New listserver member

[Russ Irwin]

Hi everyone,

I'm Russ Irwin and I'm from Pittsburgh, PA.. I retired from Bell
Atlantic (now Verizon) a year and a half ago at age 51 so that I'd
have plenty of time to enjoy life while I was still young.

I'll be walking the pilgrimage starting from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
I plan to begin in early May and take 30-40 days. At the time I
retired I had thought my distance walking days were over as I had let
myself get so out of shape. Well, I spent most of this year getting
back in shape, mostly by doing long walks. I had never heard of El
Camino de Santiago until reading a magazine article in October and I
instantly *knew* that this was what I was going to do. I remember
thinking then that, ironically, I had been "in training" all year
without even realizing it! I guess it's like the saying, "When the
student is ready the teacher will appear."

Anyway, as a first time pilgrim, I'm interested in all aspects of what
I'll need for it and I look forward to hearing others' stories. I've
spent much of the last 2 months checking out hiking boots, backpacks,
etc. I'm sure I'll have many questions as soon as I get the hang of
how a listserver works.

Russ Irwin