'It was an impossibility': Penn Township couple completes 500-mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage

Penn Township couple Cheryl and Larry Sturm don’t consider themselves hikers.

That’s an ironic statement for a pair who traversed a 500-mile trail from France to Spain in just 40 days.

Cheryl, 70, and Larry, 73, are lifelong Penn Township residents. Larry started Sturm Plumbing along Harrison City’s Route 130 in 1975 — operating the business for 45 years before turning it over to his son in 2020.

The couple has had their fair share of physical feats over the years.

Larry competed in sports throughout his youth, and the pair have taken on several long distance biking adventures together, including the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa — a week-long, 406-mile ride.

Historically, Larry has been the driving force behind the couple’s outdoor excursions.

“She does everything I want to do, as far as adventures,” Larry said. “I’ve dragged her everywhere.”

Cheryl got the itch to hike the Camino de Santiago in honor of her 70th birthday last fall and recruited a friend to complete it with her.

Also known as “The Way of St. James,” the Camino de Santiago is more than just a hike. It’s a spiritual pilgrimage guiding participants to the saint’s tomb in Spain’s Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. Pilgrims have taken the journey for centuries, pursuing spiritual encounters or a deep-dive into culture and history.

But when Cheryl’s friend was sidelined from the hike by health concerns, Larry agreed to step in — under one condition.

“(Cheryl) is excellent at travel. She can find subways and buses,” he said. “I don’t know how she does it.

“I said ‘I’ll make you a deal. If you get me to Saint Jean, France, where it starts, then I will get you to the end of the Camino.’”

On the trail

The Sturms embarked in mid-May for Saint Jean Pied de Port, a commune in southern France. In 15-lb backpacks, they carried their belongings for the next six weeks — two shirts, two pairs of pants, two pairs of underwear, two pairs of socks and a limited supply of travel-sized toiletries.

“I was weighing my toothpaste to see which tube of toothpaste to take,” Cheryl said. “Every ounce counts.”

The couple developed a steady, but rigorous daily routine — waking up at 4:30 a.m. to get a jump on the day’s 15 miles of hiking. Their flashlights illuminated the trail during the early morning miles as they scoured for the often inconspicuous yellow guide arrows — painted on the ground, the walls of nearby buildings or small wooden signs alongside the path.

Horses and sheep dotted the hillsides the Sturms hiked past each day. It was not uncommon for the couple to pause for herds of cattle occupying the narrow streets of the French and Spanish villages they passed through.

The Sturms fueled their miles with bags of potato chips, juicy doughnut peaches and bocadillos — thin slices of meat and cheese encased in thick slices of bread. Pork cheeks, squid and octopus were some of the more unique food finds during their lunch and dinner stops.

They made friends along the way with fellow hikers from countries across the globe.

Rocky road

By the time the Sturms reached their hotel for each night, they went straight to bed. The couple averaged 12 hours of sleep each night, Cheryl said — and they needed it.

The Sturms trained a few times per week for about six months to prepare for the Camino — seeking out the steepest terrain in Western Pennsylvania, Larry said.

“We trained, but we didn’t train super hard,” he said. “After the first two days, my legs were killing me.”

Navigating thousands of feet worth of elevation took a toll on the Sturms. Climbing uphill was challenging, Cheryl said, but inching down steep sections riddled with sharp rocks proved even more so.

With more than half of the hike left to go, Cheryl began to develop tennis ball-sized blisters on her feet. The $200 worth of bandages and kinesiology tape she purchased from village pharmacies barely made a dent in pain prevention.

“It was like walking on broken glass for 200 miles — 200, 300 miles of walking on broken glass,” she said. “And I had to sometimes tiptoe, because it was that horrible.”

Larry was certain their time on the trail was over when the couple reached Burgos, a Spanish city about 300 miles away from the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.

But with a good night’s sleep and a new pair of shoes, Cheryl was able to continue.

“It never crossed my mind not to get up the next day and do it,” she said.

Cheryl Sturm: Prayer ‘got me through the pain’

The Sturms made a point never to discuss how much further they had to hike any given day. But in low moments, the couple sought support from their faith — cultivated by more than 50 years of worship at Christian Life Church in Trafford.

“Before I left, I said to people ‘What do you need prayer for? I promise I’ll be praying for you everyday,’” Cheryl said. “And I did.

“A lot of times, that’s…what got me through the pain, because I would think how I couldn’t take one more step and how painful it was, and then I would realize some of the people that I was praying for are in pain every day of their lives. It isn’t temporary. They’re not going to get to Santiago and it’s going to end.”

The couple arrived in Santiago on June 24.

Larry summarizes the journey in just one word — an accumulation.

“The culture, the people, the places we stayed,” he said. “Almost nothing has changed for a thousand years, the way these people live.

Walking through the city and looking up at the cathedral they sought for 40 days is a moment Cheryl still cannot discuss without growing emotional.

“When you get to the cathedral,” Cheryl said, her eyes glistening with tears, “there’s such an overwhelming sense of achievement…

“For me, it was an impossibility. By the grace of God and (Larry) was the only way I got there.”