Stage 22: La Storta to Rome

20.5 kilometers
Elevation gain/loss: 489m/622m
Steps: 29,781
Total distance traveled: 419km
Distance to Rome: 0.00km

We hit the trail at a little before 8:00 this morning, picking up exactly where we left off in La Storta yesterday afternoon.

The urban landscape that we expected to encounter yesterday finally appeared today with a vengeance. The first 5.5 kilometers were walked alongside the modern Via Cassia, one of Rome's main thoroughfares, which was relatively quiet on an early Sunday morning. We then wandered through the forested Insugherata Nature Reserve for 4.5 kilometers before returning to a paved path for the majority of our remaining march to the Vatican. There was about a 2 kilometer long portion towards the end that passed through the Monte Mario Nature Reserve, where our elevation dropped by 100 meters over 500 meters. That drop was accomplished by maneuvering through FOURTEEN switchbacks that were paved with very uneven ancient stones. It was kinda fun trying to spot and hop from one flat stone to the next, but we were very glad we had our trekking poles to provide extra balance.

After the switchbacks we still had 3 kilometers to walk through the streets of Rome before reaching our destination.

The sensation of walking into St. Peter's square after hiking 419 kilometers in 22 days had us living a myriad of emotions. Joy, gratitude, melancholy and pride, to name a few. We didn't actually get a little teary until we were presented with our official Vatican certificates of completion. That was the final act that confirmed our journey had ended.

By that time we were both exhausted by the journey and all the emotion, but we nonetheless took advantage of the free admission to the Basilica that our Pilgrim passport offered us.

This was not our first time visiting St. Peter's, but the sense of awe one experiences when witnessing the grandeur of the building is indescribable, no matter how many visits you've made.

There's so much to see and admire, it is truly almost sensory overload. In the best possible way.Read more