VF 9 & 10: Road Walking vs. Trail Walking
Sometimes the two are one in the same when you are walking the Via Francigena. Other times we assess what route looks the best and go for that one! Yesterday we walked from Saint Vincent to Arnad. We decided to just take the road. It meant a flat walk and just under 10 miles of […]
VF Day 7 & 8: Our First City in Italy – Aosta
After four challenging days of hiking going up and over the Swiss Alps, meandering through lots of Swiss and Italian villages, we have arrived in our first big city in Italy, the quant town of Aosta with a population of over 125,000 people. The big attractions are a Roman bridge, Roman theater, Roman wall, Roman […]
VF Day 6: I’m Hungry and I Don’t Want to Talk About It
Right now my biggest struggle is food. There never seems to be enough of it. The Hospice we stayed at last night included breakfast. Unfortunately that breakfast was a few day old piece of bread with butter/jelly and tea. Neither one of us could finish our bread because it wasn’t sitting right. We planned to […]
Hiking the Via Francigena Day 4 & 5: Our Highest Pass
If I complain about any other climb, let me please remember this day. Oh, the climbing, all day long. I kept repeating all day, “if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.” I’m searching for change on this pilgrimage. I don’t know completely what change, but I’m sure it will reveal itself when it’s […]
VF Day 3 & 4: Hiking the Swiss Alps
Somebody suggested I should let that thought sink in. I guess I hadn’t thought about until we were surrounded by mountains and the only way out is up and over. Wow, it’s sinking in. I didn’t have a blog yesterday, I was having a rough day. It was raining, my shins were hurting, the terrain […]
The Via Francigena Day 2: A Typical Day
The day started with breakfast with the abbot at the Abbey of Saint Maurice. I mean, a private breakfast, how cool is that? We shared stories, asked each other a lot of questions with a few language limitations. He tried to talk politics, we steered the conversation away and he left it alone. We received […]
VF Day 1: Jet Lag, Eminent Rain, and Walking
I should be asleep right now. It’s 1:30 a.m. There’s rain coming in at 11:00 a.m. so we have to start walking early. I definitely should be asleep. Unfortunately my body is still adjusting to the 6 hour time zone change and I’m restless with anticipation of the pilgrimage we’re embarking on. I try to […]
It was Supposed to be an Easy Flight…
Have you ever heard of such a thing? Apparently, it’s nonexistent. We’re walking the Via Francigena this summer and we spent much of our 2021-2022 planning this upcoming adventure. In planning for our flight, we did all the right things. We monitored flights on Hopper, snatched them up when they were exactly what we wanted, […]
Reflections After a Long Distance Hike – 3 Changes for Next Time
Why did I bring that, why didn’t I pack a …, why didn’t I put things away differently. Let’s do this again! Haha The analyzing of all of our gear began on the first day of walking and before the weekend is over we will have resupplied. Gear has been our top conversation this week […]
Ohio Camino Day 7, The Final Day
As I sit in our hotel in Newport, Kentucky overlooking the Ohio River, I can’t believe we just accomplished this goal. I knew we were able but until you do something like this you just don’t know how it will go. I’m thankful to be warm. The crazy part is I am confident we will […]