We’re 50 days away from our departure and FINALLY we have narrowed our route choices down to a single planned path. That doesn’t mean it won’t change slightly, but the major decisions have been made.

As a reminder…when last I wrote about our route…we had a several major options on the table leaving Prague.

Well, before settling on our final route yet another major option appeared. I discovered (with the help of a Czech hiking forum) a north-south route just across the German border called Burgenweg (Castle Way). Note: there are two Burgenweg’s in Germany and this is the lesser known one. The route gets its name from a string of medieval defensive castles that were built along the border of the Holy Roman Empire. In fact there are more castles along this way than in any other region in Germany. Who knew!

In the end this route adds almost a week to our trip, but checks off several boxes:

• It allows us to take the more traditional and lovely Camino Zelezna from Prague
• It allows us to walk to my friends house in Grumpel Germany
• It allows for a continuous path from our starting point to our destination albeit a very non-pilgrim non-direct path.
• The bonus is that we get to experience the Burgenweg.

But this is where the story gets very exciting (for me). Knowing that this decision would delay our arrival in Grumpel, I emailed my friend there and asked if the new date would be ok with him and his wife. Of course they said “Yes” in a way that I’ve grown accustomed to with this family – the response was something on the order of – “For you, my dear friend, you are welcome in our home any time.” But then he went on to say. “If you come on that date you will be able to attend the local village festival in Hesselbach. You remember this from your last visit.”

Memories started flooding back of the wonderful time we had in this small village festival back in 2018. I knew visiting with Gerhard and Heike, as well as Edgar and Adelgunde would be a special part of this pilgrimage but I have to say I was almost giddy at the thought of the festival and having Nadine along with us this time as well. As Gerhard often says “Nichts ist Zufall” (Nothing is Random).

So if you’re keeping score, we now have a 1825km (1134mi) trek set before us. For those step counters out there, that’s 2,553,768 steps. If you live in our area this map will also give you some perspective. The center of the circle below is our house. We will walk the equivalent of from our house to anywhere on the perimiter of this circle. So, from our house to …

• Fargo, Minnesota
• Dodge City, Kansas
• San Antonio, TX (almost)
• Prince Edward Island or
• Cancun Mexico

In reality, the distance will be farther than that since we will undoubtedly have detours and food stops and will do some touring on our days off as well. But I think this puts it all in perspective.

I found that GaiaGPS (the route planning software I’ve used) has a serious bug in it that overstates the elevation – sometimes by 4x – so I’ve switched our planning to Mapy.com The resulting total ascent for the trip is calculated to be 17474m (57200ft) or as Google states 57,198ft 1-61/64 inches! Just for reference that’s just shy of from sea level to the top of Mount Everest …x2!

Anyway, being an engineer, I find this stuff interesting. But in the end, it’s just one foot after another… left, right, left, right, left, right ad naseum. I know most people can’t even comprehend walking this distance, and they don’t believe me when I say that most people could do it. But I promise you, back in 2013 when I was thinking about our first 500mi walk, I would be the LAST person you’d think would go for a “walk” much less a long distance pilgrimage trek.

Walking had zero interest for me, although I liked the idea of a hike in the woods – as long as I was at home on my couch. But the idea of doing something insane like a 500mi hike did have some appeal. It was a BHAG and that made all the difference. For those unfamiliar with the term BHAG, it stands for a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal.

• Big – Something remarkable
• Hairy – Crazy, Wild, Outlandish
• Audacious – Just who do you think you are to even consider that you could do this?
• Goal

One of the key attributes of a good BHAG is that is actually is impossible for you to do on your own. You need to rely on others and rely on God. I’m really thankful for all of you reading the VLOG as we prepare. Your prayers are coveted and treasured. For those that will follow us along the journey, you’re views, likes and especially your comments and questions make such a huge difference. Although we will see and experience amazing things, there are many long days and some aren’t wonderful. There is boredom and pain and lonliness as well and just hearing from you makes so much difference So Thank you in advance!

Anyway…here we are. And here is our final route…