THE WIND PHONE
Anticipatory Grief and Stormy Weather on Camino de Santiago
I was losing my best friend and walked miles to return home to hospice care
The sky was ominous, and walking into the dark clouds concerned me. Or at least, I took notice. I walked into a potential thunderstorm. I got strong after walking 500 miles across Spain four months before, finishing that walk in cold November. Now, it was March. I had been here before. I knew the route, but this time, I was distracted.
My best friend Sal was dying at home. My attitude was fatalistic at this point. My mom died in 2011. My dad died six months later. I was losing all my most beloved people. So, my attitude? Freeze me, Mountain. I don’t care.
I’m an experienced hiker, fortunately. And more luck than experience carried me through that stormy day.
I’ve hiked the Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest and summited Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens. I’ve hiked to The Three Sisters Wilderness Area. Set up a tent in the Steens Mountains, and the Wallowas. Mountains are familiar to me, but this sky in Spain was ominous. Risking hypothermia was foolish. I think back and take a deep breath. At the time, I was ambivalent, “What else can happen?”
