It is not complicated:
one foot and then another, swing along
find your pace, and good companions

under bright sun, the stories unravel
each turn in the path reminding one
then another of us of some song
some place, and the way the world lies

river, cradled ever more gently
sweeps toward her namesake land
that muted laughter broadening
in her widening green brown throat

five days in, our stories have sifted
down through layers of family and adventure
we ease our fingers over trail markers speaking
of this, our land; however we have come here
we are all implicated in this

conspiracy

like all good mysteries, like all
good rivers, the surface smoothness
too simple: we walked together for five days
for the fun of it. None of us need mention
the voice of the river, never far, no easier
to cup in the hand than the smell of water
best just to walk, and sing.

What a great feeling to wake up feeling fit to resume the walk. Both my trail companion Mary-Ann and I spent the first kilometers singing the praises of marrying well, to men who have steadfastly, cheerfully, and effectively supported our madcap decision to tackle this 100 km pilgrimmage. 

Here’s to all the support teams who helped 20+ people make this walking trek together.

 Today’s plant of the day is Anenome, whose stars lit all our forested paths.

Thanks to Gunnar Blodgett for photographs posted here and on the Camino Edmonton Facebook site.