Padakun Pages

Saturday 25 April 2015

WALKING AND PHILOSOPHY

For many of us, walking can be a break from thinking. It can be a time to just be, just breath, just step and enjoy the unmediated experience of being alive. I recently finished a new book called  A Philosophy of Walking by Frederic Gros, a philosophy lecturer from Paris, which takes the opposite slant. It presents the importance of walking in the lives of several central thinkers of the Western tradition.
 


The chapters include the obvious and expected story of Thoreau and his time “sauntering” around Walden Pond and the phenomenon of the “flaneur”, the public walkers of Paris in the later 19th century. What was new to me was the passion of Nietzche, whose walking slowed and moderated his gradual descent into madness. I hadn’t realized how much of a walker the French poet, Rimbaud, had been. I loved the portrait of Kant, who only ever had one route, which he took daily, like clockwork, through his town. Other walkers - Rousseau, Snyder and more - fill out a broad landscape of different thinking walkers or walking thinkers who walked in different ways for different reasons in different times.
An excellent and highly recommended read and thanks to my brother, Joe, for the gift of this book. I look forward to walking and philosophizing with you again soon.

Yours , on the journey,                           
Ray
Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet
Thich Nhat Hahn      
                 

Tuesday 14 April 2015

LOTS TO DO FOR WALKERS

All of a sudden there’s a lot for us pedestrians to do to compliment our trail time.

1. The Hikers’ Film Fest is on this weekend in Renfrew at the Rec Centre on Argyle.
On Friday at 6.30 pm we’re showing Wild and on Saturday we’ve got The Way.  Also on Saturday, Mike and Adele Boire will be present to talk about their Compostela walk last fall.

2. Our April KAPPS walk is scheduled for April 26. We’re sampling the HyperHike route we’ve set for the Hike For Hospice on the next weekend, May 3
Meet at 9.45 AM at the Official KAPPS Station next to the Adult High School at the corner of Carswell and Renfrew.

3. KAPPSter and Assistant KAPPS Konductor, Lara Mylly is hosting a 5 week poling course in Cobden starting on Tuesday April 28, 6.30-8.00pm. This course teaches the basics and some advanced techniques and offers some great walks too. Best of all - its FREE. Poles provided and also for sale if you are looking. Call Lara at 613-582-3685 to register.
AND.... don't forget to get some pledges for the Hike For Hospice, May 3, 1.30 pm in Renfrew


Yours , on the journey,                           
Ray
Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet
Thich Nhat Hahn       
               

Friday 3 April 2015

HIKE FOR HOSPICE AND HYPER-HIKE:

 http://www.hospicerenfrew.ca/events/Hike/Hike_ad_2015.jpg
Its only about a month from now that we will be joining so many other walkers for the annual Hike for Hospice in Renfrew. This event, scheduled this year for Sunday May 10, is an excellent opportunity to combine our favourite activity with one of the County’s most valued facilities, the Renfrew Hospice. If you don’t know their service, visit the website http://www.hospicerenfrew.ca/ .

Their major fund-raising walk is the Hike for Hospice,
http://www.hospicerenfrew.ca/hike_for_hospice.php , and it normally extends about 4 km (approx 1 hour’s walking) out from Raglan and O’Brien to Mateway Park and back. This year our KAPPS group is promoting the first Hyper-Hike which adds to the route with additional 7 km round-trip, from the turn-off at Mateway, out to Hiway 132 and back, for a total walk of about 12 km (approx 1.5 hours).    This just makes the Hike a bit more challenging for walkers and runners, and we hope will raise more money for the Hospice.

To prepare walkers for this event, we are also sponsoring the Hikers’ Film Fest on the weekend of April 17-18 at the Recreation Centre on Argyle St. In Renfrew. We’re showing two films:

Wild
Friday, April 17,
6.30 pm

The Way,
Saturday, April 18
2.30 pm

The admission for each film is $4.00 and all the profit goes to the Hospice. You can get pledge sheets for the Hike as well. We will have information on KAPPS and its walks too.

Yours , on the journey,                           
Ray
Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet
Thich Nhat Hahn