Day 14: Grosmont to Robin Hood's Bay

Day 14: Grosmont to Robin Hood's Bay
Starting Time: 9:20 AM
Finish Time: 5:10 PM
Total Mileage: 15.5 miles
Bed & Breakfast: Lisvane

Last Day!  After two weeks on the road the excitement has really started to build that the end of our journey is nearly complete.  There is something very different in a hike that takes multiple days and weeks rather than an afternoon.  A feeling of victory, accomplishment, overcoming...etc.  But wait, I am getting ahead of myself...as they say, "we ain't done yet!"

Little Beck Woods

Woke up in Lisvane bed and breakfast which was another gorgeous home.  I must admit the owner at first did not win me over.  Not that she was rude mind you, just matter of fact in a way that made us feel a little unwelcome when we arrived.  Then I found out that I had to pay 2 pounds for the wi-fi password which made me slightly annoyed as we hadn't had to pay at any other place the last two weeks.

We found Shelob's Lair...Run!

As with many situations in life though, there is always another side to the story.

In the morning at breakfast our landlady's demeanor had changed and she was very gracious and talkative (maybe something else on her mind last night?).  She explained that she charges for the wi-fi (without my inquiring why) as a donation to the volunteer mountain rescue teams that help stranded hikers.  (Any irritation I had with paying 2 pounds instantly disappeared).  She mentioned that since the BBC documentary on the Coast to Coast with Julia Bradbury had come out in 2009 there had been a spike in the number of hikers needing the services of rescue teams as people watching Julia jogging along the trail were under the impression it was easy...and its NOT!  (Rumor has it that Julia didn't even do the walk).

The Hermitage

Anyhow we bid farewell but I do have to mention that you know you are in a small town when the barmaid who brought our dinner to us in the pub the night before is the same girl who came in the morning to deliver Gabriel and I our full English breakfast. 

Last lunch before finishing

The hike out of Grosmont is a somewhat steep climb and Gabriel's blister was bothering him so we moved slowly.  We had now become accustomed to his foot needing a while to work itself in.  As luck would have it though we took the wrong road out of the town (looked pretty confusing on the map I must say).  Realizing we were heading in the wrong direction and yet trying to avoid backtracking down to the starting point again I looked around for a local I could ask directions from.

Finally...a sign!

I don't think I have mentioned how much I have enjoyed doing this walk in an English speaking country.  The ability to ask a local person directions without crude attempts at a foreign language, speaking in baby talk English, or resorting to charades and hand signals was a welcome advantage.  Finally an older man tending his garden saw me with my map in my hand and said, "you look like a lost Coast to Coaster".  He went on to tell me that the intersection near us would put us back on track with minimum backtracking...a welcome relief.

We left Grosmont behind us and entered Little Beck wood which allowed for about an hour's walk through possibly the nicest, and most enchanting, woods on the route.  It really felt "Middle-Earthy" and we enjoyed the time there save the mud in areas.  At Falling Floss Falls there was a nice little cafe near the waterfall where Gabriel and I had a quick sit down lunch so as not to "rush through" our last day.  We bought some preserves to take home to Tammy and shared a big slice of carrot cake together...when I say share I mean about 3/4 for me and 1/4 for Gabriel :)

Afterwards we hiked off into the woods and ended up on the wrong side of the river.  Gabriel did and "Indiana Jones" by climbing across on a fallen tree while I continued down another 1/8 of a mile until I found a number of rocks that would allow me to get over.  (Only got one boot wet).

Along the coast!

We emerged from the woods for one last march across the moors (I really thought we were done).  Anybody who thinks this last day is just and easy end to the C2C has another thought coming.  The moor areas were darn near close to swamp and as we got closer to the sea in the distance the ability to stay dry became impossible.  We finally gave up and for about 2 miles we alternated between dry grass trail and being up to our calve in water.  Oh, well!

At one point we missed a marker in the midst of a marshy area and we even knew we could get lost as the map said, "Careful, its easy to get lost in here".  There have been a number of times where a compass came in handy on this trip to get our bearings...and this was one of them.  We managed to get on some kind of path but realized it was heading us the wrong way again.  I didn't even need a compass here as I could see the North Sea and knew we were heading towards Whitby and away from Robin Hood's Bay.

