The Beginning

This is the first in a regular series of post describing our experiences as Buddhist pilgrims. I have long been interested in doing a long trek. I have thought about hiking the Appalachian Trail, walking down the east coast of the US, and trekking in the Himalayas. However, as a semi-retired university professor, I no longer have the wherewithal to finance such a trip and had added this to the long list of regrets for things undone in my life.

As a sometimes Buddhist, I became aware of the Henro Pilgrimage around the island of Shikoku and read about it on various websites. My interest was piqued and one night, while out drinking with friends, I mentioned it to Ian, who immediately expressed interest. A few months later, after consultations with respective wives and a check of our financial situations, Ian and I decided to take the pilgrimage.

Since we both teach at universities, the only time available for us to go was during the winter break, which lasts from the beginning of February to the end of the first week of April. For various reasons, the first available year was 2009, so we committed ourselves.

Recently we started getting in shape for the trip. We will have to walk around 30 kilometers every day for a month and a half, carrying everything that we will need. At the moment, we are walking together on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and I am also walking on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. As the older and most our of shape, I definitely need the extra work. We plan to gradually increase the lengths and difficulty of the walks so that we peak just before starting out on the pilgrimage itself.

Today my legs are quite sore. Yesterday (a Sunday, because Ian had to work on Saturday) we climbed about three quarters of the way up a local mountain, Izumi-ga-dake. It was the most strenuous thing that I have done in years. Tomorrow we plan to take our regular 10 kilometer hike though the low hills of the Shinrin Koen Park.