Discovering America on Foot
JUMP & THE BOISE CHAPTER OF THE AMERICANS ON THE CAMINO WELCOMES DAVE WHITSON TO BOISE.
Dave Whitson started walking coast-to-coast across the US, when the pandemic hit. At the end of June, 2024 he returned to Cincinnati, Ohio to pick up the walk up where he left off. On September 26, 2024 he walked through Boise and stopped at JUMP to share some of his highlights and stories with our community before continuing on the next morning towards the Pacific Ocean.
Dave shared stories of his epic journey and answered many questions about his long distance walks, his walk across America, and many other experiences along the Camino. Some of the common threads he witnessed where the random acts of human kindness (in a country so politically divided) and the stories of ambition, boldness, bravery, and competency that run through American history. At the end of his journey, he said, “In making this journey across America, I have reshaped the relationship I have with my own country and my place within it.”
As he spoke about long-distance walking, he said the hardest part isn’t what one would expect. It wasn’t the blisters, the weather or the terrain. He said, “the hardest part is trying to explain why this brings you joy to someone who finds the whole concept befuddling and bizarre.” He continued to share examples of some ‘basic truths’ he has come to appreciate; “How little you need. How much you are capable of. How fleeting are challenges. How lasting are joys. How satisfying it can be to simply be in good company. How captivating even a humble field can be. The joy of long-distance walking lies not in the act itself, but rather in how it allows us to recalibrate how we see this world and our place within it.”
To read more about Dave’s walk through Boise on days 83 and 84 of his journey, feel free to visit his blog or visit his website to explore the many different long distance walks he’s enjoyed.
Dave Whitson is an author, public speaker, podcaster, and Camino de Santiago veteran. He is a high school history teacher in Portland, Oregon, and a graduate of the University of Washington. He made his first pilgrimage in 2002 on the Camino Francés and was inspired to return with a group of his high school students, which he did in 2004. Dave has led a total of seven student pilgrimage trips, including five on the Camino de Santiago and two on the Via Francigena. In addition, he has made long distance treks in Norway on the Pilgrim Road to Nidaros, in England on the North Downs Way to Canterbury, and in Turkey on the Lycian Way. All told, he has walked roughly 10,000 kilometers on pilgrim roads in Europe. Dave has published several incredible guidebooks on different Camino de Santiago routes and was a keynote speaker at the 2024 Americans on the Camino Annual Gathering in Hunt, TX.
