Double amputee completes gruelling trek from Edmonton to Calgary

CALGARY – Sore, but in good spirits, double-amputee Spencer West has completed a gruelling 11-day trek from Edmonton to Calgary.

West covered the 300 kilometres partly on his hands and partly in a wheelchair.

Throngs of children were cheering as West and two friends crossed the finish line at a Calgary school.

The aim of the journey was to raise funds for Free the Children, which has the goal of providing 100,000 people in developing countries with clean drinking water.

West says he also wants to help Canadians understand how far people in developing countries — mostly women — have to walk to gather water for their families.

Last year, West scaled Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, but he says the walk from Edmonton to Calgary was much more difficult.