Tag distance trekking

A Year After the French Camino, the Trail Calls Us

Reg Spittle 5 Comments

A year ago, our steps connected these two historic pilgrimage places, nearly 500 miles apart on the French Camino, or Le Puy route.

We climbed on interior stairs to the top of the Statue of Notre Dame de France. The statue graces the highest point in Le Puy, France, and offers a spectacular view of the medieval city, home to the Camino that has hosted pilgrims for centuries. The 1860 statue was constructed using cast iron from 213 Crimean War cannons and delivered by Napoleon.

Le Puy marked the beginning of our journey.

Six weeks later, we stood on the iconic bridge in St. Jean Pied de Port, just five miles from Spain. It marked the beginning of the Camino Frances, the most traveled distance trail in the world and our first trek 10 years ago. On our way to St. Jean, we traveled over countless mountains and hills, along valleys, over rivers, and through French villages during an unusual fall heatwave that tested our resolve. Farms, ranches, forests, high plains and much more lined the trail. We stayed in small hotels, a few hostels, and were nearly stranded without accommodation and food more than once.

The memories make our seventh distance trek feel fresh. We are eager to tackle another trail, but where will it take us?

That’s for 2025 to unveil. The beginning of the year will also unveil Reg’s third trekking adventure book; more on that later.

Meanwhile, we will walk vicariously via YouTube and on trails around our Ashland, Oregon home.

Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 5

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Record-setting Appalachian Trail runner Jennifer Pharr Davis said it was her favorite trek in the world. “You can do it,” she told us about the Tour du Mont Blanc during her visit to Ashland, Oregon. We weren’t as certain, but after months of nervous debate, we jetted to France, played tourists in Paris and Strasbourg, then rode two trains to Chamonix, one of the world’s most popular winter sports cities.

It was July 2016. The Tour du Mont Blanc was our greatest challenge to date. The trail guided us from Chamonix around western Europe’s tallest mountain (15,766 feet) and its massif, counterclockwise, through France, Italy, and Switzerland. Although the TMB never climbed above 9,000 feet, it offered steep tests, sections of snow, and a blizzard that we barely avoided.

The Alps treated us to a grand show as we climbed nearly 30,000 feet and walked 110 miles over 10 days. We stayed several nights in rustic mountain huts, sharing drinks and meals with adventurers from all over Europe and even a few from America. At Rifugio Elisabetta, the tiny window in our bunk room revealed a glacier.

When we quit the working world in 2012, we longed for adventure, expecting to travel by planes, trains, and automobiles. Maybe a day hike here and there. We never, I mean never, would have dreamed (or had nightmares?) about such a foolhardy enterprise as the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Never assume.