Walking Across Italy

Yesterday, at 3:30 in the afternoon, we crossed into the city limits of Assisi. This marked the conclusion of our 160 mile hike.

The day began with an early morning breakfast at a cafe in Foligno. From there, we quickly walked the 6km (4 miles) to the town of Spello in about 90 minutes. It was a beautiful, cool morning. And the walk to Spello was pretty flat. The day look like it was going to be relatively easy… at that point. There was only supposed to be one big climb at about the 14th km. On the map below you will see a little hook at Mile 6. Instead of going left, we went right and took an alternate route that added a couple of extra miles and about 1,200 feet of steep uphill climb! Ugh.

Since there was no place to stop for lunch on this last leg of our journey, we bought some paninis from a local shop in Spello. We even took the time to visit a little church which had some famous paintings by Pietro Perugino. (My friend, Becky Bilbo, would be proud of me.) Unfortunately, the church was filled with German tourist, who blocked the view of many of the frescos.

As we neared exhaustion during our misguided climb, Juan Pablo declared that it was lunchtime. We unpacked our paninis, olives, chips, and drinks. Put down our backpacks. And sat in a shaded spot overlooking the fields below. After lunch, Stephen tried to take a quick nap, but JP “the mountain goat” pushed us onward and upward.

For the next hour and a half, we were kind of “lost in the woods”. Our route was listed as “extremely difficult”, with a lot more climbing. We finally stumbled upon a dirt road which “looked” like it would get us back on track, but it might end in just a circle around the hilltop. Fortunately, we did emerge from the woods, but Assisi was still 2-3 hours away.

Since we had drifted off the San Francesco trail, we relied on Google to get us to Assisi. When we saw the Assisi city limits sign, I started to get an emotional burst of energy. I couldn’t believe that we were actually here! I had been so focused on each daily destination that I forgot about the final goal. Now, on the outskirts of Assisi, I could let myself feel the pride of accomplishing this challenge. I sent a quick text to my family, who have been sending me notes of encouragement everyday.

We continued our hike to the center of town along a main road until we finally intersected with the Via San Francesco path. This led us to the center of town where we too one victory picture to capture the winning feeling.

Later that evening over a celebratory drink, we discussed the trip and all the adventures we had along the way. We came. We saw. We conquered. (And we ate well)

I am really grateful for Stephen Squire and Juan Pablo Cavelier. Their patience and guidance in the preparation and daily activities helped me to accomplish this goal. Stephen was a great leader, navigator, St. Frances expert, and traffic control officer. Juan Pablo was a fantastic translator, negotiator, and restaurant selector. I couldn’t have done this without them.