Returning to Kids Are Outta Sight (KAOS) as an Ambassador and Mentor

An Invitation to Return

Earlier this year, in April 2026, I had the privilege of speaking at the Penn-Del AER Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Jennifer Eaton introduced me before I shared my story about losing my eyesight in Iraq and rebuilding my life through recreation, adventure, and the belief that moving is living.

After my presentation, Jennifer approached me and asked if I would be interested in returning later that summer—not as a keynote speaker, but as an ambassador and mentor for Team River Runner’s Kids Are Outta Sight program, also known as KAOS.

I didn’t need to think about it.

Absolutely.

Years earlier, I had attended KAOS as a participant. I already knew what an incredible program Jennifer and her team had created, and I was excited to return in a new role. It felt like an opportunity to give back to a community that has introduced so many blind and visually impaired youth and their families to the world of paddlesports.

From the beginning, Jennifer communicated well and kept the volunteers informed. Long before I boarded a plane, she made sure we had the information we needed, including travel logistics, schedules, equipment to bring, accommodations, and our responsibilities throughout the event. By the time I left for Pennsylvania, I felt prepared and excited to help however I could.

This time I wasn’t traveling to tell my story.

I was traveling to help young blind and visually impaired children begin writing their own.

Reuniting With Blind Veterans

At the airport, I reunited with my friend Brian Harris, a fellow blind veteran with whom I had paddled all 226 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. I also met Keith Nielsen, another blind veteran whom I had never met in person.

Although Keith and I were meeting for the first time, he already knew about me through stories shared by our mutual friend Lonnie Bedwell. Lonnie is a fellow blind veteran, a good friend, and the first blind person to kayak the entire Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. He has inspired countless blind and low vision people to pursue adventure and challenge their perceived limitations.

Over the years, Lonnie and I have often shared each other’s stories and encouraged others to get outside, become active, and discover what they can accomplish.

Before long, Brian, Keith, and I were laughing together at the airport, joking during the drive to camp, and continuing those conversations after we arrived.

Blind veterans have a tendency to enjoy dark humor.

Pun intended.

Sometimes life hands us experiences that are incredibly difficult. Humor doesn’t erase those experiences, but it can help us carry them. We laugh at ourselves. We laugh at our mistakes. We laugh because we have learned that finding humor during adversity can give us the strength to face whatever comes next.

Experiencing Camp as a Blind Person

As I walked around the camp, I was reminded how differently a blind person remembers an environment.

I don’t remember the colors of the buildings or the visual appearance of the landscape. Instead, I remember the relationships between places: the youth center where meetings were held, the pavilion where everyone gathered for meals and conversations, the sidewalks connecting different areas, the rocky paths winding through the property, the small pond nearby, and the grove of trees where our tents were tucked away.

I remember the textures beneath my feet, the direction of the walkways, the voices coming from nearby gathering areas, and the sounds that helped me understand where I was.

For me, those details create a mental map every bit as meaningful as a photograph.

The Purpose of Kids Are Outta Sight

The purpose of Kids Are Outta Sight is simple: introduce blind and visually impaired children, along with their families, to kayaking in an environment that is safe, encouraging, and fun.

Whether we are paddling on a pond, a lake, or a gently moving river, kayaking is really just the vehicle. The larger goals are to build confidence, encourage independence, create friendships, and show families that blindness does not have to limit adventure.

That message has shaped my own life.

Years ago, when I first attended the program, river conditions forced us to adapt and paddle on a nearby lake instead. This year, water levels once again influenced our plans in small ways. That didn’t bother any of us. If there is one thing blindness has taught me, it is that flexibility is one of our greatest strengths.

Since losing my eyesight, almost every meaningful accomplishment in my life has required adapting, overcoming obstacles, and finding creative ways to solve problems. Success rarely comes from everything going according to plan. It comes from learning how to adjust when the plan changes.

Preparing for the Families

Before the families arrived, we spent time preparing the camp.

Kayaks were organized. Safety equipment was inspected. Activities were set up. Adaptive basketball was prepared. Examples of river features were created. Tents were erected. Every volunteer had a role, and every role mattered.

