Day 14 (from Edie): Tuesday 3/5/2013 - Simi Valley to Camarillo (Walked 19.1 miles)
I was dreading today’s 19.1-mile walk after yesterday’s exhausting and challenging 20.3-mile walk over the mountains through the Old Santa Susana Pass. As with most things, the anxiety and dread were much worse than the actual doing. After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast I was ready and excited to start walking at 7 am.
Today I walked in prayerful awareness of how blessed I am to have the assistance of Ron and Sandy Briery and Deb Dawley in making this pilgrimage walk – without them it would not be possible. Ron and Sandy Briery have been remarkable walking companions. Ron’s knowledge of the old El Camino Real trail continues to amaze me, and gives me confidence even over the most difficult terrain. Sandy speaks softly and is even tempered but is the strongest, grittiest walking companion imaginable. She had her left hip replaced just 14 months ago but you would never know it - it’s almost impossible for Ron and I to keep up with her. What a blessing to have Ron and Sandy to follow along with to Santa Barbara! I wish they could walk the entire 800 miles but they can’t.
Another blessing is my dear friend Deb Dawley, who is driving the camper van. Deb cheerfully gets up at the crack of dawn and fixes a big breakfast, helps load Ron & Sandy’s backpacks in the camper van, and then drives ahead to where we will be camping or sleeping at the end of the day’s walk. She keeps an eye on our progress using her iPhone GPS and she runs out to greet us as we approach the camper van. By the way, if you want to track our daily progress using your iPhone GPS you can download the free Find Friends application and email me a request to ‘follow’. It’s very simple, and it works beautifully. Ron and Fan Graham have used it twice to drive up from San Diego and meet us along the mission trail, and it has taken them directly to the camper van each time. (see Day 12 photo)
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