Through the trees

Last week I extended my hill climb on Kingley Vale to go down the other side towards Stoughton Village. I took the usual moderate climb to Devil’s Humps, then followed the path in a westerly direction along a muddy track. Halfway down, the road got so muddy that I had to get off the path and walk among the trees.

It’s a funny feeling when you’re suddenly in an area where there is no path. I’m so used to following the path, that veering off it feels like I’m breaking some universal law.

Now, less than 3 weeks from the start of the Camino I am also in that no man’s land, off the beaten track, and I can’t see the wood for the trees. How’s that for mixing metaphors! Ok, let’s throw in another one: There’s a voice in my head yelling “what on earth do you think you’re doing? You’re mad as a box of frogs!”

If you know me you probably won’t be surprised that my packing list has every item listed with its weight in grams, that I’ve spent hours reading as much as I can about the forthcoming journey and I’m on the Camino Forum every day to be up to date with the latest conditions along the route.

But you get to a point where you have to stop scurrying around and relax. Look up and see that the trees are thinning out, that the sunlight is coming through, and that there are green fields on the other side. The Camino path is no longer a distant dream, it is just on the other side of those trees. And everything is going to be just fine.