Since the times of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, Americans have headed off to Europe on odysseys of self-improvement. But until recently, Americans have not chosen 'the best way'—El Camino de Santiago. Bill Walker ("Skywalker") decided to undertake this 500 mile trek, that stretches from the Pyrenees in southern France to Santiago in Northwest Spain. Better yet, he did it in the ‘Holy Year’ of 2010. Fully 200,000 pilgrims were struggling on foot to make it to the Great Gothic Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. The Camino is supposed to be a religious-spiritual pilgrimage. But Walker had also been told that it was “The European Divorcee Trail.” At Walker's side was his 18 year-old nephew, Gavin, who thrives with his special brand of Fonzie-like charm. The towel-snapping banter between the two of them is reminiscent of the frat-boy dialogue between Bill Bryson and Katz. Better yet, the two of them learn just how delightful the French really can be (except, of course, when they’re being impossible), why the Germans are almost all model pilgrims, and the tragi-glorious roots of the Spanish national character.
Bill Walker attended the University of Georgia where he received a Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree in Accounting. He spent the two most boring years of his life as a tax accountant at Arthur Andersen in Atlanta.
Walker then became a commodities broker for the next fourteen years, first at the Chicago Board of Trade, then at the London International Financial Futures Exchange. That was anything but boring. But in 2001, the entire business was computerized. It was again time to sharply change course.
Walker became a VISTA volunteer and was the welfare-reform coordinator for the South Texas region. He then moved to Latin America where he taught English as a Second Language in five different countries.
In 2005, he thru-hiked the 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail. Upon completion, he wrote Skywalker--Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail. This book has sold steadily on Amazon.com. In 2009, Walker hiked the 2,663 mile Pacific Crest Trail. He recently published a narrative of that journey called, Skywalker--Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail, which is the number one selling book on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Walker, who is 6'11", is currently working on a book on the subject of height. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.
