Daniel Thompson Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture Blog 2

Though the objective of the pilgrimages in Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture is to reach a holy site, usually churches, the question arises: Can these pilgrimage structures transfer to wilderness trails? One of the books points is how context affects the nature of a pilgrimage. The context of each pilgrimage is different and so lots of variations occur in the journeys to these places. The same can be said about the wilderness. No trail is the same and all lead to different places. The 'context' of these trails can be the physical location, or mentally people's reasons for hiking them. As seen in the various films during class, people have wildly different reasons. Some do for religious experiences, others for peace of mind, and some just for fun. Another structure that translates to wilderness trails is the interactions with others. These interactions take place in the form of trail magic or overnight stays in campsites. This is just one such structure of many that pilgrimages share with wilderness hiking.

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