by Amanda Wagstaff, Hut2Hut Pilgrimage Editor
“A pilgrim travels differently. Always in pilgrimage, there is a change of mind and a change of heart.”
– John O’Donohue.
In a roundabout way, John O’Donohue is the reason I am living in Ireland right now. In the summer of 2014, my sister and I travelled to northern Virginia to visit a family friend who was living with cancer. We all knew that it might be our last time together, and indeed, it was the last time that I saw Aunt Ann.
Photos in this post are courtesy of Stehekin Outfitters
Stehekin Outfitters has a unique business model: tent-to-tent hiking in a U.S. National Park. This unique form of “hut-to-hut” seems like a great way to support hikers who want to go out for several days and don’t have the gear or experience to do full-on backpacking.
Larig Leacach Bothy Courtesy Wikipedia
Is Scotland missing out on a key mountain tourism niche?
The Ramblers in Scotland think this may be true, and are proposing a pilot project to test this assumption.
While the Scots have “Bothies” — unimproved backpacker shelters — European-style huts are not part of the accommodations infrastructure for walkers in Scotland, Wales, England. They rely on a robust network of B&B’s and hostels. This leaves gaps in mountainous regions.
Mathias Eichler, outdoors advocate and editor of the Outdoor Society blog, grew up in the foothills of the Alps. He can’t understand why there are not more huts in USA, his beloved adopted land. He is a great fan of our National Parks and advocate for recreational use of public land. {Featured image courtesy Mathias Eichler}
In two posts (click on titles in excerpts below) he discusses his ideas. In an editorial “Whats next for America’s Public Lands?” he presents a case for more huts on public lands. A separate piece “Eight Huts we need in the Mountains of the American West” presents brief profiles, accompanied by great pictures, of some huts he admires.
The Byrne family has farmed in the Wicklow hills, along the Wicklow Way, for five generations. As a teen Sean helped out just down the road at a guest-house catering to hunters and fishermen on the beautiful Lough Dan. He also worked for his neighbors, the Guinness family, on their estate on the sublime Lough Tay. This farm boy gradually developed a gracious ease in working with people of all walks of life, a strong sense of the traditions of rural hospitality, deep knowledge of the land and the region, and a guiding commitment to preservation of the mountain uplands and way of life. Photo above of Sean and Theresa Byrne.
The beautiful huts by LUMO Architects are designed for immersion in nature. All photographs courtesy LUMO Architects.
Jamal Ait Lachegar, Berber Travel Adventures
A recent five-day walk in Morocco opened my eyes to a vital modern incarnation of ancient mountain hospitality: local families providing shelter to strangers. This is the story of Jamal Ait Lachegar, who is quietly realizing the dream of home-stays for walkers as a form of cultural exchange and preservation. And the story of a man whose work is building towards a larger dream: perhaps a future “Berber Trail”, possibly operated as part of the nascent International Appalachian Trail.
Understanding Local Perceptions of Management and Values of Long Distance Trails:
Summary of Masters Project, Duke University, 2015
By Julie Judkins,
Director of Education and Outreach, Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Introduction
Trails are built for connecting people to nature: an important first step of building conservation advocates. Long distance trails offer recreational opportunities, economic stimulus for neighboring communities, education and research opportunities, and lifelong activity. They provide connectivity for human passage and can offer an experience of a lifetime, a pilgrimage of reflection or spiritual awakening. Most importantly, the lands that national trails traverse are protective corridors providing ecosystem services, valuable migration pathways, significant natural resources, and help sustain biological diversity. The Appalachian Trail, for example, runs primarily along the ridgelines of the Appalachian Mountain range and Trail lands protect headwater streams for many of the east coast’s watersheds.
Article and photos by Amanda Wren Wagstaff, Fulbright Scholar in Ireland 2015-16
The Wicklow Way, Co. Wicklow, Ireland: This was a two day trip over a small portion of the Wicklow Way, specifically Oldbridge to Glendalough to Glenmalure. A map of the entire 127km trail can be found here: http://www.wicklowway.com./ This website also offers useful information about accommodation, profiles of the villages along the route, trail services (such as baggage transfers,) and walking tips.
Submitted by Laurel Bradley, December 2015; Photo above is of our guide Jamal and the author.
Taking advantage of cheap international flights from my 2015-16 homebase of Dublin, Ireland, my husband and I travelled to Morocco for the 2015 Christmas season. Avid hikers, we sought access to mountains near Marrakech, our debarkation point. We found the perfect opportunity to walk 4-6 hours daily through agricultural valleys and rocky or forested mountains, and to experience the particular pleasures of Berber culture with a five day, four night journey organized by Berber Travel Adventures, a small company based in Amazmiz (55 km from Marrakech). Jamal, the sole proprietor and trained mountain guide, led the way. We were also accompanied by Mohammad, an able and cheerful muleteer, and by Maria, the patient beast of burden. They put together a great trip for us!