El Camino Santiago (The Way of St. James) is the most overrated long distance trail in the world. Millions have walked its path, and most gush about how great it is. It's time to expose El Camino Santiago's ugly underbelly.

If you get bored with the flatness of El Camino Frances, you will love this mountainous variation of El Camino Santiago. It takes you through Los Picos de Europa and Asturias.

Start by heading toward Los Picos de Europa and then hiking your own hike on the various trails that head west through Asturias.Whenever you feel like it, head southwest to reconnect with El Camino Frances to join the many pilgrims.

I was thrilled to be back in the mountains, but the wind chill was intense, even at 10 a.m.  I was celebrating my first glimpse of Los Picos de Europa.

A trail has finally broken me. I've met a trail that I just can't hack. It's El Camino Santiago.

I'm pretty tough mentally. I smile during mountaineering moments when most people cry. I've hiked nearly 15,000 miles (24,000 km) in the last decade, having a blast under nearly all conditions. I've never even though about quitting a trail. Until now.

Walking from Pamplona to Burgos is murderously dull, yet most say it is much more scenic than Burgos to Leon. That's when I considered quiting.

It also made me admire all the pilgrims who are not only able to walk the whole trail, but to also do it with a smile on their faces! I am clearly not tough enough!

But I won't quit. Fortunately, I have a solution that will keep me from giving up completely.

Where is El Camino Santiago?

The name El Camino Santiago is deceptive. Its most popular translated names (the Way of St. James or Le Chemin St. Jacques) are also misleading. These names imply that there is one trail, one way, one path to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, ANY way to Santiago de Compostela is a Camino Santiago. All roads may lead to Rome, but all caminos lead to Santiago de Compostela. 

If you zoom into the map of Europe on the right, you may notice that one trail is a bit thicker than the rest. This is the famous Camino Frances, or French Trail. It is the most popular way to Santiago de Compostela. However, the key takeaway from the map is that there are many caminos.

In this article you'll find 58 photos from the rest of my Pyrenees crossing, from the Mediterrenean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. I jumped between the GR 11 (Spain), HRP (high route), and the GR 10 (France), depending on the conditions, scenery, and my food supply. West of Andorra the Pyrenees climb to their high point before slowly descending into the Atlantic Ocean. If you want to stay chronological, make sure you see the first half of this trip.

It was late September and I got hammered with a snowstorm. I found a green weather station at a high mountain pass. As I climbed up the freezing rain turned to snow. I wasn't carrying my trusty and strong GoLite umbrella. Instead, I had a $4 umbrellla, which survived this storm. It did OK for two weeks and then started slowly falling apart. It was better than I expected!

Greetings from Andorra! It's one of the smallest countries in Europe, nestled in the Pyrenees between Spain and France. The official language is Catalan, but most people are trilingual (they also speak French and Spanish).

It's been nearly a week and the Pyrenees have been far more impressive than I imagined....  and I haven't even gotten to the best (highest) part yet! 

I'm taking a short break to share a few photos before heading into the mountains. It's still snowing in the mountains, so I could use the break. I will push hard all next week because it's good weather, so I will try to do 40-50 km per day to take advantage of the conditions.

Therefore, I may not write again until I arrive in San Sebastian, Spain and touch the Atlantic.     

Here are a few photos of the journey so far.  

I had to hitchhike to the Cap de Creus and it was an adventure just getting there! 

One unexpected site near the Cap de Creus: a statue of liberty in Spain that looks like it's signaling a touchdown!  

Getting to el Cap de Creus was unforgettable because I experienced a hitchhiking first: I was picked up by a motorcycle! That's never happened to me! To make it more super unique, the driver was a woman! She was a German woman who now lived almost next door to where Salvador Dali lived for most of his life. She had an extra helmet and I snapped a picture of us while on the go.   

I'm standing on the edge of the Cap de Creus!    

I touched the Mediterranean Sea one last time before hiking to the Atlantic Ocean via the Pyrenees.      

Banyuls-Sur-Mer and the Mediterranean begins to fade as I start to climb, climb, and climb....    

Fresh snow fell the night before I walk through here.    

I am backpacking across Spain now. The 1,600 km (1,000 mile) hike should take about 6 weeks and is divided in two parts: the Pyrenees and El Camino Santiago. 

The Pyrenees

This east-west mountain range divides Spain and France. I am starting now at Cap de Creus, which juts out of Spain and is where Salvador Dali loved to paint.

From this cape, I will walk northwest along the Mediterranean Sea until I reach Banyulys-sur-Mer, France. I’ll wet my fingers in the Mediterranean Sea one last time before climbing up into the Pyrenees. I will continue hiking 800 km until I get to San Sebastian, a famous, picturesque town in the Basque country. If I pull that off, I will have enjoyed a nice adventure from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean!

I’ll be following the Pyrenees high mountain route, which is about 800 km (500 mile) long and reaches altitudes of 3,000 meters (10,000 feet). It’s not well marked, but I’m used to obscure trails. Snow will fall in the Pyrenees, so I will step on the gas so that I don’t linger too long in the Pyrenees. I plan to walk from sea to sea in three weeks.

Although I said that I’m walking across Spain, technically I’ll be constantly hopping across the Spain-France border. As much as possible, I will try to stand in Spain and pee in France.