What I learned walking along the Erie Canal

For several months, I’ve been wanting to do a pilgrimage of some sort. I tried scheduling a multi-day pilgrimage at various locations, but the logistics never seemed to work out. I took it as a sign that these official pilgrimages were not what I was supposed to do. So I created my own.

I created a “pilgrimage” without any official religious sites. I decided to walk along the Erie Canal.

Why the Canal? I grew up in Western NY, in a small village called Spencerport. It’s right along the canal. My parents still live there and so it was quite literally home base for the journey. My wife and I went up to Spencerport on Sunday. And on Monday morning, my parents drove us an hour east to the village of Lyons — another small village along the Erie Canal.

This would be a three day walk, covering a total of 50 miles. We’d stay at bed and breakfasts for two nights.

I chose some sites of interest for us to potentially stop at, but wasn’t super committed to stopping. We’d just go with how things were moving each day and be open to what other things caught our attention. But we had to keep moving too — 14 miles on day 1, 18 miles on day 2, and 19 miles on day 3.

We carried a hiker’s backpack and a smaller day hiking backpack. This carried clothing, medications, snacks, and a couple of other items for the trip. And off we went.

Here’s what I learned along the way.

1. The Canal looks very different in…