Pilgrims” progress: a diary
Published 6:42 pm Monday, November 24, 2008
By Louie DeArias’ email=’Louie.DeArias@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/mi-reporter
Editor’s note: Mercer Island resident Louie DeArias and buddies are on a 500-mile trek from France to Spain to benefit the American Heart Association. The group will follow the route that led pilgrims in earlier times to Santiago, Spain, where the body of the apostle St. James is said to be buried. This is the beginning dispatch about the trip that the Mercer Island Reporter will run. The diary is edited for clarity. The day for which we’ve been planning for approximately two years is almost here.
On Sunday we leave for Paris to start our Santiago pilgrimage in southern France. And then, on to Spain. Although I certainly will miss my wife, Karen, the kids, grandson, Austin, other family and friends, the time away will be outweighed by the overall experience. It will make me realize, value and appreciate what we have back home. This last week Alan Hergert, Karen (who will be doing a two- week hiking tour in Europe in early September )and I did our last full backpack hikes. On Wednesday we did 12 miles around Mercer Island and Bellevue. On Thursday we hiked the Melakwa to Pratt Lake loop near Snoqualmie Pass — about 15 miles and well over 3,500 vertical feet. Our training during the last year appears to have paid off and we are ready to go. The wild card now will be the weather we may encounter. It could range from temperatures in the high 90s to cold rain in the mountains. Our American Heart Association fund-raiser has exceeded all our expectations. As of today we have raised more than $58,000, and we certainly will go over $60,000 –and hopefully reach $65,000. The support from friends, family and colleagues has been incredible and much appreciated . Well that’s it for now. We need to spend the next few days on final preparation. We hope to have our next update from St. Jean Pied de Port, the starting town for our 500 -mile journey.
