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After a few days on the Camino, the pilgrim´s life settles into an easy rhythym.  Albergues may be small with only a dozen beds or big with bunk beds for 100 in a large room.  It is wise to sleep with earplugs or you will enjoy all the sounds of nocturnal humanity.

People begin to stir around 5:30am.  alarms beep, pilgrim pack away sleeping bags and prepare to hit the trail.  I usually am out of bed by 6:30 and hiking by seven.  This is my favorite time of day.  It is still dark and quiet.  The village where we slept has not yet woken.  The air is crisp.  Orion and Cassiopeia shine overhead.  A dim glow forms on the eastern horizon, and it grows until the sun gloriously rises around 8:15.

In the distance, you might see the steeple of a church, marking a village.  Perhaps the ruins of a castle on a hill still stands guard against invasion.  You will usually find a cafe for coffee and a pastry, the typical Spanish breakfast.  They might also prepare a bocadillo (sandwich) wrapped for the road or you can stop at a bakery and butcher on your way out of the village.  You might want to also stop at a small store for fruit and maybe chocolate.

Then on the trail again.  It is always well marked with yellow arrows and signs with stylized scallop shells, the symbol of the Camino.  The line of pilgrims spreads out, and as the day progresses, I might not see another pilgrim for a few hours.  It is autumn and numbers have dwindled from the busy summer season.  I may hike for an hour with a friend that I have made along the Camino, but I treasure hiking alone with the countryside, my thoughts and my daydreams.

Around noon I stop in a village cafe for a hot chocolate or in the village park for lunch, resting and rejuvenating.  Then I head out again, usually stopping mid-afternoon at an albergue, showering, washing clothes, reading, and writing.  My hiking has averaged 13-18 miles a day.

Bars have a perigrino menu - a first course of pasta, soup, or a large salad; a second course featuring fish in the Basque region, lamb in Rioja, blood sausage as you reach Burgos; then desert of ice cream, yogurt, flan, or fruit.  And always lots of wine.  This usually costs $9-12.

We linger over wine.  Everyone has a story and a reason to be walking the Camino, usually a life change -  recovering from a recent divorce, mourning the loss of loved one, frustration with a job and the need for a change, trying to figure out what to do with one´s life, retirement and a break from the old life.  Almost as many reasons as there are pilgrims.

Then we drift off to our bunks, our muscles grateful to be prone, and start the adventure again before the sun rises.

The Camino traverses western Navarra Province mostly on country trails, passing through small villages, always dominated by a church, the tallest building.  Pilgrims are a major source of revenue, and many villages will offer a cafe, a fountain, and possibly a small inn and/or albergue.  The harvested grain fields of the rolling farmland yielded to bountiful vineyards as the trail approaches Rioja Province, the home of some of Spain´s finest red wines.

I entered the city of Logrono at the beginning of the week-long Fiesta de San Mateo, which is also the harvest festival.  After checking into an albergue, I went to the central Plaza del Mercado, and festivities were in full swing. Men and women in traditional peasant dress stomped grapes in large wooden barrels.  Fires roared in the square roasting large cuts of lamb.  I joined a long line and for 3 euros ($4), I bought a plate of lamb, bread, and a decanter of vino tinto.  Then I joined hundreds of revelers at long tables.  Before I could finish my wine, my glass was filled again from a neighbor´s bottle.

Later I found a precious seat at a sidewalk cafe along the fashionable Calle de Portales to watch the show.  Promenaders packed the street - young families with babies in strollers, elegantly dressed urban ladies in silks, and scarfs, young lovers in t-shirts and jeans walking hand-in-hand.  Brass bands paraded through the crowded street carrying 20 foot high paper mache figures of animals, kings, dragons, Jesus, Mary and St. James.

I headed down to the park along Rio Ebro and rested, for the party was only beginning.  That night, every small plaza had a stage with a raucous punk band, a children´s choir, or traditional music from northern Spain.  Vendors set up shop, bar-b-quing lamb, pork and rabbit, and selling beer and wine.

It was fortunate that our albergue closed its doors and turned off the lights at 11:00pm.  I was in bed early and ready the next morning to continue the trek to Santiago.

Pamplona is the capital of Navarra, a semi-autonimous province, the south being more Castilian, the north, Basque.  The Basque are a fiercely independent people.  Linguists tell us that the Basque language, Euskara, is one of Europe´s oldest and has no know relationship  to any other language.  It is as if the basque people were always living on this land.  Picasso´s painting, Guernica, portrays the bombing of the city, the horrors of modern war, and the savage repression of the Franco regime.

The trail from Pamplona heads west, climbing 1,000 feet  to Alto del Perdon and then descends into farm country - harvested cereal fields and vineyards heavy with deep purple grapes.  Such beautiful country.  Plowed fields of brown soil were dense with rocks, but this is a fertile land.  Autumn gardens are rich with cabbage, onions, peas, and tomatoes.  Orchards of figs, apples, and pears are heavy with fruit. 

