The inspiring legacy of the quadriplegic man who completed B.C.’s gruelling West Coast Trail

Adam finds out how one man overcame incredible adversity to complete the West Coast Trail.

VERNON, B.C. — Jordan Kerton will never forget that day she went to a pool party and met Brad Jacobsen.

“Oh!” Jordan smiles. “My heart just about burst out of my chest.”

Jordan had been dreaming of hiking Canada’s most gruelling trail, and Brad said he was all set to do it, despite people telling him he couldn’t because he was quadriplegic.

“It was going to be challenging, a lot of fun, and quite an adventure,” Jordan recalls. “It ended up being so much more than that.”

Jordan joined Brad’s team of nine friends at the start of the 75-kilometre journey. They used an all-terrain wheelchair, adaptive kayak, and all sorts of creative solutions to tackle the West Coast Trail’s steep ladders and rugged coastline.

“It’s not an easy thing for a quadriplegic to be hauled up and down for hours on end,” Jordan says, before showing video of Brad being carried in his chair and strapped onto people’s backs. “To see the vulnerable side of him, but yet (to see) how brave (he was). This drive and passion and desire to make this happen.”

After years of being told this was an impossible goal, Jordan says challenging others’ perceptions of what is possible was inspiring.

“I almost get teary thinking about what it felt like to finish,” Jordan fights back tears.

When they made it to the end in 2005, Brad became the only quadriplegic in the world to complete the West Coast Trail.

“It is this incredible burst of joy that we accomplished this,” Jordan says.

Brad was not done. He was working to turn the hours of video footage shot during the trek into a full-length documentary. But before he could compete it, Brad died.

“The emotion is like heartbreak,” Jordan’s voice cracks.

But if Brad taught his friends anything, it’s to never give up.

So now, more than 20 years later, Jordan and her friend, director Chelsea McEvoy, are finishing the film — called the Standing Spirit Project — so Brad can achieve his ultimate dream of inspiring others.

“No matter what your dream is, no matter what challenges you face, do not let your dreams pass by,” Jordan says. “Life is too short. Get out there and do it.”