LJ Wilde pulls his daughter Luci on a trail in southern Utah.
HYRUM – LJ Wilde, the father of six, is an avid outdoorsman and over the years he has introduced his six children to the world he loves: hiking, camping, river rafting and spending time in state and national parks.
He was reared in the Jackson Hole area and his life was spent on the rivers and trails in that area. Introducing his family to the healing powers of the great outdoors was important to Wilde.
One of his children, Luci, has ambulatory issues making it tougher for her to hike and participate in outdoor activities.
For a while she was carried using a fireman’s carry then a special back pack but soon her size made it more difficult for her to fit in the backpack.
“We actually had to turn the backpack upside down and pour her out of it,” Wilde said. “I knew the day would come we would need to do something different if we wanted to continue to go hiking as a family.”
As mechanical engineer, Wilde spent his career solving problems and his daughter’s ambulatory issues was one he desperately wanted to solve.
In 2019 he built the first proof-of-concept for a one wheeled handcart with a seat that he could carry Luci on trails with the family.
“It sat on the shelf for three years,” he said. “Then one day I decided to go for it. I quit my job, bought a welder in 2022 and went for it.”
He named his company Huckleberry Hiking.
After several revisions Wilde built one that he thought was acceptable. He could put it in the trunk of a small car and carry his daughter on hiking trails.
“I was using it to hike one of the trails in Grand Teton National Park when a lady pushing a wheelchair with a child in it chased me down and wanted to know where he got this cart,” he said. “She wanted to know where she could get one.”
Wilde told the lady he made it and that it was the only one he had. That happened a few more times when people saw him toting Luci around in it.
“One of the issues I have is making sure it is safe before I put people in them,” he said. “There are so many pies I’m trying to manage right now. Getting these beta test carts to the testers needs to happen first.”
There are lots of trails for people with wheelchairs but if the trail gets too rough or steep wheelchairs are not suitable.
“My goal is to get these into the hands of families with children with ambulatory issues so they can go places together and not be hindered by obstacles,” Wilde said. “In time, I hope to develop one for larger children and adults.”
He has even developed a batter-powered e-version that makes the whole experience of carrying someone on rugged trail safe and easy. A news person videoed Wilde carrying Luci on a trail and made a television report of it. The internet got hold of it and it exploded.
“We went from small single digit hits to upward of a couple of hundred thousand hits,” he said. “It’s like fireworks; it goes a bit then it fuses into the social media monster.”
Wilde turned his garage into a shop and can build one in four to five days. He is trying to get his design mass produced and is currently working with a marketing firm to help him get his product in front of the right people.
The cart can also be used for hauling big game or camping equipment from hard-to-get-to areas..
If all goes well, Wilde’s Huckleberry Hiking carts will be passing people on hiking trails and roads in the Jackson Hole area and everywhere else.