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Apr 22, 2024 : John Rutkowski III The Trek

2024-04-22 Day 1 of Finsterre

Off on a solo walk to the Ends of The Earth

So it’s just me on the trail now. A little trepidation, a lot of excitement in wandering on my own.

I had walked part of the start/end of the Finsterra camino while in Santiago, but I had no interest in rewalking the urban bit of Santiago, so I took a cab out to where the trails diverge. 

At the drop off was a taxi with two Kiwis who had the same thought. So my new companions for  couple of days. 

The walk was really nice, winding on gravel paths, back roads  and very little highway side walks.

The route is Santiago to Negreira, my Kiwis friends were staying at a different hotel.

There are plenty of hostels, and Auberge dorms. But I like my sleep, and I snore, so spending some money to the benefit of others.

So you should try this one, it’s excellent once out of the city. One big climb, see below.

Nations today:

German

New Zealand

 

Stats:

Contrary to belief, it’s not all downhill from Santiago.

12.32

 

Photos:

Me hard at work writing the blog entries.

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John Rutkowski III
Apr 22nd : John Rutkowski III
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John Rutkowski III's Bio

AKA Tercius. I started camping at age 6 doing a coast to coast camping trip. This was BEFORE Interstates and seatbelts. My AT Section and Horsehoe Trail hiking started when I was 14. And AT section hike from NJ to Leigh river to celebrate graduating from high school. College job was at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports and UVaOC sent me on many adventures and introduced me to lifelong outdoor friends. And introduced me to the Whites in winter and the AMC. I was a guide after college, Holubar Kit Specialist (the first male to hold that role), then store Manager. Fast forward to the creation of Mountain Mend which cleaned, repaired and made custom outdoor gear. Which led me to The Wilderness Group in Ventura as a Production Manager (The first days of the Ultralight trend). LOTS of 100+ road bike rides. An ex-Holubar manager offered me a job in Minden Nevada, a startup making orthopedic knee braces. It was a bike trip to Yosemite where I was filling in as Sag Wagon driver, where I met Karen, I was awestruck by her scent. She asked me to warm her feet at the bluegrass concert that night, I proposed in six weeks. Then life happened, started an IT company, BOLDER Designs selling AutoCAD. Eight years later we had a son, who was introduced to the outdoors with many car camping and he did the Whites Presidential Traverse to celebrate graduating from 1st grade. More life, at 63 started a series of cancer surgeries and treatments. Getting back on the trail was my method of recovery. I'd be sweating bullets just walk the gentle valley loop in the White Clay Creek park behind my house. In 2019 I recover to be able to walk Hadrian's Wall from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. With my son, climbing buddy from Utah days, and a college outdoor buddy that I had not seen since 1975, and the father of my son's friend who did the Presidential Traverse 3 times. I sold my business in 2022 and retiring on 2024-04-01. Now at age 70 we are off to Spain (4 of us) to Walk the Camino Portugues, and if we are feeling good, on to Fisterra. Nothing like a good walk with friends.

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