To Provide Opportunities beyond hiking, to Participate in the Conservation of the Niagara Escarpment

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Earl Cross
5 years ago
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upcoming opportunities to: help improve habitat for endangered species/species at risk, help reduce

1 New Opportunities for Conservation The Toronto BTC has a new Conservation Committee with a mandate To Provide Opportunities beyond hiking, to Participate in the Conservation of the Niagara Escarpment Watch for upcoming opportunities to: help improve habitat for endangered species/species at risk, help reduce invasive species, and learn more about conservation. Watch for announcements in TBTC s Footnotes, E-notes and Facebook.

2 From the Bruce to the Camino By Magdalena Vander Kooy As a recent Bruce Trail end-to-ender (July 2014), the question What next? is one that kept coming up, not just from friends and family but also in my own head. Reaching the end of the Bruce Trail journey was a wonderful accomplishment, but along with the celebration there was that twinge of loss. I just wanted to keep walking. Which is how I hit on the idea of walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. You ll recognize similarities to the Bruce Trail it s a marked walking trail as well, and similar in length (780 km in the case of the Camino). It s even been recognized by UNESCO. In other ways, though, the Camino was a very different experience, beginning with the fact that it s in Spain and is steeped in medieval cultural history as opposed to being a conservation corridor. The Camino originated as a pilgrimage route to Santiago, where the bones of the Apostle St. James were discovered around the year 813. By the 12 th century Santiago was the destination for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year, and all that traffic gave rise to towns, churches, hospitals and monasteries to support the many pilgrims. Today there are more than 1800 buildings of historic interest along the route. As a pilgrim (a term we Camino walkers use to refer to ourselves, whether or not our purpo se is religious or spiritual) I felt myself transported into the 12 th century, walking the same path as the millions of pilgrims before me. I shared that path with cows and donkeys and roosters, and I travelled cobbled streets in ancient towns and crossed bridges that were built more than 900 years ago. At times I stayed in monasteries that had been supporting pilgrims for centuries. What makes the Camino an especially great place to walk is its history gave rise to a wonderful infrastructure in the form of inexpensive places to eat and sleep at convenient intervals along the way. I didn t need to take heavy camping gear or carry large amounts of food, only a sleeping bag and water and some bread and cheese and fruit for lunch and snacks for the day in addition to basic clothing and toiletries. It was also a safe place for someone like me, a woman in her 60 s walking solo, in that I was traveling in the company of many other pilgrims from around the world, people who became my special Camino family. Spring Meeting of the Toronto Camino Pilgrims If you or someone you know is interested in walking the Camino, there is a great opportunity coming up to meet past and future Camino pilgrims at an information day on March 7, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Beach United Church in Toronto. The Toronto Bruce Trail Club will be present, with a table of our own.

3 The event is hosted by the local chapter of the Canadian Company of Pilgrims. Everyone is welcome. Click here for details.

4 End to End Event Coordinator (Volunteer to work with coordinator in 2015 and assume responsibility in 2016) Each year, the Toronto Bruce Trail Club runs an End to End Event. Every year, there is a two-day event in which hikers cover the 49.5 km Toronto section over two days. In addition, on alternate years, there is a one-day event. For both events, checkpoints are set up along the trail and buses are provided for transportation from the parking areas to the starting points each day. Co-ordinator responsibilities: Select and get approval for dates and publicize. Recruit and instruct volunteers Arrange for parking locations Order buses and outdoor toilet Keep inventory of supplies, including stock of badges Manage check-ins and bus transportation Distribute supplies to checkpoints and monitor progress of hikers Prepare summary for hiking director Required: Volunteer to work with coordinator in 2015 and assume responsibility in 2016

5 E-Notes Subscribers are most welcome to forward E-Notes to a friend. To Subscribe/Unsubscribe to E-Notes Click Here Toronto Bruce Trail Club E-Notes Editor, Publisher: Brent Michaluk brent.enotes@gmail.com

The Way Is Made By Walking: A Pilgrimage Along The Camino De Santiago By Arthur Paul Boers, Eugene H. Peterson

The Way Is Made By Walking: A Pilgrimage Along The Camino De Santiago By Arthur Paul Boers, Eugene H. Peterson Camino de Santiago is a 500 mile pilgrimage across Spain. I made my way to the pilgrims office