There are three great Christian pilgrimages: from anywhere to Jerusalem, from Canterbury to Rome on the Via Francigena, and the Jakobsweg (also known in English as St.James' way), started at points all over Europe and ending in Santiago de Compostela in southwestern Spain. Now a fourth can be added - the H2H hike.
These pilgrimages are both historical and contemporary, as tens of thousands of people conduct these journies yearly, but their routes have been in effect for almost a thousand years. Of particular interest to me during our hike, has been how it at times joins the route of the Jakobsweg. I have been unlucky so far in a goal to meet fellow pilgrims. I would like to share with them my experiences garnered on this most transcendental of hikes, the H2H, and compare and contrast with their experiences on the Jakobsweg. I feel we have a lot in common to discuss and that potentially I might gain insight into blister management and the like from my fellow pilgrims. So far only three people have undertaken the rigors of the H2H and they have only completed slightly more than 25% of the route, but it is my strong belief, that this too shall become a hike of significant religious permanence. I look at every wild-eyed wanderer, every bearded sandle-shod staff-wielding hiker and I think to myself, that they too could be on the H2H hike. I see such folk but have had trouble finding the pluck to strike up conversation to discuss our mutual quests. Perhaps it is the language difficulties, perhaps it is the zealotry I feel welling up in myself, perhaps the fact that so few know of the H2H's spiritual significance. I gaze at these folk who wander a far longer distance than myself, and I feel humbled. I will bury the fingerbone of St.Kevin, in Provence at our ultimate destination, thus adding the appropriate touch of christian depth necessary to solidify the H2H hike in the hearts and minds of pilgrims world-wide.
Apparently St.James' Way has older roots in a celtic tradition of Initiation, and follows lines of force known to the Celts, as leylines. These are lines of power in the earth. I have yet to see any physical manifestations of these leylines, but at times as I travel, I feel myself to be affected by forces outside of myself. For instance, there is definitely a strong force line pulling my backpack down to the ground. No matter how many items I throw out, the pack still wants to go to ground. I recently discarded my evening shoes, which is bound to get me into hot water at some time with OberGruppenFuehrer Andrew, our fearless Leader, but they were sooooo heavy...Given that shoes form a connection with the ground and thus leylines, they might be construed as the most responsible item for the sensation afflicting my pack and myself. I have a pair of flipflops that will be my evening wear from here on out. Really, would a Michelin 2 star restaurant deny me entry based upon footwear? Di
d not Jesus wear rude sandals? Did not Celts have hairy feet and little else? The flips flops are made of rubber; thus, if the force of leylines bears any relationship to electricity, I am protected. I worry about future establishment clothing rules, and know hereby that a pilgrim's way is not to be the easy way. Ridicule, denial, and ostracizement await me, and potentially some hunger. I must find a way to gain sustenance from the leylines. There are definitely forces affecting my bowels that cannot be even comprehended.
The H2H hike covers some 1700 kilometers, and goes up and over the equivalent of 10 or more Mount Everests. That's a heck of a long way both forwards, up, and down. However, to become a historically significant religious pilgrimage-like experience, a certain distance is required or else people will view our hike as a mere jaunt, a whimsy, something fairy-like, perhaps slightly magical, definitely not a heavy duty pilgrimage like the other big three. If one were to construct an outhouse exactly one kilometer from one's dwelling and visit it seventeen hundred times, one would achieve a similar distance, but not the height elevation gain and loss. Laxatives and diuretics could shorten the task, but still I feel our hike has more significance than mere miles traveled. In addition, when we rise above sea level to precarious heights, the oxygen starvation achieved leads to a mind set more prone to religious trance and spirit animal consideration, a must for any true pilgrim looking for t
he one true vision. If you add in starvation from restaurant denial, there is no way I will not achieve Nirvana upon this trip, which can only add to the overall religious significance of the H2H.
Apparently, if one makes it to Santiago de Compostela, after having completed a Jakobsweg of an appropriate distance ( from my studies this seems to be a distance greater than or equal too 800km), all one's sins are forgiven by the Catholic church. One must collect stamps from various places along the way, tasked with the duty of giving out these stamps only to serious pilgrims, to prove that one has actually completed the pilgrimage. Many of these stamping stations can only be reached by foot, thus making it more difficult to cheat. The H2H will need some similar sort of arrangement to assure non-cheating participation. Perhaps receipts from hotels could be used. Perhaps the little pins one puts on one's hat from the Mountain Huts. It's going to be hard to come up with a final reward, as good as eternal redemption and a place in Heaven, for the H2H hike, but I'm sure we can come up with something equivalent. Any suggestions?
I have found that rest days are similar to the time of day the prisoner is let out into the yard. A small taste of the freedoms one used to take for granted. Enjoy these freedoms my listeners, and if you feel that you have come by them too easily, consider a pilgrimage upon the H2H to find your way back to that which is true and real.
