Local Camino...Got my pack out of the attic today...

[kelleymac]

I got my pack out of the attic, and am saying hello to my camino gear-- and setting most aside. I am packing for a day trip tomorrow with a pack half empty. I'll be walking with five scouts and three adults on a 20 mile (32km) hike to finish up their Hiking Merit Badge. We'll start at the west end of Watkins Glen State Park in NY, take the rim trail (6 miles) down to the village at the lake, have a socially distanced picnic, and walk on old tow path for 14 miles. So downhill and then a long easy incline on the tow path. The scouts are terrified and feeling brave and the adults going are insisting they don't need to use walking sticks (even though one father is donning a knee brace).

It's not the camino, but it will be good to spend the day walking. -- And I'm going to tie a shell on my backpack. And it's going to be rainy and windy....

 

[Lindor]

Oh I would love to go on a proper hike. I'm in Ireland, and we are on lockdown again. The maximum distance we are allowed to travel from home is 5km, so I currently feel like a hamster going around a wheel walking the footpaths around my small town. Changing the direction of the walk every day, just to switch things up a bit. Our lockdown will hopefully end on Dec 1st, and then we can hit the hills again.
Enjoy your hike, and say a little prayer for us that can't get out and walk long distances at the moment.

 

[kelleymac]

"Enjoy your hike, and say a little prayer for us that can't get out and walk long distances at the moment."-- Will do! I expect we'll get shut down again soon enough-- but happily we live out in the countryside.

Is all of Ireland locked down? I have friends in Belfast-- at least they have a small garden.

In September 2018, my older son and I walked from Balintoy to the Giants Causeway. We were supposed to walk to from Ballycastle to Portrush, but the tourist office at Ballycastle said the road was too dangerous to walk on because of the tourist busses (Game of Thrones Tours) so we hopped on a bus that took us to Balintoy and then there was a dangerous windstorm and all the power was out, so we hopped on the bus. -- I was just thinking about that because I just read the weather and the wind tomorrow is supposed to gust up to 39 mph. Well, at least there are no cliffs to be blown off of!

 

[trecile]

It's not the camino, but it will be good to spend the day walking. -- And I'm going to tie a shell on my backpack.

I love that you will be carrying your shell!

 

[Kanga]

@Lindor in Melbourne when residents there were restricted to 5km around their homes, and had to keep their distance from others, we got reports that people were being very creative and doing all kinds of nice things for their neighbours. It started with the bear hunts - bears placed in windows (I did, and tried to change the bear's position often), or chalk drawings of bears on walls and footpaths, for small children to spot ("going on a bear hunt"). That expanded to rainbows and hopscotch chalked on footpaths and then little gifts left out for walkers passing by. One couple potted up cuttings from their garden and set up a "help yourself" table outside. Others followed with garden produce, bunches of flowers, wrapped home-made bread, jams and other goodies, second hand books and toys. Then there were the inspirational or funny messages people put up or left in letter boxes. It was random and constantly changing. It brightened up what was otherwise a pretty difficult time.

On camino we sometimes come across the same thing and it always brings a spark of pleasure. I recall bowls of hard boiled eggs, cherries, figs, walnuts, grapes, and thermos's of cold water and hot coffee. Here is a photo taken on the Le Puy in 2008 - no request for a donation!

 

[Sue127]

Oh I would love to go on a proper hike. I'm in Ireland, and we are on lockdown again. The maximum distance we are allowed to travel from home is 5km, so I currently feel like a hamster going around a wheel walking the footpaths around my small town. Changing the direction of the walk every day, just to switch things up a bit. Our lockdown will hopefully end on Dec 1st, and then we can hit the hills again.
Enjoy your hike, and say a little prayer for us that can't get out and walk long distances at the moment.

Back in lockdown in France. Officially we can 'exercise' for an hour within a 1km radius of our home. We are also allowed to go shopping for essentials, so I set off with my empty rucksack, walked along the towpath, meeting nobody, and went shopping, managing a 6km round trip. Nowhere in the regulations can I find that I must go shopping by car. I think a 20km round trip might be a little suspect, if questioned.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

@Lindor in Melbourne when residents there were restricted to 5km around their homes, and had to keep their distance from others, we got reports that people were being very creative and doing all kinds of nice things for their neighbours. It started with the bear hunts - bears placed in windows (I did, and tried to change the bear's position often), or chalk drawings of bears on walls and footpaths, for small children to spot ("going on a bear hunt"). That expanded to rainbows and hopscotch chalked on footpaths and then little gifts left out for walkers passing by. One couple potted up cuttings from their garden and set up a "help yourself" table outside. Others followed with garden produce, bunches of flowers, wrapped home-made bread, jams and other goodies, second hand books and toys. Then there were the inspirational or funny messages people put up or left in letter boxes. It was random and constantly changing. It brightened up what was otherwise a pretty difficult time.

