Time flies when you're getting rained on. As we finished the first stage of our journey - the farm-road section - the sunny breezy spring weather gave over to exceptionally heavy rain. Pilgrim life...we walk in the rain. We listen to reason when it comes to lightning blasting in an adjacent field. Farmers have been taking care of us. We discovered in this fieldtest of ours that a key bridge is designed to let a river pass over it in heavy rain and the detour involves a long stretch on a narrow highway. Listen to the locals. Wet weather adds 2 miles to our route.
After getting into Clinton on 81 miles of gravel farm roads, we stepped onto the Katy Trail, a perfectly surfaced bicycling and walking path, high and dry and rather direct. It is a superb way to go, surprisingly easier on mind and foot, since no thinking is necessary beyond direction...keep heading east.
So quickly, it seems to me (but maybe not my companions who enjoy many more hours walking every day than I) we've just finished the second stage adding 77 miles to the first. This stage along the Katy Trail wends through the countryside and its old farmsteads and small towns, in some cases ghost towns. The trail heads have very nice information panels and annotated old photos revealing the historical points cherished by the residents. Park benches add convenience for foot pilgrims.
There has been no hardship in finding accommodation within our design bracket of every 10 to 15 miles, averaging 13 miles - a half marathon - with a maximum of 16. Seven nights we were hosted by the local Catholic church, although four of those nights we were accommodated in the homes of parishioners; five nights we were hosted by local Protestant churches; one night we slept in the local community hall, but only because it was easier for a local resident to confirm with other residents than with the church elders of the Protestant church.
We've now reached the Missouri River, the end of our second stage and a few miles short of the halfway point. From here to the destination, the Katy Trail travels right along the riverbank. Our patron St Rose Philippine took the steamboat on the river back in the day. We'll walk downstream on the trail.
We've walked in high spirits 158 miles in 12 days and have 176 miles to go in the next 13 days.
The Route Day by Day
Next Pilgrimage - Estimated Start Date 01 November 2016
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- Current Home Page
- 2007-2008 Via Francigena
- 2008-2009 Aachen to Santiago de Compostela
- 2009-2010 Route of St Andrew
- 2010-2011 Royal Road to Mexico
- 2011-2012 Route to Jerusalem
- 2012-2013 Buenos Aires to Mexico City
- 2014 Day by Day Saint Louis to Chimayo
- 2014-2015 The Amber Road
- 2015-2016 North American Martyrs
La Fe Catolica Viva
A wee bit about me...
- Winter Pilgrim
- I love to simply travel, I love to travel simply. I lived in Europe for the last 8 years and learned enough German and French to be adequately conversant. I picked up a bit of Italian while walking to Rome. Languages certainly help make travel simpler.
I became a pilgrim in October 2007
My name is Ann Sieben. I'm American by birth and global in existance. I was in
In December 2007, I began a longer pilgrimage from
After that, I found that there were still many miles in my legs. I chose a route with Aix la Chapelle (aka
The life of a winter pilgrim suits me just fine. As winter approached, I prepared to walk the next ancient path discovering the world at a comfortable pace, meeting people, experiencing an interesting world in a slightly non-traditional way. Another winter, another walk; I walked from Kyiv, Ukraine to Patras, Greece along the general route of St Andrew in the first century.
A silent pilgrim does the world no good, so I've given talks and spoken to many diverse groups about these pilgrimages. A recurring, slightly cynical, comment was often made - 'sure something like this might be able to be done in Europe, but not in the US...it's not in our culture, no one would open their door to a pilgrim.;
It saddened me to hear this, and I disagreed. To demonstrate that North Americans are just as kind as Europeans, I set out last autumn from my home in Denver, Colorado to Mexico City on yet another historical path. The early Spanish settlers established a Royal Road from Mexico City as far north as Taos, New Mexico, a little over 100 miles south of Denver. What a success!! Americans are just as friendly as Europeans. So are Mexicans.
Just when I thought my pilgrim life was a thing of the past, the Arab Spring allowed inspiration to enter my heart with the possibility to walk across the history of North Africa. While full of trials and tribulations - barred from entering Algeria, prematurely expelled from Libya, and hurried across the Sinai - the fact that the world is really full of good people was underscored with more great success.
o City, this time through South and Central America. Follow along...Shortly after arrival at the pilgrim destination, I was inspired again by the Empress of the Americas and am compelled to make a long journey again to the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexic
Be a pilgrim =)
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