She’s Conquering Trails with a Rare Brain Disease (Crystal Gail Welcome, BIPOC and disabled thru-hiker‪)‬ Humans Outside

When the doctors told her she couldn’t do anything because of her rare brain disease, she decided to instead do everything. After all, if she was going to be working through its fallout, why not work through it outside?
Crystal Gail Welcome didn’t grow-up looking at nature as nature, per se. But after a grounding experience in a park with a friend, she made the dramatic decision to become a thru-hiker even though she had never hiked in her life and was dealing with her disability. The result is thousands of miles hiked and becoming the first known Black thru-hiker of the 1,500 mile Florida trail.

Hear Crystal’s incredible story and the inspiration she has for you on just getting out there to see where nature takes you in this episode of Humans Outside. Listen now.
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Some of the good stuff:
[2:24] Crystal Gail Welcome’s favorite outdoor place
[4:06] Crystal’s outdoor story
[8:35] Why feeling disconnected from your body is relatable
[9:48] How many miles has Crystal hiked?
[11:14] How the rare brain disease impacts Crystal’s hikes
[14:11] How the death of George Floyd impacted Crystal
[19:36] Why the Florida Trail?
[23:31] Why the Florida Trail was the most challenging trail Crystal has ever done
[29:44] What Crystal has learned about people from her hike
[37:03] What Crystal hopes people will learn from her journey and experience
[38:55] Crystal’s favorite outdoor moment