Building an Accessible Guideline

One of the most valuable projects involved building a guideline through the camp.

A guideline is a temporary navigation system that allows blind participants to travel independently between important locations. Our guideline connected the campsite with the pavilion, youth center, shower facilities, and restrooms.

To someone unfamiliar with blindness, it might seem like a simple piece of plastic chain stretched between posts.

To us, it represented independence.

Instead of waking another volunteer in the middle of the night because we needed help finding a restroom, we could leave our tents, locate the guideline, and confidently travel where we needed to go. That simple system transformed unfamiliar and irregular terrain into an environment we could navigate more independently.

This year, Jennifer decided to try a sturdier design using stronger posts and plastic chain after listening to ideas from the team. It worked well throughout the event and made the guideline more dependable for everyone using it.

Connecting With Volunteers and Instructors

I was also impressed by the volunteers and professionals who made the program possible. Many work in blindness rehabilitation, education, orientation and mobility, or adaptive recreation.

Their dedication was easy to recognize through the way they interacted with the participants and families. They were always ready to share techniques, teach practical skills, and help people become more independent.

Building Community Around the Campfire

Evenings became one of my favorite parts of camp.

After dinner, we gathered around a campfire nestled among the trees near our tents. We shared stories from our adventures, laughed about the day, listened to music, and talked about everything from kayaking to life after vision loss.

Those evenings reminded me that KAOS is about much more than paddling.

It is about building a community.

Meeting Max

Eventually, the families began arriving, including the young boy I had been assigned to mentor, Max.

Several volunteers had already told me what a great kid he was, and they were absolutely right.

Playing Adaptive Basketball

One of our first activities together was adaptive basketball.

Standing beside Max, I listened as another volunteer tapped the basketball rim with a long white cane. That simple sound gave him the reference point he needed to locate the basket.

Then Max started shooting.

One basket.

Then another.

Then another.

His ability to triangulate the sound and consistently make free throws was remarkable. I made a few baskets myself, but Max quickly became the star of the court.

Hearing his excitement and growing confidence was every bit as rewarding as hearing the basketball pass through the hoop.

Learning to Wet Exit

Later, we moved to one of kayaking’s most important safety lessons: learning how to perform a wet exit.

Whitewater kayaks typically have an enclosed cockpit. Paddlers often wear a spray skirt that stretches over the cockpit opening to help keep water out. Being secured inside an enclosed cockpit can be concerning for new paddlers, especially when they begin thinking about what would happen if the kayak flipped upside down.

That is why learning to wet exit is so important. A wet exit is the process of calmly pushing yourself out of an overturned kayak and swimming safely away from it.

The children in our program would not be wearing spray skirts on the river for safety reasons. Even so, the instructors wanted everyone to understand the concept and experience what it felt like to exit a kayak while in the water.

We traveled to a nearby YMCA swimming pool, where each participant practiced pushing out of the cockpit and swimming safely away from the kayak. No spray skirts were used during this training.

Once everyone successfully demonstrated the skill, the atmosphere became much more relaxed. Some people continued swimming while others gathered in the hot tub, laughing and enjoying each other’s company after a full day of learning.

Thinking About Max’s Future

That evening, as I lay inside my tent before falling asleep, I found myself thinking about Max.

Listening to his enthusiasm as he learned the same foundational skills that eventually led Brian Harris and me to paddle the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon made me wonder where his own journey might lead.

Maybe someday he will paddle rivers across the country.

Maybe he will become a mentor himself.

Maybe he will inspire another blind child to discover what they are capable of.

Every adventure begins with a first paddle stroke.

Perhaps this weekend was his.

Preparing for River Day

The next morning, everyone woke up excited.

River day had finally arrived.

Preparing a large group of participants for a day on the water takes an incredible amount of coordination. Helmets had to be fitted. Personal flotation devices had to be adjusted. Kayaks were assigned. Paddles were distributed. Adaptive equipment was installed for participants with unique physical needs.

