El Camino De Santiago - Summer 2011
July 22nd, 2011
Late in the afternoon of July 22, 2011 8 scouts, 3 leaders, and a crew of Eagle Scouts strolled onto a rock outcropping at Cabo Finnisterra and thus completed the Camino de Santiago. Our trek took us from the qaunt town of St Jean Pied-de-Port in France and over 37 days and 546 miles we made our way across the entire country of Spain braving desert, mountains, heat, rain, and some seriously long days. We camped in small villages, ate lots of bocadillos, popped many blisters, drank lots of cafe con leche, and in the end completed the longest backpacking trip in BSA history. There are plenty of stories to tell and you can see a write up on our journal page, check out ALOT of photos on our photo page, or read our blog from along the way at www.ElCamino2011.com
Beforehand....
The route of El Camino de SantiagoAnother round of international travel to backpack 500+ miles on a trail that has been around for over 1000 years and search for some adventures in the Spanish countryside. Sign us up. Troop 845 always has a number of trips up its sleeve every summer. We'll start off the summer of 2011 off with a good foundation by heading off to El Camino de Santiago in Spain. Follow along both on our hike and on our preparations at www.ElCamino2011.com
The Camino has been around for centuries and has seen hundreds of thousands of pilgrims make their way across Spain on this religious quest. It is an incredible combination of mountains and towns interwoven with adventure and culture.
In June of 2011 we plan on packing up some ultralight packs and heading off to Spain. We'll spend about a month, earning stamps in our Credencial as we cover 500 miles en route to our destination town of Santiago De Compostela where we will attend the world famous noon mass for pilgrims on Spain's western coast.
Interested in the trail? Check out it's remarkable history.
May 29th 2011 update -
We are now about two weeks away from heading out. We've spent the spring planning, gearing up, and getting in shape. We just returned from a shakedown hike on the Appalachian Trail where we tested our gear rigs and talked about the last few things that we need to get together before we depart on June 15th for Madrid. If you followed along with us last summer, we raised over $25,000 for UNCs Lineberger Cancer Center. We're at it again this summer and trying to reach the benchmark we set last year. If you're interested in helping out, you can donate at our site www.ElCamino2011.com....and you can also track us via Spot Tracker there every step of 'The Way.'
Shakedown hike for the Camino de Santiago at Roan Mountain
Marker along 'The Way'