My Camino Journey Part 2: The Mountain I Prepared For

A couple of days after Easter in 2023, I left Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port for my first day on the Camino de Santiago. Ahead of me lay the Pyrenees and, on the other side, Roncesvalles.

After months of preparation, I saw this day as a test. I had trained in the rugged terrain around Phoenix, carrying bags of rice in my backpack to prepare for the weight. I had carefully chosen my gear and planned how to care for my feet. I believed that if I could manage this first crossing, I could likely navigate the physical demands of the journey ahead.

The mountain would give me an opportunity to find out.

It was dreary and rainy all day. The route climbed steeply out of Saint-Jean, following roads and paths into open mountain terrain. The crossing covered roughly 15 miles, with more than 4,400 feet of cumulative elevation gain. All those training hikes were now preparation put into practice.

High on the mountainside stood Our Lady—the Virgin of Biakorri, watching over the landscape. Her presence belongs among my memories of that first day: a sacred figure along a path I was still learning how to travel.

I had given so much thought to climbing the mountain. But getting down required attention, too. On one steep stretch, matted leaves covered the grassy ground, making it slippery underfoot. The rain added to the difficulty. Reaching the heights did not mean the hard work was finished; there was still the descent.

When I finally entered Roncesvalles, I noticed a road sign indicating that Saint-Jean was only 10 kilometers away. I remember the disconnect between that number and the distance I had just experienced. Whatever the sign measured, it could not capture the climb, the rain, the careful footing, or the long passage over the mountain.

I had arrived. That first day gave me confidence that my preparation could carry me through demanding terrain.

What I did not yet understand was how much more the Camino would ask of me. I had prepared my body and planned what I would carry. Over the coming weeks, I would begin discovering the interior journey unfolding alongside every physical mile.

Looking back, that sign offers a reminder: the distance between two places tells us very little about what it takes to travel between them.

Where in your life have you prepared carefully for a challenge, only to discover that the experience invited something deeper than you expected?