Brian Harris, in addition to being blind, is also an amputee who uses a prosthetic leg. The way he confidently navigated the camp and prepared for another day on the water demonstrated that adaptation is simply part of the adventure.

After loading the trailers and passenger vehicles, we made our way to the Conestoga River. Along the riverbank, each group made its final adjustments before launching onto the water.

How Blind Kayakers Navigate

People often ask me how blind kayakers navigate.

The answer is surprisingly simple.

We follow sound.

Our primary guide paddles ahead while continuously calling, “On me! On me! On me!”

I often compare it to following the beam of a flashlight. Imagine a flashlight shining backward from the guide’s kayak. My job is to remain inside that beam.

Except instead of following light, I am following sound.

Every paddle stroke is guided by my ears.

A guide can also provide more detailed verbal directions when necessary, helping position a blind paddler almost like moving a chess piece. On more challenging rivers, we often use multiple guides for redundancy and safety, including a primary guide, secondary guide, and sweep paddler.

Paddling the Conestoga River

The Class I section of the Conestoga River was well suited for introducing new paddlers to moving water. Jennifer and the team had already scouted the route, identified the water features we might encounter, and selected an appropriate place to stop for lunch.

The river was shallow in certain places, and occasionally our kayaks tapped against rocks. We adjusted our direction, followed our guides, and continued downstream.

As the day progressed, I could hear that Max was becoming more comfortable on the river.

Abraham Guides Max

Toward the end of the trip, another young participant named Abraham began guiding Max. Abraham had some usable eyesight, but he was also visually impaired.

Listening to one visually impaired child confidently guide another down the river may have been my favorite moment of the entire event.

It represented so much of what Kids Are Outta Sight is trying to accomplish:

Confidence.

Leadership.

Trust.

Community.

Squirt Guns and Laughter

Of course, there was also plenty of fun.

Someone introduced squirt guns, and before long nearly everyone was spraying one another between paddle strokes. Laughter echoed across the river as cool water flew through the hot summer air. Sometimes it hit us directly in the face, but on such a warm day, nobody seemed to mind.

Lunch and the Final Stretch

Eventually, we reached our lunch stop along the riverbank. We climbed out of our boats and enjoyed sandwiches, chips, snacks, and conversation before putting our gear back on and launching for the final stretch.

By the time we reached the takeout, everyone was tired, wet, and smiling.

Exactly as it should be.

More Than Kayaking

The event included much more than kayaking.

A Flag Ceremony

Jennifer arranged a meaningful flag ceremony with local Scouts, veterans, and other community members. They raised and lowered the American flag and explained some of the traditions and symbolism behind folding it in a particular way.

Sharing the Program With the Community

I also had the privilege of speaking to approximately 70 to 80 people inside the church on the campgrounds. It gave me an opportunity to thank the congregation and community for allowing us to use their facilities while explaining what Team River Runner and Kids Are Outta Sight are accomplishing for blind and visually impaired children and their families.

Why Kids Are Outta Sight Matters

As I reflected on the experience, I realized that kayaking is only part of the story.

Programs like Kids Are Outta Sight introduce families to possibilities they may never have imagined. They replace uncertainty with confidence. They replace fear with curiosity. They build friendships that can extend far beyond a few days at camp.

Most importantly, they help blind and visually impaired children discover that adventure belongs to them too.

I am grateful to Jennifer Eaton, Team River Runner, the instructors, volunteers, families, community members, and supporters who made this experience possible. Their time and dedication created an opportunity that can leave a lasting impact on everyone involved.

Every Adventure Begins Somewhere

I don’t know exactly where Max’s journey will lead.

Maybe he will simply enjoy paddling with his family every summer.

Maybe one day he will run whitewater rivers across the country.

Maybe he will become a mentor and encourage another blind child to take that first paddle stroke.

Whatever path he chooses, I hope he remembers this experience as a time when he discovered that blindness does not define the limits of his life.

I know it never defined mine.

I look forward to returning to Kids Are Outta Sight in the future, helping more families discover what is possible, and continuing to share a lesson that has shaped my own journey since losing my eyesight:

Adventure is still waiting.

You simply have to be willing to paddle toward it.