Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans. Attributed to John Lennon.
That’s how I feel now about my involvement with the Camino de Santiago. The multitude of trails all eventually leading to Santiago, Spain has become more than a hiking vacation.
Between 2013 when I walked Le Chemin de St. Jacques in France and this year on the Camino del Norte, Camino activities in Asheville have exploded.
The Western North Carolina chapter of the American Pilgrims on the Camino now has a 16-mile walk around Asheville to give people an idea of what a typical day on the Camino would be. Sixteen miles around Asheville is not as difficult as it sounds and not like 16 miles in the Smokies.
We now offer a guided walk every month. In December, I’ll be leading the walk for both the Camino group and Carolina Mountain Club.
A couple of weeks ago, the WNC chapter hosted the Atlanta Camino group. About sixteen hikers and Camino enthusiasts came for a weekend of hiking and sociability. We walked the Asheville Camino and dined in our fine restaurants – probably much better than on the Camino in Spain.
On Monday Oct 2, I’ll be speaking on The History and Culture along the Camino del Norte at REI Asheville at 7PM. The talk is free. Register at www.rei.com/asheville.
You can get a preview of my experiences on the Camino del Norte in the article I wrote in the Asheville Citizen-Times. See it today because stories in the Citizen-Times disappear quickly. See http://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2017/09/27/asheville-hiker-treks-580-miles-spains-el-camino-del-norte/693662001/
The Camino de Santiago has not taken over my hiking life – after all it is thousands of miles away. Hiking in the Southern Appalachians is my life.
But I’m meeting with my hiking partner next month to talk about our next Camino.
Yikes! Buen Camino!