Robin Hood's Bay

I started getting really frustrated but it was Gabriel who kept the peace wanting to know why I was getting so mad when we should just enjoy the situation.  I told him I didn't mind getting wet and muddy walking in the right direction...but in the wrong direction?  Fortunately, as what often happened when we got lost...it wasn't as bad as we first thought (a good life lesson here).  The negligible path we were on finally merged with a cement path that had a Robin Hood's Bay directional sign on it.  About 10 minutes later we were back where we were supposed to be and FINALLY reaching the sea!

Old Wainwright though, he doesn't let you finish here, oh no!  Like the beginning along the Irish Sea 2 weeks and 200 miles back, he wants you to see the coast for a while before dipping your boot into the water for a finish.  And the wait  is well worth it.  Beautiful cliffs, ocean breezes, and gawking seagulls are part of your last hour or so on the Coast to Coast. Our necks kept straining around every bend to see if we could finally see Robin Hood's Bay...until around one particular bend...there it was.  Just a quaint little fishing village...but it was our destination.

Finishing with new friends!

We entered into the top of the town and walked past our bed & breakfast for the night.  We decided to pop in and let our host know we had arrived before heading down to the bay for our ceremonial finish.  Jane, the owner of The Villa, kindly offered to walk down with us to film the big moment.

Celebrating

Like many others before us, we were getting ready to end our big adventure.  As you walk past tourists and locals alike you want to almost scream out, "You know what we've done?  We've just walked 2 weeks and across a country to be here today!!"  Gabriel and I reached the water whose tide, which unlike St. Bees 2 weeks earlier, was in.  We we let the water wash up on our boots, Gabriel threw his rock (I kept mine and turns out he had 2 and kept one as well) and we hugged.

Mission accomplished!  A dream 16 years in the making was realized.

The boys enjoying the finish!

Our fellow walkers from Germany were also on hand having finished about 30 minutes before us.  We agreed to meet back at Wainwrights bar for a celebration dinner and a toast to having accomplished the Coast to Coast walk!

Day 11: Ingleby Cross to Clay Bank Top

Day 11: Ingleby Cross to Clay Bank Top
Starting Time: 9:40 AM
Finish Time: 3:45 PM
Total Milage: 12 Miles
Bed & Breakfast: Park House

When we rolled into Park House last night we could hardly walk.  Everything hurt.  I long distance walking friend of mine had told me before this trip that when he keeps a daily walk over long distances at 18 - 20 miles, blisters and body do well.  It's after that 20 mile number that the body starts to really feel it.

I can say that is pretty true.  I was in good shape up to about 20 miles...then I started to get tired.  Going upstairs to my room at the Park House I had to grab on to the rail as I was SO sore.  Also, I had misread the guide that had said the Park House provided food.  Gabriel had wanted to eat in Ingleby Cross but as it was already after 8:00 PM I assumed that Beverly, our landlady, would be wondering where we were.  Sure enough, she had hopped on her 4 wheeler and had come looking for us just as we approached.  Apparently, they provide a dinner with 24 hours notice but seeing our condition she took pity on us and in no time we had homemade bread sandwiches and steaming bowls of soup in front of us.

The next day we prepared for our much shorter journey of 12 miles to Clay Bank Top.  After a pleasant journey (all uphill mind you) through a beautiful stretch of woods, you suddenly break out into the open fields and begin the first day of traveling across the moors of England.

Although it was a shorter day there was a lot of elevation change...which essentially meant you went up atop one moor, walked across, and came down the other side only to then repeat the process again.  There were some beautiful views up there though despite the wind.

At one point Gabriel was a distance ahead of me coming down a steep section...as he tended to do on steep sections.  I slipped on a wet rock and slammed shin first into and exposed rock cropping.  In 14 days of walking of the entire trip THIS was the most painful moment.  I yelled out across the moors and then yelled for Gabriel.  My son is something alright.  Being 14 he likes to be a little smart alecky with me but whenever I stumbled or twisted my foot etc. he was quick to be a genuinely concerned son with a "Papa, are you alright"

Now, when I really needed him, he seemed to ignore my calls and continue to prance down the hillside.

I had to sit down for a couple minutes and then walk in circles a bit to "walk it off".  Finally, the pained subsided and I continued down to where Gabriel was meeting me by a stile.  I gave him a bit of an earful and he apologized not realizing I was really hurt.  (I'm writing this entry 10 days after the incident and that shin is still bruised and sore)

We met up with our new Aussie friends who I forgot to mention had spent the evening at Park House the night before with us.  The nephew, Rob, was making a tuna fajita in the field for lunch.  We chatted a bit and then made our way.  We would connect with them the following evening when we reached The Lion Inn.

