S02E06 - Walk with Me - On a Stroll with Ultra-walker Jyrki Wahlstedt

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This is scaled to fit in your 50s. Restarting exercising and feeling like a rookie at the

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age of over 50. With Marko Lindgren. I took my microphone out for a walk with Jyrki Wahlstedt

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to talk about walking, especially ultra walking, because why not? Jyrki has been doing several

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very long walks, which in effect are the antithesis, what I like to say, don't do nothing, do something

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and scale it back. In this case, he has seriously scaled the walking up. We had lunch a while

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back together. Then I was talking about my newly found love that is walking. And then

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you like mentioned that you have been walking a bit also. A bit, yeah. Yeah. And then later

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I learned that you actually do a little bit different kind of walks than me. So tell me

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about it. So your walks are pretty long. I might have a different opinion on that, but,

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well, considering the everyday life, those walks I've done are longer. I would say very

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long walks because my walks are typically like six kilometers, maybe eight. And your

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walks are, your walks are how long? If I start with my first one, the longer one, 2018, I

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walked the Primitivo route in Spain from Oviedo to Santiago. That distance is a bit over 300

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kilometers. Okay. And how long does it take for you to walk that long? I think 12 days.

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And that was the first one? That was the first long, long walk. Yeah. Okay. And then, well,

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last year I walked from Lübeck to Eisenach in Germany, that's two weeks, 370 kilometers.

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Now I started from Eisenach and reached Würzburg. And then, well, my original hip started to

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complain. So I went from Würzburg to Frankfurt Airport and came back. How did you get the

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idea of taking the first walk, 300 kilometers? What drove you there? Many things. I've been

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reading quite a lot of known English writers, for instance, Lewis and Tolkien, and they did

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long walks regularly. And then, I think it's, well, not 20 years ago, but something like

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that. The oldest son of my ex and some of his friends started to walk the French route

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to Santiago from someplace. I'm not sure if it was north of Bernice, but anyway, well,

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they had to stop quite soon after blisters and food problems. I started to think about

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doing one of those routes. And then 2017, Finland organized European team championships in squash.

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I was the tournament referee there and then I met all the top players in Europe. And it

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happens that the number one squash player in Spain, he lives in Santiago. And well, on the

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last day, there's a banquet. And well, we changed a few words, few ideas about that. And I was

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leaving the banquet and he just came from somewhere and he hugged me. It took me completely by

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surprise. We Finns are not that used to do that, especially when we don't know someone

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closely. But all I've started to do that afterwards. But anyway, so that was 2017. And then 2018,

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I went from Tuoviedo. So it was like a collection of coincidences. One thing leading to another

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thing, just come together and make the support. The decision. So you said that the is that

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370 kilometers the longest you have done. Yeah. My intention this year was to go longer, but

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didn't. So you spent like about two weeks maybe on on route. So what is there something that

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really sticks to your memory? Something very memorable things? Or is it like more like mindfulness

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that you don't really pay attention to the surroundings? Or what is the thing there? Different

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times, different things. No. I've been to some places where they are interesting buildings

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and museums and so on and so on. But then I like people more and I have met quite a few

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incredible people too during those walks. But then well, of course, interesting places too.

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Is there something something like more say mental or spiritual that you get out of them?

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For me, six kilometer, eight kilometer walk is really good. It gives me this kind of a,

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it's like a mindfulness workout. It gives me calm and easiness. And what is it when you

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do it two weeks in a row? It might be more of the same, but anyway, as you know, Santiago,

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there is supposedly the remains of, of Apostle Jacob. That's where the Santiago name comes

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from. And these German roots, they are Jacob's Vega. So ways that go to Santiago as well.

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So I was thinking about pilgrimage, holy hike or something. But anyway, it's just, it's a

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separation from the everyday chores and you can concentrate on just something else. How

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would you say you are different before and after the walk? What changes? I don't think

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there's any essential change. I'm well, you know, I'm not that young and changeable anymore.

