Somewhere Slowly

Due to Life and related things, my 2014 St. Olav’s Way walk had to be postponed while we both tried to figure out whether to walk it all in one go, whether to camp to save money – which would take longer due to heavier packs – or to pack ultralightly and move faster, further and rely on accommodation facilities to provide beds, bedding, heat and food. Either way it would be expensive and take time. Our least favourite option, though also the most doable, was to split the walk in two or even three and do two weeks each time, say in spring and autumn in one year and then spring again the next year. That should keep the Way fresh in our minds between walks – but then again the weather in the shoulder seasons would probably not be great …

Then other Life things happened before the walk happened and it became a thing we didn’t talk about because we got nowhere. Until another friend of mine got cancer. Yes, cancer. Time thief, daily life wrecker and future plan upheaver. Stealer of energy and fitness. She had always said she wanted to meet me/us on the mountain and walk a few days if she could, or maybe even hire a horse and ride it! And then … cancer. Spanner in the works, reminder that all the things we take for granted, like long term plans, can be thrown into chaos in an instant. Take away the chance to experience this:

So I set a date! Far enough into the future for her and others I would like to walk with (or walk with again) to gain strength, save money and set aside holidays to walk a portion of the Way with me. An afternoon, a weekend, a week or two, the more the merrier. The St Olav’s Way is not like the Camino Francés, you can’t just jump into it with a few layers and a credit card, but I hope that it will work out. I will walk it, all of it, and hopefully my friend will be healthy and strong and all of the others too. We have a date!