"Australian - Mexican food"??

When we reached Clay Bank Top there is actually nothing there except a parking lot.  The Buck Inn where we were staying was almost 3 miles away and we were expected to call them when we arrived and they would come fetch us and then deliver us back to the same point in the morning to continue.  Gabriel and I were a little disappointed as we had gone 11 days now using no other transportation other than our own feet.  We were kind of hoping we'd go the whole time without riding in a car but the choice was an extra 3 miles there and back...so we opted for the car.

Gabriel as Abraham Lincoln

Thankfully as we didn't have a phone some fellow walkers lent us their cell and about 10 minutes later we were picked up by the proprietor of The Buck Inn, Wolfgang.  Wolfgang had a strong German accent but said he was from Australia.  Almost automatically he explained he had been born in Germany but lived in Oz for 28 years becoming and Australian citizen.  I appreciated that as through the whole trip people asked where we were from, or the more perceptive asked, "So what part of the States are you from?"  Of course when we said we were from Hong Kong we got that quizzical look  So we started introducing ourselves as "Americans from Hong Kong"...and then the explanation.

After we checked into our room I came down to the bar area and one man was sitting there (it was still early) sipping a pint of ale and tapping on his laptop.  He said hello to me with an air of familiarity.  As I struggled to place him, he said, "I'm John.  You ran into my wife and I a few days ago when we got those sheep through the stile near the motorway."

We missed the trail here

Ah, The Shepherds.  I hadn't recognized him without his hat.  We chatted for a bit and I learned he was a business professional who had never dealt with sheep in his life...he just did what needed to be done.  Good guy...as were just about everyone on this walk tended to be.

Gabriel and I had dinner a little later and then got to sleep early excited that tomorrow's walk to Blakey Ridge would be the shortest walk of the whole trip, which after the last two day's walk we were sure looking forward to.

Day 10: Richmond to Ingleby Cross

Day 10: Richmond to Ingleby Cross
Starting Time: 8:00 AM
Finish Time: 8:30 PM
Total Milage: 24 miles+
Bed & Breakfast The West End Bed & Breakfast

It's days like today you both dread...and thank God for. I knew being this would be our longest mileage stage that we would need to get and early start. We had an 7:30 AM breakfast at the West End. Ian ( we've been meeting a lot of Ian's on this trip) sorted us out in style with a helping of salmon and scrambled egg on toast that rivaled anything else we have had on the trip taste wise. There was even Chinese from Macau staying at the B & B that night who we chatted with for a moment before we departed.

I was so happy to set off a 8 AM but then things took a turn for the worse. We got lost taking the "short cut" through Richmond that Ian had suggested. I'm sure it was easy...just not for us. 20 minutes later we were right back at the entrance to The West End which, of course, put me in a great mood. As we started out again Gabriel started, "ouching" and limping, pulling over to a bench on the side. Removing his boot revealed a nasty blister developing above his ankle. Pulling out our medic bag we affixed a blister bandage and then a little gauze and tape above that. Putting his boot back on he continued to wince in pain as he tried to shimmey down the street. He pulled over onto another bench to sit down while I looked at my watch.

Gabriel replaces some tape on his foot

 8:40 AM.

40 minutes out we had accomplished about 200 meters. Not a good start when you have 24 miles to go through grain fields and cow pastures.

For the first time I was wondering if Gabriel was going to be able to do the whole walk. Our luggage still hadn't been picked up at the bed & breakfast and Packhorse allows walkers to ride with them to the next destination if they feel they need a break or are hurting to much. I thought for a moment that Gabriel could ride with Packhorse and I could walk the stage meeting him in the evening and giving him a good day's rest.

But my goal, dream really, was that Gabriel and I would dip our boots together in The North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay having done the WHOLE Coast to Coast walk. The voice of our new friend Tim was ringing in my ears from a few days before, "If you skip a little you'll always know you hadn't really done it.". I think the same voice was ringing in Gabriel's mind as well because as tempting as the thought was he said, "I'll just go barefoot on that foot." "No way," I said, " you can't go 24 miles barefoot" "Let me try" he answered," I can wrap my foot in the adhesive tape in the med kit." He wrapped his foot and we made our way through Richmond.