I stopped for the night in a small village, Obanos, at a casa rurales.  These are village houses and farms that offer rooms for pilgrims.  My ancient hostess escorted me to my room.  She was almost as wide as she was tall in a brown peasant dress with heavy wool socks and sandals.  Her brown face and hands were weathered, and her black hair was twisted into a knot at her neck.  She had a kind smile.

She spoke no English, so we depended on my rudimentary Spanish and hand gestures, laughing at our confusion. ¨¿Esta es un mercado para fruta?¨  ¨No, mercado is cerrado.  Es Domingo.¨ Of course it was Sunday.  ¨No problema, gracias.¨ She left me and returned later with four beautiful peaches.

Her house was old.  My room was round with a smooth stone floor that slanted to the center where it looked like there was once a drain.  The walls were plastered white, but sections of ancient stones were left exposed.  Rough dark wooden beams supported the ceiling.  An old barrel and a wine press were housed in an alcove.  Perhaps this room was once used for pressing wine.

I had a porch with a chair and table next to the garden and the chicken coop.  That night I dined on a half a bagette from my pack and delicous peaches.

The hike from Roncesvalles to Pamplona took two days, climbing and descending the foothills of the Pyrenese.  Most of the trail was on mountain paths, ascending to ridges and dropping into the valley of the Rio Arga, which the trail crossed and recrossed.  Early in the morning, before dawn, I hiked with the north star to my back and Orion high overhead, passing through the ¨woodlands of the witches,¨ a dense beech forest.  During the 16th century, it is said that covens of witches practiced their rituals in this forest and that several were burned at the stake. 

Pamplona is the first big city on Camino Frances.  Originally a Roman outpost, it was founded in AD77 by Pompey the Great.  The old city was walled, and the Camino enters Pamplona along a 60 foot wall of massive, ancient stones and through an arched gate with a draw bridge. 

After hiking 19 miles, I was tired, but I was quickly rejuvented by the energy of the city.  The narrow, winding cobblestone lanes were alive with revelers on this Saturday night.  Music and people spilled out of the bars and onto the street.  I checked into the Jesus and Maria albergue, showered and went out to join the celebration.  The massive Plaza del Castillo was crowded with cafe patrons, chasing children, and promenaders.

The sun set and I made the rounds of taps bars - small plates of assorted morsels lined the bars.  A beer and a slice of toasted baguette topped with ham and a quail egg along with a plate of papas fritas.  Next stop, a glass of vino tinto with salmon sashimi on vegetable salad and how about a slice of toast with cheese and tomato.  On the big screen our futbol team just scored a goal, and we all cheered.

I staggered to bed at 11:00, exhausted, long before the celebration had started to slow down.

I plan to walk from SF Fort Funston to Half Moon Bay, as in the book. I have a few questions.

Was there a lot of walking on sand? If so, what shoes should be worn and were the tides a problem or dangerous?

Also, is there a good place meet up with people at Fort Funston (i.e. a parking lot or building that can be easily found with a car)?

Trail Professionals and Advocates,

Mark your calendars NOW! The 26^th California Trails & Greenways Conference will be held at the San Ramon Marriott at the base of Mt. Diablo State Park in Contra Costa County, from Monday, April 11 through Wednesday, April 13, 2011. This year’s conference venue will highlight the skills and wisdom of one of the most progressive and diverse trails communities in the nation, providing unique learning opportunities for designing, building and managing trails in heavily populated urban areas. Rural trail skill building opportunities will also be plentiful with access to Mt. Diablo State Park and regional open space preserves only minutes away.

The California Trails & Greenways Conference provides non-motorized trail professionals, advocates and volunteers with a venue for learning practical, up-to-date trail management skills; as well as a forum for networking and building support for accessible, inter-connected, quality trail systems. All activities are designed to increase the knowledge of trail, recreational and wild land management professionals and advocates, both novice and expert in the field in order to improve trail systems and programs throughout California. Current details and information about past conferences can be found on www.parks.ca.gov/trails/conference.

Opportunities to actively participate in the conference include:

· Sponsorships and exhibit space, available now. Early sign-up gives you more visibility.

· Conference session proposals – the Call for Session Proposals instructions and forms will be available via email and posted on our website in mid-October 2010. Experts in all aspects of trail design, interpretation, construction and management are encouraged to submit proposals for one hour session presentations.

· Award nominations bring acknowledgement and appreciation to those deserving praise for outstanding trail & greenway efforts in California during calendar year 2010. Criteria and nomination forms will be announced and made available in November 2010.

· Conference registration will be available online in mid-February 2011.

The specially negotiated conference rate at the San Ramon Marriott is $89 per night. For hotel reservations and details view www.marriott.com/sanramon.

To be added to our notification list and for further inquiries email trails@parks.ca.gov or call 877.776.3619. And keep in touch on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=1375461665&k=5XBT6XQ53VYM5FABXFZUY3 and Twitter at http://twitter.com/CAtrails !

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send us their email address and we’ll add them to the notification list.

With 71,000 acres of coastal hills, dense forests, pristine beaches, and 140 miles of hiking trails, Pt. Reyes National Seashore is a walkabout paradise. It is only an hour and a half north of San Francisco by car or bus. This walkabout explores the central portion of the park. You’ll stay at lovely inns in Olema and Pt. Reyes Station and a hostel set deep in the park where you can commune with deer, bobcat, and other residents of this enchanted wilderness.

