I don’t know much about the Continental Divide Trail, and I’ll probably never hike it, but I enjoyed this blog post about it, from the New York Times.

The author, Barney Scout Mann, discusses the economic impact hikers have on small towns along the way, and it made me think about how the Camino affects the villages it runs through. I’m sure many of the bars we walked past or sat in wouldn’t be able to carry on without the money peregrinos spend. And that’s just the Camino Francés. What about the effect on some of the lesser-travelled routes, like the Via de la Plata? Some day, I hope I find out.