"You're Nucking Futs!"
“You’re nucking futs!”. This was what my friend Steve said when I told him that I planned to walk 500 miles across Spain at the end of August 2019. I’ve had a wide array of reactions when people learn of my plans but this one is still my favorite. I realized today that I first really started announcing it a year ago this week at the Cascade Lakes Relay and that Steve had uttered this phrase that long ago. I had been planning it for at least a year prior but it was with this group of friends (some of who I see only once a year at this event) that I really started talking about my plans.
I was with that group again this weekend (minus Nate, you were missed) running the CLR for the sixth time and I realized that I was going to be taking off in less than a month. I also realized that Steve might have been right as this trip is starting to feel a little nucking futs. I’ve still got some time for a few training hikes before I depart but it looks like my running will be on hold until my return in mid-October. I’m kind of sad about this actually. That seems weird since I’m absolute shit at it.
I searched for a CLR picture that captured my feelings during the event. This was a good one. Looking quite stupid but having a good time seems to wrap up the entire event for me.
When I discuss walking the Camino I get four questions virtually every time I have the discussion.
Is Michele going?
Why the Camino?
Why now?
What are you hoping to “get” from this journey?
In response to question 1, is Michele going?
The answer is no. She will be meeting me at the end in Spain and we’ll spend a couple of days together before she heads off on her own adventure in Africa to see mountain gorillas and do a walking safari. I’ve wanted to do this walk since Michele and I watched a documentary about it 5 years ago (Six Ways To Santiago https://caminodocumentary.org) . We left the theater and she asked if I would want to do it and I immediately said I would love it. She wasn’t as thrilled and thought she would grow bored just a few days in. Five years and many, many trips later and both of our views have remained the same. I love the idea of walking from town to town and meeting folks (and pastries) along the way. Michele still thinks it would be redundant after a time and craves more adventure and wilderness in her adventures (hence the mountain gorilla thing). I’m intrigued by the mountain gorillas, and definitely want to visit Africa at some point, but it’s not nearly as high on my list as it is on Michele’s. After so many shared adventures, this seemed like the perfect time for each of us to take a solo trip.
To answer question 2, why the Camino?
Because it’s a fully supported hike through Spain!!! I like the idea of the physical and mental challenge of a 500 mile hike but also like the idea of having a bed to sleep in every night rather than a tent and having access to cafes throughout the journey. I love to walk, it’s kind of my thing. I enjoy the pace of it, the ability to connect with the surroundings or the ability to put in headphones and lose yourself in a podcast or music as you wander along. To walk on a well defined route through scenic parts of Spain from village to village is a dream trip for me. I also look forward to the community of pilgrims (more on the P word later) I will encounter along the way. My favorite part of international travel is always the people we meet. Interactions with these folks can be inspirational, humbling, humorous, fascinating, reassuring and sometimes all of these at once. The community of the Camino is one aspect that I hear quite a bit about and look forward to experiencing. I’m also excited by the idea of having no agenda for the day other than to get up and spend the day walking to the next village. Also European baked goods are the best thing on Earth. Don’t try and argue with me on this.
Question 3, why now?
Two years ago when I decided I wanted to walk the Camino I knew the first thing I needed to do was to pick a date and then begin to plan. It seems that if you don’t pick a date and start to make a plan these things can remain a wish and never become a reality (my self- help book, “Glenn tells you things that are blatantly obvious” is available now in the website store) so I decided I would get this done before I turned 50. Once I locked in on this decision I then realized I was 47 (oh shit) and I better start putting this together. Thanks to my diagnosis with a degenerative heart condition (which is doing exceptionally well and I still run and hike with little impairment) a few years ago I have realized that we have a limited time in which we are physically able to go on adventures such as this one. In addition, there are often times that life circumstances (finances, family issues, etc) won’t allow for this type of trip. So, if I’m healthy enough (check) and my life circumstances allow me to go (check) then don’t be between me and the door. So I guess the quick answer is I’m going now because I can but that won’t always be the case.
Question 4, what am I hoping to “get” from the journey?
I think this is an interesting question that I have a terrifically lame answer to. I don’t know. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not religious so the fact that this was traditionally a Christian pilgrimage route isn’t my reason for walking. I don’t have an internal agenda or anything I’m looking to work through specifically. My friend John asked if I was just “leaving myself open to the experience”. I think that’s an excellent idea and it’s what I plan to do. Do I expect some monumental change in my understanding of myself or anything around me? Not really. Am I open to any type of improved self realization or understanding? Absolutely.
All in all, I’m just hoping for a nice walk. And pastries.
