Spokane couple builds pathways to hiking for Parkinson’s patients

Bill Meyer didn’t let Parkinson’s disease keep him from reaching the top.

Instead, it was the inspiration for him to start a Spokane nonprofit that helps others with the movement disorder go on wilderness backpacking trips.

Meyer and his wife, Nadean, co-founded PasstoPass in 2016. It matches hikers to a support hiker, and instructs them on the use of trekking poles and working with llamas to carry their gear.

Since its first year, PasstoPass has offered 34 backpacking trips for 174 Parkinson’s-affected hikers and 115 support hikers from across the United States. On Saturday in Seattle, the couple received a “Service Provider Optimism Award” for its work from the Northwest chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association.

“Exercise is the No. 1 thing that can reduce the symptoms for Parkinson’s, so rather than being in a gym, why not go out in nature where you can enjoy your surroundings and have camaraderie with other people who are dealing with some of the same issues,” Bill Meyer said.

Donations cover costs, so hikers and support people don’t pay anything.

As a youth in Bellingham, Bill Meyer hiked just about every weekend with his Boy Scouts troop.

“It just gave me the love of the outdoors. I always want to get to the summit to get a good view.”

The couple, both 71, have other backpacking experience. After getting married in March 1973, they spent their honeymoon hiking a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail from the California-Mexico border to the Sierra Nevada mountains. They still have a Bellingham Herald article: “Newlyweds Start New Life on Rocky Footing.”

“I always say I was a last-minute addition to the trip; he’d been planning it for a long time,” said Nadean Meyer, a retired librarian. Her husband, a home inspector until retiring, still seeks mountain tops.

“He always wants to get to the highest point.”

Bill Meyer, who did his last long PasstoPass trip in 2021, now goes on shorter hikes. Today, the two manage the nonprofit work from their Spokane home, although they say it’s grown the past two years with more volunteers and trip options.

Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disorder that predominantly affects the dopamine-producing neurons in a specific area of the brain that can cause gait and balance issues, along with tremors and limb stiffness. The progression of symptoms can differ for the nearly 1 million people in the U.S. living with Parkinson’s disease.

Diagnosed in 2009, Bill Meyer’s early symptoms included bad tremors. About five years later, he had surgery for deep brain stimulation, which places thin metal wires in the brain for sending electrical pulses to help control some motor symptoms. It’s effective for some patients.

For that surgery, Bill Meyer also had a battery-operated device, called a neurostimulator, placed under the skin below the collarbone.

“That deep brain stimulation surgery was so successful that I wanted to see if I could get back into the mountains,” he said.

In 2015, the couple went with companions on a “test hike” in the Enchantments, part of Washington state’s Cascade Mountain Range. Bill Meyer soon got uncomfortable where the battery device was under the skin, so he tried holding the backpack straps out with his thumbs.

After that, Bill Meyer researched ways to lighten the load, first experimenting with horses until finding a better fit with Middle Earth Llamas Ranch in the small Olympic Peninsula town of Montesano, Washington. The owner trained Meyer in 2017 on llama handling, and ever since, the ranch has let PasstoPass organizers be the animals’ handlers on hikes.

Bill Meyer also reached out to other hikers and found Ken Kisch in Sammamish, Washington. Kisch offered PasstoPass as a name and built the website, Meyer said.

PasstoPass organizes its longer hikes for five nights and six days, with four llamas typically. Bill Meyer said one streamlined backpack with a tent, sleeping bag, pad and gear might be a base weight of 25 pounds. Food can add 10 pounds, and water, 3-4 pounds.

“The advantage of llamas is they walk along at our speed, and we always have our gear with us,” Bill Meyer said. “The support hikers carry their own gear, so they don’t get the luxury of putting weight on the llamas.

“The Parkinson’s hikers have first choice about whether they want to bring their own support hiker, who is usually a family member or friend. If they don’t have a support hiker in mind, then we can supply them. We have plenty of volunteers.”

A trip’s daily distance averages about 5 miles, which might be 7 miles to reach a campsite followed by 3 miles the next day.

Before Parkinson’s hikers go on a trip, Bill Meyer helps screen their physical abilities with a phone interview.

Most people are still able to hike, he said, and they go over a health questionnaire about any Parkinson’s-related issues. The average age of hikers is 65.

“I try to match their ability to the difficulty of the hike, because we have different levels,” he said. “We ask things like, ‘Do they have plantar fasciitis, dragged foot or balance issues?’ Another one we watch for is freezing gait, which means your legs just lock up and your muscles refuse to go.”

A physical therapist volunteers to do some Zoom checks of physical abilities, as well.

Only a few people across the years have had to turn around, and two people since 2016 needed a rescue. One woman developed a “freezing gait,” and her feet wouldn’t move. The other person started having trouble recognizing others and surroundings.

“We say we have had a 97% success rate, in that people have completed the trip,” Bill Meyer said.

Most people say they feel better, love the outdoors and enjoy connecting with other Parkinson’s hikers.

“People on the trips don’t have to explain why they’re having trouble in the morning,” Nadean Meyer said. “Some people with Parkinson have a slow-start morning.”

Growing from one or two long hikes a year, the group has 10 big excursions this summer for a total of about 100 people, including Parkinson’s hikers and their support person. A couple of the trips are for fewer days and allow people to car camp or do lodging, but mostly it’s overnight camping on the trail.

This year’s trips booked quickly.

“We only have a couple spots left this year,” Nadean Meyer said. “We don’t take applications until November for the following summer.”

Prior hikers have started 10 chapters nationwide. In Washington, they’re in Seattle, Wenatchee and Spokane.

“We’ll probably have 17 to 20 chapters by the end of the year,” Bill Meyer said. He still plans to go on the Spokane chapter’s shorter hikes.

“There’s a point where you recognize you can’t do that much, so I’ve come to that point where at around 3 or 4 miles, I’m toast. I’m thankful for it, and I still support the operation.”