygen provider, was asked to go along. "We wanted to take not only one of our customers, but one who is physically challenged and is dependent on a wheelchair," Ribble continues. "We wanted to get a take on the trip from that perspective, and that's why we chose John. John has been in a chair for a number of years and is very active, so his testimony and experience with the trip would be valuable to us when we talked to our other customers and providers about the trip."

The die was cast, and in mid-January Ribble, Friend and Brian Willcutt, also a Med Group employee-along with HomeCare's J.P. Pieratt-were off to the Florida Everglades for a four-day, four-night sea-kayaking trip.

They were joined by eight other adventurous souls of varying backgrounds, including a custodian, a pathologist, an accountant, two neonatalogists, a philosophical psychotherapist, a development director and a general surgeon who only a year and a half earlier had been confined to a wheelchair. A diverse group, but it's this diversity that adds to the experience, according to Wilderness Inquiry.

"With every trip, we try to make sure there's a good mix of people," says Lorissa Gottschalk, program coordinator for Wilderness Inquiry. "That's our motto-to provide outdoor adventure for people of all backgrounds ages and abilities-so we want to make sure that's happening out there on trail. We want to make sure that people are getting the opportunity to integrate with people they usually wouldn't integrate with, particularly in the outdoors."

This particular trip launched from Flamingo, Fla., southwest of Miami. The group kayaked about 10 miles west and set up base camp at East Cape. The next three days were spent paddling around Florida Bay, taking in its wonderfully wild surroundings and generally enjoying all that Mother Nature has to offer.

Camp Notes AFTER THE TRIP, all involved were pleased with their voyage through the Everglades, despite the nightly onslaught of mosquitoes (which seemed to have an unrelenting desire for Willcutt's blood).

"It was a little tamer than I thought it would be," says Friend, "but it was a great experience. I got the opportunity to get outdoors, see a part of the country that I hadn't seen before and do something like sea kayaking that I typically wouldn't have the opportunity to do. I just wish I had brought my fishing pole.

"I would recommend the trip," he adds. "People can expect to rediscover some strengths, discover new strengths they didn't know they had-and have a great time doing it."

"[Wilderness Inquiry] is sensitive to the needs of physically challenged individuals, and yet at the same time makes sure to include those individuals in the different responsibilities and fellowship that everyone else experienced," adds Ribble, putting his spin on the adventure.

"From a personal standpoint," he adds, "four days and nights in a three-man tent with a gentleman who is completely dependent on a wheelchair was an experience that will stay with me forever. Not once did John have an even remotely negative attitude. He was just having a good time, and I couldn't have enjoyed his company more. It was a unique experience."

Wilderness Inquiry is but one of several companies that offer outdoor expeditions to people with physical disabilities.

Listed below are a few of the companies who offer outdoors adventures and have accommodated physically challenged individuals:

* Wilderness Inquiry: 612/379-3858 or

(www.wildernessinquiry.org)

* Outward Bound: 800/477-2627

(www.outwardbound.com)

* Search Beyond Adventure: 612/374-4845

* Turtle Tours: 520/204-1781

But as Lorissa Gottschalk, a trip coordinator with Wilderness Inquiry, points out, word of mouth recommendations often work best. "There's a big network of communications within the disabled community, particularly now with the Internet, that can help you find the right adventure." -J.P.P.

Whether or not you're physically challenged, you need to be well-prepared when you go into the great outdoors. What you bring should be dictated by the type of environment into which you expect to be immersed, but this is even more imperative if you are physically challenged because some medical equipment may not hold up well in certain environments.

Just ask John Friend, co-owner of MaxMed, Colorado Springs, Colo., a full-service HME and oxygen provider, who recently participated in a kayak and camping trip through the Florida Everglades.

"I would recommend the people make some modifications to their chairs," says Friend, who himself is in a wheelchair. "I would recommend that they have balloon or high knobby tires on both the front casters and rear wheels, and that they bring an old or used chair because it's going to get scratched up. Also, if possible, I would recommend that people be in shape and be prepared to use their upper extremities because they're going to need it to pull through tough terrain, such as sand and tall grass."

Another word from the wise: Pay attention to every detail. "I thought I had thought of everything, but I forgot about how the saltwater would react to some of the components on my chair," says Friend. "After the trip, it didn't take long before things started to tighten up."

Most adventure expedition companies offer packing recommendations and lists of what equipment is needed on specific trips. But individuals with special equipment may want to contact the company well in advance to ensure they have all the proper devices and know what modifications their special equipment may need.-J.P.P.