( Gabriel later confessed to me that he thought I wouldn't really allow him to ride the bus...which wasn't true but either way...it worked out for the best) 

Our travel maps are hand drawn in the "Stedman" guide and allows the walk to be done in map "sections". Most days we needed to get through 6 - 8 maps...today we had to get through 11. With Gabriel moving faster now we completed the first map about an hour later. "How are you doing? I asked. "Good, I can do this." he responded I shook his hand and said "congrats, we made it through map 1...only 10 more to go."

We were fortunate that the elevation changes were negligible on this stage. Mostly flat pastures and grain fields...and lots of mud. A couple times we stopped to re wrap the tape and admire Gabriel's mud caked bare foot. I must admit I didn't know if he could do it. I mean to walk a mile or two...or even 5....but 24 MILES! I started though to get that Band of Brothers "leave no man behind" thing going. When I was unsure of direction I would run off first and scout the correct way so that he didn't have extra walking to do. It became my mission to get him to the Park House Bed & Breakfast even if we didn't make it until midnight.

Lots of fields today!

Surprisingly, Gabriel got fairly quick on a barefoot so after a slow start we began to get into a rhythm. I've gotten pretty good at estimating time on the road and figured unless we had a breakdown, we could arrive before 10:00 PM when it got dark. ( Thank God for summer sunlight hours) About 4:00 PM we came into Danby Wiske where the White Swan pub was. We were both getting tired so I said we could grab a very quick drink but then needed to get walking again. I went inside while Gabriel tended to his bandages. When I came out Gabriel said he wanted to try putting his boot on. I was excited as I had been nervous that at some point he would hurt his barefoot making the situation even worse. As he drank his coke, we began to clean his foot off with wet wipes and give him some fresh padding for the blister.

Beverly helps Gabriel's blister

Boot came on...we walked...I waited for the wince of pain! It didn't come... Gabriel was limping but using his walking stick to support himself better. We journeyed down the road... It was at the pub that we met two German Coast to Coasters doing a father - son adventure as well. We chatted for a few minutes but as we were moving slower with Gabriel's foot, they said goodbye and moved ahead. Then the father double backed and offered some painkillers and ibuprofen that might help Gabriel. That's what I have really enjoyed out here on the trail...the camaraderie of people all doing this goal together and helping one another.  

But we figured out that Gabriel had walked more than 13 miles with one barefoot wrapped only in some adhesive tape!


Gabriel limped at the beginning but eventually the foot worked itself out...we were on our way. About 8:00 PM we arrived at Ingleby Cross and at this point I was wishing we were staying here and not at the B &B a mile further on. We bypassed the pub even though we were very hungry as my guide said the place we were staying at provided food. Besides it was getting late and I knew the hosts would start to worry soon. Sure enough as we approached, and all terrain vehicle approached and our landlady, Beverly, had just headed out to see if we were OK. We walked the last 1/2 mile (all up hill) to the Park House. WE HAD MADE IT! I can't think of a time I was more proud of my son. With this behind us I knew we could make it the next four days to Robin Hood's Bay!

Coast to Coast Trip: We're Off!!

In 12 hours Gabriel and I will begin a journey 16 years in the making. We our packing our suitcases and backpacks and assuring ourselves that what ever we forget we'll be able to purchase in England. Hiking boots? Check.  Walking sticks? Check.  Blister creme?  Double check check!!  Soon we'll be off to Hong Kong International Airport.  From there a quick trip to Shanghai and then a LONG flight to London, England.

My boot of choice!

Gabriel is depressed as we are flying China Eastern Airlines (very affordable tickets) and he read a couple reviews saying the food is bad and the in flight entertainment is non-existent. So now part of our "packing" involves loading our iPad and iTouch with as many movies and TV shows as possible.  I'll give a final review of China Eastern in a couple days...mmm  we'll see.

Our 14 Day Schedule

So what are we doing you ask?

About 1996 I was reading the travel section of the local Hong Kong paper.  The story  was on a famous hike in the north of England called the Wainwright Coast to Coast walk.  Its a 200 mile hoof across the country starting from the village of St. Bees on the Irish Sea and ending in Robin Hood's Bay on the coast of the North Sea.