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So I have my habits and attitudes. So they remained quite a lot of the same way. But

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I have more memories. And for instance, last year, I started from Lübeck. After a few days

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of walking, I'm in this small town, old town, Lüneburg. And there is this Johannes Kirche. And

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then I go in and I see the, it's just mighty organ. And in the end of 17th century, there was

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an organist, Georg Böhm. And at the same time, there was a, in a school there, there was a schoolboy,

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Johann Sebastian Bach. And thinking that Bach was there and played and studied with Böhm, it's just

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something you don't experience every day. You like connect to the history. That's one thing. And with

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this organ, I don't know the English term, but there's this rückwerk in organ, that's behind the

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back of the organist. And there were statues, they're decorating. There were two trombones,

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baroque trombones, a smaller bell than the modern ones. And in the middle, there was a cornet. That's

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the my instrument. So I was just looking at it, admired it for a while. The good to know corner. So

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picture this. You are walking along ancient paths that stretch across an entire continent,

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following in the footsteps of millions of people who have made the same journey for over a thousand

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years. Welcome to the Camino de Santiago, or as the Germans call it the Jakobswege, one of the

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world's most famous pilgrimage routes. People were walking these paths long before Christianity even

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existed. We are talking about Celtic tribes and other ancient folks who were trekking across

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northern Spain more than a thousand years before the common era. For them, these weren't just roads,

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they were sacred journeys connected to the sun and the Milky Way. There was this route called the Via

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Finisterre, which literally means the way to the end of the earth. People believed that they were

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walking on the very edge of the world to a place where they could connect with cosmic forces and

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find spiritual renewal. Fast forward to the ninth century and everything changed. According to the

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story, someone discovered the remains of Saint James, one of the Twelve Apostles, buried in

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Calicia, northwestern Spain. The legend goes that Saint James had actually traveled to Spain to

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spread Christianity, but then went back to Jerusalem where he was killed. After that, his

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body supposedly made its way back to Spain on a boat, by itself. Anyway, in 813, these remains

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were rediscovered and King Alfonso II became the very first official pilgrim. He built the first

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church there and boom, Santiago de Compostela was born as a major Christian destination. During the

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Middle Ages, walking to Santiago became huge, and I mean huge. It was considered one of the Big Three

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Christian pilgrimage, right up there with going to Jerusalem and Rome. But it wasn't just about the

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destination. These routes became like medieval superhighways for culture, art, and ideas flowing

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across Europe. When most people think of the Camino, they picture Spain, but there are actually over 280

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recognized routes covering more than 80,000 kilometers across 29 countries. Germany alone has

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over 30 different paths. It's like this massive spiderweb of walking routes all leading to the

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same place. The genius of this system is that you can literally start your pilgrimage from your front

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door, no matter where you live in Europe, and eventually connect to one of the main routes heading

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towards Spain. The most famous of all the Camino routes is the Camino Francais, or the French Way.

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This is the one everyone knows about. It starts in a tiny French town called Saint-Jean-Pierre-de-Port,

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right at the foot of the Pyrenees mountains, and stretches about 800 kilometers to Santiago. Picture

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this journey. You start in the mountains, cross into Spain through dramatic mountain passes, then

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walk across the endless plains of central Spain, we're talking horizon to horizon farmland, before

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finally reaching the green rolling hills of Galicia where Santiago sits. Most people take

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about a month to walk it, covering roughly 30 kilometers a day. It passes through some incredible

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cities like Pamplona, where they run with the bulls, and Lyon with its stunning cathedral, and

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Burgos with its Gothic masterpiece. This route is like the international highway of pilgrim routes.

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There are hostels everywhere, cafes where you can get coffee, and clear markings on everything to

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show you the way. You're never really walking alone, there is this amazing international community of

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walkers all heading in the same direction. Now, if you want to walk the original route, and I mean the

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very first path that King Alfonso took back in the 9th century, you want the Camino Primitivo. This

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one's not for messing around. It's only about 320 kilometers long, so it sounds easier, but it isn't.

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This route will set a proper challenge. It is the most demanding of the main Camino routes, with the

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mountains of Asturias and Galicia. Steep climbs that'll have you gasping for air, and descents

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that will make your knees cry. Most people take about two weeks to complete the route, but those

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are two tough weeks. But the scenery is absolutely breathtaking, and you'll encounter way fewer

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people. While thousands are walking the French route, you might go hours on the Primitivo without

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seeing another soul. It's like having your own private pilgrimage. The Primitivo eventually merges

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with the French route for the final stretch into Santiago, so you get the best of both worlds. The

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solitude and challenge of the original path plus the community experience at the end. What's

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fascinating is that while this pilgrimage started as a purely religious journey, today's pilgrims

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come for all sorts of reasons. Some are deeply religious, others are otherwise spiritual, and

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many are just looking for time to think, to challenge themselves physically, or to step away

