MY OFFICIAL HIKING JOURNEY HAS COME TO AN END!

I AM SO PROUD IF WHAT I HAVE JUST DONE!

My “Official” Hiking Journey Has Come to an End!
Today I boarded the bus and headed to the next large city which is Leon, Spain. Prior to boarding the bus, my total kilometres hiked, was close to 450 Km!

My last official day of hiking was August 23, 2017!

I find it ironic that the day that I chose to end my hiking journey this year, was the exact same day that I chose to begin my full 800 Km hiking journey in 2015.

I knew that I was only ever going to hike to Leon which is about 500 km. I had planned to walk all the way into Leon, but August 23 was a very very tough hiking day for me and a very emotional day!

In 2015 I chose August 23 as my start date because that’s the anniversary date of the death of my mother! I figured if I was going to hike 800 km across a country, I should choose the start date where I might have some divine intervention on my side. In 2015 I completed the entire journey.

This year I had only ever planned to walk to Leon and return in the following years to finish the last 300 km! It was so important to me to reunite with the friends I made two years ago, and relive this journey with them. That is exactly what I did!

I couldn’t be prouder of the accomplishment I just did in the last month!

Two days ago I hiked close to 30 km in 35+ degree heat. I honestly felt fantastic when we finished, but a few hours later things started to change. I felt dehydrated as I could not drink enough water. I was having cold clammy sweats, I was having heart palpitations, and I just knew I was over exhausted!

I decided not to walk the last 50 Km into Leon and just stop my journey on a high! It was just so important to me to feel really great about what I did and not push myself into utter exhaustion.

Today I feel fantastic particularly after a very special celebration in one of the churches last night in a small town. I’m so proud of what I’ve done, and so happy to have been reunited with some of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my entire life!

Life is about the journey not about the end or the goals you achieve! We learn, we live, we celebrate, we cry, and we grow from the journey!

My journey has been everything I ever wanted it to be!

I will continue posting and taking photos as I have four days in the glorious city of Leon. We then drive to Santiago de Compostela to the cathedral, and finally we fly to Paris for four days in that wonderful city before heading home!

Thank you for following my journey! I have appreciated all of your comments but I need time to relax and rest and recuperate!

The Map of My Journey! For me, this one temporarily ends in Leon, Spain until I fly back here and finish it! That was my plan all along! I had always planned to complete this 800 Km journey over two years. In 2015 I did the whole thing, so I feel this is also a huge accomplishment!
My back held out and my foot injury didn’t stop me, so I’m a pretty proud camper right now!

This is another favourite photo. It represents the early-morning rising of the Hikers to get up and hike before the scorching sun strikes! This photo shows the sunrise behind you and how it casts your shadow in front of you just to encourage you to keep walking!

Total Tracker Steps; 18,285

TOTAL TRACKER STEPS OF THE TRIP THUS FAR:

702,011

I WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK STEPS JUST TO SEE WHEN I HIT 1,000,000 Steps!

KEEP WALKING!!!