Ticking Clock
The clock is ticking on this pilgrimage as it winds down. I’m writing from a campground in Melvich on Wednesday. And, God willing (everything is God willing), I will walk into John O’Groats on Saturday morning. So many of my thoughts have been turning to some sort of summary, or gathering together of loose threads,…
trail to full postSomeplace to Lay My Head
One thing about this trip, that I think I’ve mentioned before, is that there is no set path to follow. Everyone who does this LEJOG – Land’s End to John O’Groats – does it their own way. I’ve mostly been following a bicycle route published by Richard Barrett in order to walk mostly on roads,…
trail to full postUpdate on this Pilgrim’s Progress
As of today, Monday 9th June, I am in the city of Carlisle, Cumbria, in way northwest England. About 10 miles of walking from here is where I cross the border into Scotland. The bicycle route I’m following has really suited me so far, and I expect that to continue. It’s usually quite easy to…
trail to full postOn the doorstep
Well, I’m packed up. And getting closer to being ready to go. Was packed up near a week ago. But had to unpack for various reasons. And then packed and repacked a couple times. Thing is, my backpack has a lot of pockets to put things in and I’m still getting used to what will…
trail to full postLEJOG overview map
I have lifted this map from the inside front cover of Cycling Land’s End to John O’Groats: LEJOG end-to-end on quiet roads and traffic-free paths by Richard Barrett. 3rd edition. Kendal, Cumbria : Cicerone, ©2021. It shows pretty much the route I’m planning on walking northbound, except for the two diversions I’ve already mentioned: the…
trail to full postLEJOG as pilgrimage
Okay, fine, the last posts explain what a LEJOG is, but why do it? A goodly number of the people do this trek to raise funds for a charity. Those are the people who post and boost videos during their trip. LEJOGers who aren’t trying to reach more potential donors don’t have the same need…
trail to full postMy Route Changes
I wrote yesterday about how I am planning on walking the cycle paths, small country lanes, quiet roads, and canal paths that are spelled out in the Richard Barrett book. And, of course, I’m already figuring on customizing it. There’s a footpath called the Offa’s Dyke Path National Trail, 177 miles long, which more or…
trail to full postLEJOG Routes
Here’s the deal with planning your own LEJOG: after deciding that you’d like to try it, you need to figure out a route between the two ends. That’s right! Unlike the Appalachian Trail, this major trek is not blazed end-to-end. There isn’t one single “official” pathway. The whole ‘how do you get from here to…
trail to full posttwo types of pilgrimage
“The pilgrimage idea, the outgoing quest, appears in mystical literature under two rather different aspects. One is the search for ‘the Hidden Treasure which desires to be found.’ Such is the ‘quest of the Grail’ when regarded in its mystic aspect as an allegory of the adventure of the soul. The other is the long,…
trail to full postadjusting to silence and solitude
Note:It can take some time to adjust to being in solitude and silence, just as this writer describes the adjustment period a backpacker or camper needs to break away from the tyranny of the hectic city life. This adjustment period really could argue against taking short silent retreats, only a weekend long or so. It…
trail to full postFrom hope deferred to a tree of life
I am here to confirm the truth of Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” Just 5 months ago I was on my way home from Mount Katahdin, Maine, a place I had wanted to be for more than 50 years. Climbing Katahdin was the…
trail to full postSpring[er] Fever
From a modern English translation of lines 1-14 of the General Prologue of Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”: When April with his showers sweet with fruitThe drought of March has pierced unto the rootAnd bathed each vein with liquor that has powerTo generate therein and sire the flower;When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath,Quickened again, in…
trail to full postPrivilege of Pandemic Hiking
An article by Grayson Haver Currin that showed up yesterday on the “Outside” magazine web site talks about the important topic of the privilege of pandemic hiking. And, although I only uploaded my previous hiking post at the beginning of the week, I wanted to toss this out there for you to see. Currin writes…
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Pathology: the Study of a Path 