Walking Across Italy

This is becoming very real now. About 6 weeks ago, I was visiting a good friend in Paris (Stephen Squire) and he told me that he was going to walk from Rome to Assisi along the Way of Saint Francis. I love Italy. I am retired. And I can walk, so I asked if I could join him. With his agreement and his itinerary in hand, I set off to prepare for this adventure. First, I needed shoes… rather, hiking shoes. Waterproof and high top for better ankle support. I found these Oboz at the local sportsman store. (I’ve never walked in there before.)

Next, I needed a backpack. Not just any pack. This was going to hold all my worldly possessions for 15 days. And it had to be light enough to carry everyday. I went to REI and got fitted for the Osprey Stratos 34 (34 Liter with rain cover). I also bought a 1.5 Liter water bladder. I was thinking that I want to keep things light. Only time will tell if this isn’t enough water.

To my surprise, the Osprey pack has a lot of room and hopefully it will fit all of my clothes and supplies.

For the last 4 weeks, I’ve been hiking around the undulating terrain at my local golf course. I started at 3 miles a day, then moved to 5, and yesterday reached 10. This caused me to seek out the next supply – blister patches. My feet are a mess! I’ve found these Compeed patches to be the best, so I’m stocking up.

And finally, I’ll need some open air shoes to help my feet recover after daily walks. I found these Oofos sandals at the local running store. They are lightweight, soft, durable, and have a lot of arch support. I love these shoes! They are like walking on a bouncy floor.

Today I started packing to see if everything would fit. Here’s what it looks like.

Here’s what it looked like after the packing. 18.8 lbs or 8.5 kilos. I guess I’m ready. Sono presto!