As I read the article I was fascinated by the thought, and the challenge, of walking across the whole of the country.  I turned to Tammy and almost said prophetically, "When we have a son I'm going to take him on this walk when he turns 13."  Well, two years later we had that son, and 14 years later we are fulfilling that dream I have kept ever since then.  We postponed actually doing it last year when he was 13 as we were all pleasantly surprised by the birth of the late addition to the Hackman family: Ethan George

So now, after 16 years, we are ready to begin our grand adventure...I hope you'll enjoy coming along with us!

Walking Home From Mongolia with Rob Lilwall

 Last Sat. afternoon Tammy, the boys and myself had the opportunity to walk with Rob Lilwall and his companion, Leon McCarron, on the final stage of their 5,000 kilometer walk from Mongolia, through the Gobi Desert and China, all the way to Rob's home in Hong Kong.  The reason for the walk, besides the adventure, was to raise money for the children's charity Viva.  The guys started back in November and after 6 months on foot made it to the border between China & Hong Kong on Friday evening.

Rob's journey made the front page

I first became acquainted with Rob last year when we arranged for him to come speak to the  students at the school where I work about his first big adventure where he cycled from Siberia to London.  The stories he shared with the school were inspiring to student and staff alike and so when he announced that he would be participating in a new adventure walking from Mongolia to Hong Kong for charity, we were excited to see how we could be involved. For that reason we have been doing  morning assembly updates, showing video, photos, and blog entries so the students could follow along on the journey.

Rob & Leon at the finish!

On Saturday Tammy and I joined about 60 other volunteers to walk with Rob & Leon on the final leg of the trip. The route would start in Discovery Bay, go over the mountain near the Trappist Monestery, and down into Mui Wo where the journey would end at the beach in Silvermine Bay.

I would not want to carry that pack!

In hindsight, we probably would NOT have brought 16 month old Ethan George.  Although the hike was only about 7 kilometers, hauling the baby with stroller and carry-all, on a hot humid Hong Kong day was pretty tough.

But, we wanted to do it as a family!

Anyhow, the big moment as we waited at the Discovery Bay pier to begin was wondering where Rob would be joining us.  He ended up arriving on a small "junk" (boat) and as the junk approached Rob suddenly jumped in the water and swam to the group to applause and cheers of "well done".  We could all only imagine what it would be like to have been walking for 6 months straight and now, to be joining friends and family for the final 7 kilometers.

With Rob and his wife Christine

We all journeyed together for about 2 hours until Rob & Leon, leading out front, reached the Silvermine beach.  They dove into the water together completing an astounding 5000 kilometer odyssey.

It was a family affair!

Afterwards we joined with everyone for a celebratory dinner and welcomed our friends home after a long, and fruitful, adventure.  For Tammy, myself, and the friends with us, we considered it a real privilege to participate in a small part of their grand journey .  Our family raised HK$ 1200 in donations for the walk but we felt like the blessed ones being able to join in on Rob & Leon's special day.

 

Walking Across England: Our Upcoming Adventure!

This summer my son Gabriel and I will walk across England. 

Literally!

On the morning of July 6 we will set off from the village of St. Bees on the coast of the Irish Sea and then head east.  God willing on July 19 our 200 mile journey will end when we dip our boots in the cool waters of Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea coast.

I must admit I'm pretty excited as I've been planning this trip since before Gabriel was born.  Back in about 1993 or 94 the travel section of the local Hong Kong paper did a feature story on the Wainwright Coast to Coast walk.  I found the concept of walking across the country compelling and turned to Tammy and declared, "One day when we have a son I'm going to take him on this walk when he turns 13 years old."

Well, about 4 years later I did have that son and now, nearly 18 years later, I have just purchased air tickets and paid the confirmation deposit to the company that arranges the details. 

This is going to be a father - son coming of age "rite of passage".  Just the two of us crossing hills and valleys while discussing God, school, life, work, childhood, adulthood, and why there is a difference between being a Man and simply being a male. 

...oh, and did I forget to mention the pubs.

Yes!! We're going!...the only spanner in the original plan is Gabriel is 14 now, not 13.  Last summer we had just had Gabriel's little brother Ethan and so thought it better to delay this grand excursion for a year.

Anyhow, I'll be posting more info as we get closer to our departure as well as a day by day narrative of the actual adventure once it begins.

Of course, now I have 2 sons...so I may have to do this again in 13 years!

