One of the advantages of seeing the world by foot is experiencing the changes in scenery as you hike. After crossing the Great St. Bernard Pass from Switzerland to Italy, we trekked through another great scenery change from the high mountains of the Alps to the flatlands of the fertile Po Valley.
In 2018, we completed four treks in Europe, with our final hike taking us across the country of Switzerland. Almost exactly six years later, we returned to Montreux to begin another journey: a 700-mile trek on the Via Francigena to St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, adjacent to Rome, Italy.
Whenever we prepare to travel, we research the cultural and natural significance of the locations that we plan to visit, in order to better appreciate the things we will see. However, we have also learned to open our eyes to new discoveries that may unfold around us. This is especially true when we are trekking at a slower pace.
Between 1387 and 1400 Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales. The Pilgrims’ Way route traces the path that pilgrims, such as Chaucer’s fictional characters, historically took toward the Canterbury Cathedral to view the shrine of St. Thomas Becket. We crafted a 100-mile route from London, including a spur to the historic town of Rochester.
During the past few years our travels have evolved into alternating between wilderness backpacking treks and long distance hikes between villages and towns. While they may seem like totally different trips, they require similar planning and preparation.
We are always on the lookout for unique and lesser-known European trekking adventures. This year we plan to trek the historic Via Francigena route in England, Switzerland, and Italy, totaling 800 miles. The trail roughly corresponds to the route of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sigeric the Serious, who walked to St. Peter’s Basilica around 990 AD and kept a journal of his travels.
Since 2019 we have been working our way south on the 800-mile Arizona Trail, completing additional section hikes in 2020, 2021, and 2023. This year we decided to tackle a gap in our completed sections, starting in the Four Peaks Wilderness.
Now that we have completed the entire 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), we decided to summarize our trekking journey by creating two different videos.
Upon reaching the Canadian border, we had completed 98.4% of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, with only 42.7 miles to go. However, we still felt a nagging urge to walk every mile. It was what we had intended when we first began our thru hiking attempt in 2016.
In July and August 2023 we undertook a trek on our last major portion of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT): a 197-mile section in Northern Washington. Our trekking took us through several wilderness areas and North Cascades National Park. When we reached the Canadian Border, it was the culmination of over 2,600 miles of hiking that began in April 2016.
Prior to beginning our Northern Washington trek, we had spent 164 days hiking on the PCT. We made many memories as we trekked 2,419 miles in the desert, over mountain passes, through beautiful forests, and across numerous streams. As we continued to hike toward the Canadian border, we couldn’t help but reminisce about all our adventures on the trail.
When we began hiking the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail in 2016, our goal was to make it all the way to Canada. This year, with just 231 miles left to complete, we planned a trek to finally reach the Canadian border. Even though our focus was on our final destination, it would be the day-to-day journey that would make or break our trek.
