I needed to start working in some longer hikes that were roughly the same length as what I’ll need to average on the Camino. Since my pilgrimage will be through towns and villages, I decided that an in-city hike would best replicate a day-in-the-life on the Camino. Researching existing routes on the AllTrails app, I found a bike route that I have modified to include some off paved road sections and to incorporate the breaks I would likely include on the Camino.
After two trial runs, I have now posted this as a MeetUp hike through the hiking group I belong to. I’ve cross-posted it to a local Facebook group of the Portlandia Chapter of the Camino Association of America.
My first group hike only had two participants, but we had a lovely time. Like me, Carlos was preparing for his first Camino. He was going to start in Porto and would be hiking with his 77 year old mother. Robin, was the Camino veteran of the group. She was preparing for her fifth and sixth Caminos, which she was going to do back-to-back. First, she was also going to do the Portuguese from Porto with her daughter. Once complete, she was going to do the Ingles route solo.
Hiking with these two provided a great opportunity to share tips and discuss equipment selection. Coincidentally, all three of us were doing the Portuguese route at roughly the same time.
The hike was a success and I’ve now scheduled three more events. This coming Sunday, I have 10 people registered to attend. We’ll see how the forecasted high temperature of 90+ affects turn-out.