Pilgrimage at Home
Not everyone has the time, money, or physical health to go on a long trek in a distant place, and not everyone has to. It's possible to go on a one-day trek in your own home town, and by the end of the day, have a new view of your town and yourself.
Imagine that you have just walked into your town from somewhere else. You need a place to stay, but you don't have much money. You have a tarp or tent and a sleeping bag, so you could camp out if necessary, and you have food but need water. Where would you stay?
When I hiked on the Appalachian Trail in 1996, I regularly had to answer this question. At least once a week, I had to leave the Trail and go into small towns to resupply. Often, by the time I finished all the town chores of laundry, food buying, gear fixing, shower taking, etc., it was too late to get back to the mountains and I had to stay somewhere in town. Some towns had hiker hostels, but some did not. On different occasions I slept in feed sheds, porches, someone's garage, behind the town library, and, once, in a flower-filled greenhouse.
These town visits taught me a lot about being at home in strange places, accepting the kindness of strangers, and trusting people. Everyone I asked for shelter was happy to help out, and I felt very free and peaceful, lying on their sacks of oats or setting up my bug net and sleeping bag on a long trestle-table in a commercial greenhouse. The towns seemed magical and interesting when I walked around and looked at them with the eyes of a hobo stranger, full of opportunities and quiet places to rest and good stories told by people who had lived there all their lives.
I had never looked at my home town that way, but this experience made me realize that every place can be the subject of a pilgrimage. When I came back to civilization, I spent a day walking 22 miles from my house to a friend's. It was eye-opening to see the terrain in between at walking speed - before, I'd only seen it from a car. I saw more animals and birds and met more interesting people in that one day than in the hundreds of times I'd gone there by car.
So, inspired by this experience, here are a couple of small trips anyone can take to experience the flavor of a pilgrimage at home:
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