About Crystal

Starting with the basics, tell a bit about yourself?

I grew up near Vancouver, BC and moved to Red Deer, AB in my mid-twenties. It took me some time to adjust to prairie life and even after all these years I still find joy and novelty in snow. I’m an animal lover and have a habit of being a sucker for anything fluffy and in need. Heck, it doesn’t even need to be fluffy. I can even find a snake cute and cuddly in the right circumstances. I have a standard poodle, a cat and two bunnies currently living with me.

Why did you decide to take part in this project?

It’s sort of my dream project. I love writing. I love being outdoors. I knew it was possible to combine the two, but I’ve never had the vision to make it happen on my own. Plus, I think it’s just a great idea.

What sort of past experience do you have in hiking/walking?
In my twenties I was big on hiking and walking. I didn’t have a driver’s license so I would walk most places. Being near the mountains and oceans made it easy for me to get out on short hikes and walks. And on one memorable occasion, an overnight hike, but all that fell by the wayside when I moved to Alberta.

What is the biggest challenge/limitation facing you with this project?

I’ve been plagued by injuries in recent years. Several years ago I was diagnosed with a condition called tarsal tunnel syndrome. I had to quit my retail job because of it. I couldn’t make it through an entire shift without extreme pain. At one point I had walked only half a block before sitting down on the sidewalk and crying because I was in so much pain. Of course, at that time, I also didn’t know that the medication that they had given me for the pain was actually making the pain worse!

I honestly thought I’d never hike again, but I found my own way to manage my condition. I couldn’t afford orthotics and despised the idea of them so I worked on strengthening the muscles in my feet and discovered minimalist shoes. It took some time, but I managed to be more or less pain free for almost seven years! Recently the condition has flared up again leaving me in extreme pains at time. I haven’t found a medication that I can take to manage the pain yet so I just keep hobbling through it.

I should probably also mention the fact that I crushed the soft tissue in my right leg in a quadding accident as well. Tore open a major vein, nerve damage and missing muscle mass in my calf. I did quite the number on myself. So my right leg and ankle tend to swell pretty bad since all the scar tissue inside my leg make it hard for fluid to drain. As for that quadding accident, I’m the one who ran over my own leg – which as far as I’m concerned takes real talent!

What do you hope to get out of the journey?

Personally I’d like to become fitter and more confident. Also I want the experience of actually getting out there and living the life I was meant to. I’d also love the chance to be able to share how I see the world with everyone else.

What scares or excites you the most about this journey?

Let’s be honest, EVERYTHING scares me. I’m definitely what you would call an anxious person. However, I can say that I am excited at the chance of just getting out there. I mean, in some ways, fear and excitement for kissing cousins.

What inspires you?

Knowing that just maybe what I do now can inspire someone else down the road is all I need to push myself. Well that and my bull-headed stubbornness.

On a scale of 1 to 10 how do you rate your fitness level?
(1 being that puttering around the house exhausts you and 10 being that you could go out and run a marathon with ease tomorrow)

I’d give myself a 6.5. I’m exactly fit, but I’m not exactly unfit either. I was heavier than this when I forced myself to do a ½ marathon and I have been known to walk for hours without realizing I’ve been walking that long (much to the stress of some good friends on one memorable May long weekend).