Hiking in Hong Kong: Mui Wo to Discovery Bay

Start: At the Ferry Pier

Gabriel and I just finished a Saturday afternoon hike from Mui Wo to Discovery Bay.  For non- Hong Kongers the hike was on Lantau Island (Hong Kong's biggest Island) from the village of Mui Wo over a range of hills into the upscale residential mecca of Discovery Bay.

Along the beach

My son and I are taking more hikes as of late to prepare ourselves for the big "father-son trip" we have planned for next summer when we travel to England to do the Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk.  Like the name suggests, it is a 2 week journey traveling from the west coast of the country starting at the Irish sea and ending up 14 days later in Robin Hoods Bay on the east coast.  More on that in posts to come...

Looking back at Mui Wo

Anyhow, Gabriel and I got our back packs full of water and caught the Park Island ferry downtown to the Central Ferry.  From there, we grabbed the Mui Wo ferry which dumped us off at the pier and the start of our hike.  Mui Wo is rather unique in Hong Kong as the ferry pier there has thousands of bikes parked just outside.  People tend to ride  from their flats and park  at the pier before riding the ferry into the city.  It's probably the only place in Hong Kong where bicycles are a serious form of transportation.

The Trappist Monastery

We paused for a quick breakfast before setting out along the beachfront.  The trail winds around the beach before heading up into the mountains.  We missed that turnoff and had to back track a couple times.
Actually, truth be told I phoned Tammy who gave me navigational directions from some maps I had left up on the computer.

The trail is quite popular as it offers some amazing views - both ascending out of Mui Wo and then later descending into Discovery Bay.  The trail also affords the opportunity to visit the Trappist Monastery, a Roman Catholic establishment known for their dairy production and milk that is available in Hong Kong.  They follow the  Cistercean Order of Observance so they remain very quiet around the grounds.

Space Mountain in background

As Gabriel and I approached the chapel we could hear worshipful chanting.  We approached cautiously not wanting to disturb.  We stood at the entrance for a few moments enjoying the sounds of worship and then turned to continue our journey.  The solace of the moment though was broken by a female hiker who bounded up to the chapel in shorts and sports bra with her belly hanging out. All of our careful attention to not disturb was lost.   It's then you realize that some people will never "get it".  They live in a perpetual fog of their own...stuff... oh well, enough about them.

We continued past the "12 Stations of the Cross" that apparently the monks had erected at points leading up to the monastery.  Gabriel asked me what that was and I was able to explain to him about the stations of the cross and the ritual that people use particularly at Easter time to draw closer to Christ by reflecting on His final day.

At one point Gabriel and I could see Disneyland in the distance.  The tall spiral of Space Mountain could clearly be seen.  We arrived finally in Discovery Bay, and I must admit it has been a long time since I visited there.  I understand why many Westerners in Hong Kong like to make it their home as it certainly caters to the Western taste in food and surroundings.

Gabriel and I grabbed a lunch at Ebeneezer's where we had a lamb curry...and French Fries :)  The plan had been to then walk to Sunny Bay and catch the MTR home from there but we realized we were running short on time and that trail would take at least another 3 hours...so we took the bus instead.

Next time...

The Way: Hiking the Way of St. James

Just watched a wonderful inspirational movie called The Way and thought it deserves a post.  The film chronicles the adventure of a successful doctor who takes up his son's journey to complete the El Camino de Santiago (or The Way of St. James) after the son's tragic death in the French Pyrenees.  Real life father and son Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez team up for the project which was obviously a labor of love for the both of them


The El Camino de Santiago is a thousand year old Catholic Christian pilgrimage to the  Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in north west Spain.  The journey can originate from different starting point but the most famous, and the one accomplished in the movie The Way, starts in France and is a total of 780 kilometers.


The story itself is a little familiar.  A successful American doctor is seemingly happy in his suburban Western world of rich patients and golf courses.  He and his son's relationship, seen in flashbacks, shows a young man wanting to explore life and a father not understanding him.  Forced to confront the tragedy of his death, Sheen picks up the mantle of his son's pilgrimage first as a sense of obligation but later, after encounters with fellow travelers including a priest recovering from cancer, he experiences his own personal and spiritual awakening.





The movie appealed to me on many levels.  Gabriel (my 13 year old son) and I are preparing to do a two week 200 mile walk across a section of England next summer called the Wainwright Coast to Coast walk  so a movie chronicling the impact a long distance walk had on a man's life was particularly relevant.  Also, Sheen's character experiences a  renewal in his Christian faith during his journey.  Beginning the movie as a self-made man of means he becomes increasingly aware that the world is much more than what he conceived and that God's place in his own life is maybe needed more than he thought. 


