Written by Matt Hartnett, Marketing & Development Coordinator and Instructor August 10-15, 2025, marked a special five-day journey for a group new to the Adaptive Sports Center (ASC) – Shepherd Center: Atlanta Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation. A Shepherd Center trip has been years in the making, and this summer marked the first time out to the Gunnison Valley, and it was nothing short of excellent. We hosted five patients who previously attended Shepherd Center for inpatient rehabilitation and their loved ones for five days of adventure, first tries, laughter, and pesky riddles. For me, it was my first time back out instructing this summer after helping our development team prepare and execute another very successful Crested Butte Open. I couldn’t have been more eager to get back “outside” and with the Shepherd Center, especially being someone from the southeast and having a close family friend spending time at the Shepherd Center. Fortunately for me, I was able to be a part of the Shepherd Center all three days of their programming, and after each day, their smiles grew bigger, their confidence soared to new heights, and they grew closer together, not as participants but as a community and family. While the riddle of why two penguins are paddling a canoe in the desert may have helped the group problem solve, the combined sense of attacking each day’s challenges and activities was this group's driving force. We get a lot of groups over the winter and summer seasons, but Shepherd stood out to me as one group that had a common goal: try every challenge and not back down, with the most important thing being a “Can do” attitude. Whether it was trying new adaptations for a kayak or paddleboard at Lake Irwin or “ripping down” the downhill park at CBMR, they looked each challenge in the eye and took it on without backing down. There was one interaction that stood out to me on the first day of programming. While we were up at Lake Irwin, one of the participants asked me and another instructor, “I know we are supposed to be mountain biking this week, am I allowed to bike?” I don’t think there was more than half a millisecond before we both responded in unison, “Of course you can mountain bike, you WILL be mountain biking!” The participant laughed and said, “Well, ok then, I am not going to ask again!” Those following days of biking had the participants checking off lots of “firsts” with both days testing their limits on the trails yet embracing the challenges with open arms and smiles. During our debrief on the last day, the participant who asked me that question on day one brought it back up. They said that they had never thought with their level of spinal cord injury that they could do what they did over the three days out here or that they would take this confidence back home, share it in their community, apply it to everyday life, and found a new love of biking! While the Shepherd Center’s trip to the ASC was quick, I saw growth in every single participant, with everyone saying this isn’t their last time coming to the ASC. Many of whom want to come back out in the wintertime to experience the thrill of skiing. They are a part of the ASC family now, and with that, they must come check in with us once or twice a year, right? I’m totally joking, but if you were a part of the group reading this, I expect to see you out here soon! We can’t wait to host the Shepherd Center again in the future (Winter '26) and hope to keep this avenue open not only as a group but as individuals as well!
