Faith and adventure are not opposites. Some journeys should require something from you, and the Church's oldest pilgrimages did: people walked to Santiago, to Rome and to Jerusalem because there was no other way to get there. The Camino keeps that alive. Five or six days from Sarria, 20 km a day on your own feet, is enough to make arrival at the cathedral mean something.
Medjugorje's two hills are short but rocky and steep; Cross Mountain in particular is a real climb, done by many pilgrims barefoot. Assisi has the Eremo delle Carceri on Mount Subasio and sections of the Way of St. Francis for anyone who wants to walk into town rather than ride. None of this is extreme. All of it is honest effort.
Two things we hold to. First, the certificate is not the point; if you walk a hundred kilometres and arrive with nothing changed except a piece of paper, something has been missed. Second, nobody is a lesser pilgrim for not climbing. Every Bold Pilgrim itinerary with a hard walk has a meaningful alternative for those who cannot safely make it.