During the journey Sheen acquires fellow travelers that help him see life through a new lens.  Each of them has their own "issues" but those issues are best worked out in their togetherness and shared humanity.  
And lets face it, any movie that has a group of people drinking wine at the end of day with the beautiful European countryside in the background is worth watching on those merits alone. 


And I have determined that the El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage is on my "bucket list"...but I'll see how we do on a 200 mile hike next summer before I plan on a 500 mile one :) 


So if you get a chance, watch The Way...and then go take a hike :) 

Hiking on Lantau in Hong Kong

Folk that don't live in Hong Kong often think of it as a hustle, bustle city crammed full of people, buildings, and cars...and...well it is... but its also so much more. Hong Kong is a pretty big place and what people often don't know is that its more than 50% country park. Get a short hop outside the city areas and you find beautiful ocean vistas, rugged mountain cliffs, and systematically marked trails to guide you through them.

This week is Chinese New Year so on Wednesday I had planned for Gabriel and I to go on a "short" hike.   At 8:30 AM Gabriel got up though and fired up the X-Box 360! Something rose up within me as I saw my son about to embark on yet another adventure into the virtual world rather than the real one.

"Get dressed and fill your water bottle...we're leaving in 10 minutes."

Of course I had to endure the initial despise that emanated from Gabriel for the next 60 minutes.

I decided on a nice stretch of a hike on South Lantau Island uphill to the top of the Island where the Ngong Ping Cable car village (and the Big Buddha) was. It was about a 2 - 2 1/2 hour jaunt and I figured we'd have lunch at the top and then either take the cable car or a bus back down.

We took the Park Island bus to Tsing Yi station then caught the MTR to Tung Chung on Lantau. After a little search we found the number 11 bus to Tai O but exited at the Shek Pik Reservoir. Just to the East of the reservoir was the trailhead but it had a large sign and a large brown gate that was chained closed:

"Danger: Due to landside damage this trail is permanently closed."

So I did what most hikers do when they see these things. I went around the gate and started walking.
"Papa, where are you going?"
"On the trail"
"But its says "Danger" Do you want us to get killed?"
"We're not going to get killed...lets go"

As we began to meander up the hill we began to look back and see the reservoir and the sea behind it descending into incredible views from our ever increasing height. Gabriel's attitude softened (as I knew it would) and before long we were having the father-son day I had envisioned. As we trudged along our little "fellowship" covered such conversational topics as God, girls, drugs, and world history.

Because it was a "closed" trail the normal encounters with other hikers didn't happen. The whole morning we passed no one having the trail and the mountainside all to ourselves and finally reaching the top Ngong Ping Village. This is a tourist area of Hong Kong where the largest Buddha in the world has been constructed along with all the restaurants and souvenir shops that inhabit these types of places. We had lunch at Ebeneezers which is an Indian curry fast food chain in Hong Kong. While we were eating I asked Gabriel if he wanted to take the cable car down (expensive) or the bus (cheap)?

"What if we hike the trail under the cable car down?"
" Huh!!" I thought. Was this my X-Box 360 loving son who I practically had to Shanghai to get him out hiking now suggesting we hoof it for another 3 hours back down to the MTR station.

"OK...lets do it"

We finished our curries and headed off for Lantau Hike Part 2. As the cable cars glided over our heads we eschewed such luxury for the thrill of the trail. We quickly discovered though, that although primarily a "decent" back down to the city, the trail went back up at each of the cable car towers so we had a extreme workout of non-stop accent and decent.

Occupants of the cable cars shouted out to us and gave us the thumbs up along the trail no doubt saying, "Look at what those crazy guys are doing!"

About two hours in we ran out of water which made things even more fun! Up....and down....up....and down! This was a lot more than I originally planned but it was now becoming a challenge for both Gabriel and I. At 4:00 PM we finally... successfully...reached the bottom...but then had another 10 minutes to walk before we reached civilization...and a 7-11 where we bought two large bottles of water and downed them while still in the store.

(Gabriel followed it up with a Slurpee)

Anyhow, wish I had a camera, but I pulled a few generic pics from the area off the internet of the area. It was a great day and one we'll do again soon!