On camino we sometimes come across the same thing and it always brings a spark of pleasure. I recall bowls of hard boiled eggs, cherries, figs, walnuts, grapes, and thermos's of cold water and hot coffee. Here is a photo taken on the Le Puy in 2008 - no request for a donation!View attachment 87603

I'm impressed! What simple, yet creative ideas for both the kids and adults...a little homemade sunshine.

 

[Lindor]

Back in lockdown in France. Officially we can 'exercise' for an hour within a 1km radius of our home. We are also allowed to go shopping for essentials, so I set off with my empty rucksack, walked along the towpath, meeting nobody, and went shopping, managing a 6km round trip. Nowhere in the regulations can I find that I must go shopping by car. I think a 20km round trip might be a little suspect, if questioned.

I managed to walk 10k today, and the furthest point I was away from my house at any stage was only 2km. If I had done it in reverse on the way home, I could have got a 20km walk in today. But it was windy and rainy, so I headed home to the fireplace after 10km.
Even during this lockdown, we can get our walks in by being creative.

 

[peregrina2000]

I got my pack out of the attic

Ah, kelleymac, you are far more of a realist than I. I just put my camino backpack away about 6 weeks ago, and that was only because my son and his family were moving in for about a month and we needed the beds.

What a great treat this will be, come rain or snow. I hope it’s a wonderful walk. I’ll be interested to hear if any of the participants rethink their decision on poles or sticks.

in Melbourne when residents there were restricted

Kanga your post reminded me a Guardian article and video about how the Australian spirit shone through during your lockdown, turning the task of taking out the trash into an opporrtunity for some laughs. Kudos to those who keep doing what they can to boost our spirits in these difficult times!

 

[kelleymac]

Hello everyone-- So the walk yesterday went well! We got started later than scheduled (no surprise there...) so the last 3 miles was in the dark and rain (very exciting). Two of the three scouts who were trying to finish up their Hiking Merit Badge made it to the finish point. One scout bowed out at 18.5 miles, he called his mother to come and get him. (There are times I hate iPhones.) -- At the outset, I offered the adult with the knee brace a walking stick-- he declined, but after a few miles I noticed he'd picked up a stick out of the woods and was relying on that. This morning he reports his feet hurting, and his knee is stiff but ok. Another adult left us after five miles. -- But most of us hung in there, and got to use our wet weather gear. Here are some photos-- I'm sorry I don't have photos of the waterfalls we passed. The largest waterfall is called Shequaga Falls-- you can google it and see how beautiful the NY Finger Lakes area is.

 

[Sue127]

That’s great. Not only did you get to do a good length hike, you helped scouts with their badges and got others out and about.

 

[kelleymac]

That’s great. Not only did you get to do a good length hike, you helped scouts with their badges and got others out and about.

Thanks-- It's hard for me to get out the door and get walking by myself -- even with my old border collie's brown eyes begging. All the tasks that need to get done at home -- laundry, gardening, painting, repairing-- keep me from going out the door. Making a commitment to others and organizing gives me a reason to walk. And I love the scouts' energy.

 

[taigirl]

I got my pack out of the attic, and am saying hello to my camino gear-- and setting most aside. I am packing for a day trip tomorrow with a pack half empty. I'll be walking with five scouts and three adults on a 20 mile (32km) hike to finish up their Hiking Merit Badge. We'll start at the west end of Watkins Glen State Park in NY, take the rim trail (6 miles) down to the village at the lake, have a socially distanced picnic, and walk on old tow path for 14 miles. So downhill and then a long easy incline on the tow path. The scouts are terrified and feeling brave and the adults going are insisting they don't need to use walking sticks (even though one father is donning a knee brace).

It's not the camino, but it will be good to spend the day walking. -- And I'm going to tie a shell on my backpack. And it's going to be rainy and windy....

Sometimes, I put on my pack and walk around the house for a while.