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from their busy lives. Whether you choose the popular Francaise route with its bustling pilgrim

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community, or the challenging Primitivo with its ancient solitude, you are participating in something

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that connects you to over a thousand years of human searching, wandering, and wonder. And that

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is the magic of the Camino. It's not just a walk across pain. It's a journey through time, culture,

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and quite possibly yourself. The good to know corner. Let's talk about learnings. You must have

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learned quite a lot during these walks. So mainly like what to do and what not to do. What would you

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say are the... What kind of mistakes did you make? Especially if you compare the first walk and then

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the later ones? For Spanish routes, there are so many good guides and apps that fortunately I

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didn't manage to do any dramatic mistakes. Then last year, nothing too dramatic. But anyway, you know,

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I didn't prepare enough and I didn't know that when I come somewhere on Saturday, it's quite hard to find a

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place to sleep in. So I had to go to a hotel that was not that cheap. Would it be possible to

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book in advance? Do you know the schedule? Yeah, one just cannot be too ambitious or overconfident. So

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just this year I made modest days. So while I had planned a couple of 30 kilometer days but well, I

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didn't reach those stages. So now my longest days were 26-27 kilometers. Did you have any like days

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in between for rest? No, no. Every day like just just sleep, go sleep, go. You said that the last

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walk sort of ended because of the pain on the other hip. I think that they will come to the very

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important part of doing any kind of exercises, listening to your body. How did you learn to

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listen to everybody? Well, this specific thing, hip, my other hip has been replaced already. So I

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have earlier experience. Feet are kind of a sensitive place. Last year, my first day was

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30 kilometers and I had a blister that well it healed quite well but anyway one has to be flexible.

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Also fixed ideas are not good. Do you do so that you feel in the morning that how do I feel? Do I

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feel like going or is there something like telling me not to go or how does it go? Having done those

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walks previously, there's a kind of idea of what I can do and what's not appropriate. So I don't ever

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think that I can do 40 kilometers a day. So I've heard that some people do 40 kilometers a day,

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but it's kind of an overreach. Right. So if somebody of our listeners is now thinking about putting on

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proper shoes and taking a long long walk, 240 kilometers, what would be your advice to those people?

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It's kind of hard to give a general advice. You know, for instance, my feet sweat easily. So before

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the 2017 walk, I tried to use the heavy shoes that people often often use on those roads. Then I couldn't

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even think about using them because my feet sweat so much. So well, fortunately, that walk, I started

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it late August. So I walked barefoot in Helsinki the whole summer, so my feet were stronger and the souls

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were stronger. But I used barefoot shoes last year and this year too. So that's your shoes of choice

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nowadays. This year it didn't go as planned, but when is your next walk and what will it be?

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Well, I continued my walk from last year. So the plan is to go to Virsburg and then from there to the French border, then

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Alsace, Burgundy and then from there too. There's this classical old Via Podenzis - Santiago Route. And how long would that be?

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Altogether? Two months. And kilometers? Well, 2 000 kilometers. All right, that sounds good. I don't know. That's also in doubt, perhaps, because you know,

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waiting for a preparation means that one cannot move as much and so the muscles go weaker and there will be problems. But, you know, this year, when I started from Eisenach, the last year, the elevation change,

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for the whole route, for the whole 370 kilometers, was about 2 400 - 500 meters. And these 10 days, the same number was 3 400 - 500 meters. And the first day, going from Eisenach Center to Wartburg,

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it was around, well, 200 meters, perhaps not that much, but enough to make my heart rate go to 179. So it took just a kilometer and a half and you get that. So it's steep.

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Cool. Thank you. Is there anything else you would like to say? Well, if anyone wants to walk, just one should test oneself and find what works. Because it's the only way. If I say that, use that kind of a shoe or that kind of a backpack or something.

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So it won't do. Weekly challenge. On these long walks, you have to carry all your equipment with you. It is like a very long rocking trip. Jyrki said that he always packs only the essential gear with him and then leaves half of it out. So to try this out, pack a few books in your backpack for your next Sunday stroll and imagine yourself walking through the beautiful landscapes of Northwest Spain.

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This was Scale to Fit, fitting your 50s with Marco Lindgren. All sounds are made by me. Send us your feedback via email at feedback@scaled2.fit or visit pottracer.com/scale2fit to leave a rating. Don't forget to check the show notes at scale2.fit, all the links are there. Thank you for tuning in.

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