This is an easy 24.8 mile walkabout over three hiking days. Stay an extra day or two and explore the esteros and miles of beautiful beaches. Enjoy hiking from inn-to-inn on the wild coast of California.

$6.99

Visit the Walkabout store to purchase this guide, Walkabout Northern California - the book, or other inn to inn hiking vacation guides.

“Find joy in the sky, in the trees, in the flowers,
There are flowers everywhere, For those who want to see them.”

- Henri Matisse

Along the Pacific Rim’s Ring of Fire, the Cascade Mountains reach as far north as Mt. Garibaldi in British Columbia. This range of massive volcanoes stretches south through Washington, Oregon and Northern California. At its southern tip lies Lassen Peak, resting from its most recent eruption in 1917. Surrounding the mountain is Lassen Volcanic National Park, a wild and exotic Northern California treasure.

There are two walkabouts through this enchanted land. The first, a two day 22.2 mile hike, requires two cars. It explores the park from its northeast to southwest corners. Starting in a land of lava beds and painted cinder dunes, you hike south to a lush hot springs valley. The trail on the second hiking day explores mountain lakes and streams, deep glaciated canyons, and otherworldly hydrothermal landscapes.

The second walkabout is a 19.4 mile loop that starts high at Summit Lake and requires only
one car. It explores the central park, a mountainous land of forests, lakes, and streams. Each trek offers a spectacular waterfall, swims in mountain lakes, and windows into the earth’s fiery interior.
Both walkabouts stop over at Drakesbad Guest Ranch, selected by Frommer’s editorial staff as one
of its worldwide “Top Destinations for 2009” and the only lodging in or near the park. Stay a few days
and enjoy soaking in the hot springs. Explore the verdant Warner Valley and surrounding landscape of
boiling lakes and steaming fumaroles. Relax with fine dining and perhaps a therapeutic massage.

$6.99

Visit the Walkabout store to learn more about this and other guides to hiking from inn-to-inn through the wilds of California.

“Like gigantic geysers spouting molten rock instead of water, volcanoes work and rest, and we have no sure means of knowing whether they are dead when still, or only sleeping.”
- John Muir

Hike the coastal bluffs and forests of America’s western edge, some of the most beautiful country in California.  This moderate 41-mile, 4-day Walkabout starts in Marin Headlands, just 10 minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge, and hikes to Point Reyes National Seashore.

The first two days are an easy stroll, perfect for a weekend adventure.  Day 1 (7miles) traverses coastal hills and cliffs above the Pacific to Muir Beach. Settle in at the Pelican Inn. Modeled after a 16^th century English country public house, you can enjoy its convivial pub and restaurant, while transported to a bygone era.  Or savor a stay at the serene Green Gulch Zen Farm and ascend to a higher plane while dining on delicious vegetarian fare.

Climb the flank of Mt. Tam on Day 2 (6.8miles).  Then descend through a redwood forest to Stinson Beach.  Explore the many delights of this charming seaside village – restaurants, bars, shops, and miles of State Beach.

Walk to fun and friendly Bolinas on Day 3 (13.5 miles) by hiking up Willow Camp Trail.  Below you, views unfold of the small boats of the fishing fleet; freighters sailing in and out of the Gate; and on a clear day, the Farallon Islands jutting out of the Pacific, 27 miles off shore.

The final leg of the journey (14 miles) travels through 4 miles of ranchland before entering Point Reyes National Seashore.  Hike the spine of the coastal range through spruce, bay, and fir forest before descending into Olema Valley.  Savor your final miles hiking Rift Zone Trail into Olema, where a handful of B&Bs await you.  You have hiked through some of the most spectacular wilderness in California while enjoying enchanting coastal hamlets, elegant inns, and wonderful dining - hiking inn-to-inn on the Marin Coast.

The Marin Coast Walkabout is one of a dozen inn-to-inn hikes found in “Walkabout Northern California: Hiking Inn to Inn.”  It can also be purchased as an individual guide.

$6.99

“Why not walk in the direction of life, enjoying peace in each moment with every step? There is no need to struggle. Enjoy each step. We have already arrived.”

-Thich Nhat Hanh

This is a challenging 41.6 mile hike that crosses the Sierra Nevada from east to west. It passes through some of the most breathtaking parts of these majestic mountains, traveling along the trail of the pony express and in the footsteps of adventurers who once sought fortune in the gold rush of the mid-1800s.

There are three days of hiking, each ending at a beautiful mountain resort. Take an extra rest day or two, and enjoy the good food, peaceful settings and a relaxing sauna. The hike crosses Carson Pass and West Pass. The longest day is nineteen miles. The trek is perhaps made easier knowing that earlier travelers on this route were hauling all their worldly possessions over the passes by wagon. Walk back into history and across the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

$6.99

“You can’t see anything from a car, you have got to get out of the god-damned contraption and walk…”
-Edward Abbey