Walking the Camino de Santiago
Getting ready physically for the Camino.
Francine injured her foot a ways back, and we have not been training as we ought. Yesterday, however, we had a nice hike with full Camino packs through Point Defiance Park. There was some trouble with water. At some point in transit to the trailhead, Francine’s backpack water bladder leaked about a liter of water into her pack. After a […]
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My annual camp/cabin trip was this past weekend. Basically it’s the same group of guys every year, with the occasional comings and goings. Back in the day, we camped. One particular weekend, about seven or eight years ago now, it rained so hard that it put out our campfire. Since then, it’s been U.S. Forestry service cabins. This is the […]
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Of all the photos I took on our 2013 Camino – and I took thousands of them – this is the one that for me best sums up the spirit of the pilgrimage. It was taken as we walked through the Galician forests on our way to the Royal Monastery of Samos. It reminds me very strongly of Bilbo’s Old […]
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One year from today, Easter Sunday, 27 March 2016, Francine and I intend to board an airplane and set out on our second Camino. Because next year is a leap-year, that’s 366 days from today. Yesterday, I celebrated the tenth anniversary of my Baptism. A year from today, Easter will fall on exactly the same day that it did back […]
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A couple of months back, Francine and I took a short hike that absolutely winded us. Wiped us out. Clearly, we’re out of shape. So we’ve started our 2016 Camino training much the way we did for 2013: we’re beginning with loops around Snake Lake. There’s a flat loop of trail around the lake, and a fairly steep hill-climb with […]
» Read moreThe phrase, “We all have our crosses to bear” hit me right between the eyes during Holy Week. Last week’s Intentional Camino Day had me in screaming pain. FUN! In the end, I barely made the 20k on my training schedule as I fell victim to shin splints in my right leg. I’ve had these before, they hurt mostly going […]
» Read moreBack in August, a buddy and I had what I called “an inadvertent Camino day”, where we sort of accidentally walked 25km. While there’s no such thing as a “typical” day on the Camino, 25km is a pretty fair shot at it. Well, today I intentionally walked 25km with full pack. Francine (who is a couple of weeks behind me […]
» Read moreFrancine and I were sick most of the week with a cold that would not quit. I stayed home Wednesday and Thursday. An attempt at working from home on Friday was a spectacular failure. Needless to say, our whole training schedule this week was a shambles. And by shambles I mean this: on Wednesday I walked a block to the […]
» Read moreAt the highest point of the Camino in Spain, upon the plateau of Monte Irago, is a cross. This cross, called Cruz de Ferro (literally, “iron cross”) is a tall oak post with a small iron cross attached to the top. All around the cross is a large pile of stones. Pilgrims have been laying a stone at Cruz de […]
» Read moreNow that we are well and truly in Lent, our serious training has begun. Prior to the beginning of February, Francine and I were hiking the weekends and I was walking about two miles a day during my commute. Now we’ve got a slightly more intensive plan. I’m well aware that there’s a school of thought that says you can’t […]
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