We recently interviewed Mattie Andersen! Mattie is a computer scientist whose work has explored the intersection of people, technology, and the environments they inhabit. While her resume speaks for itself, what makes Mattie’s perspective especially compelling is that she’s not just a researcher—she’s also a pilgrim.

The Allure of the Camino

In 2022, Mattie’s older brother, Hayden, set out on a five week long-distance pilgrimage covering the main route of the Camino trail. She never quite figured out how he discovered the trail, but was inspired by her interactions with him. While he was on the trail, she connected with him over phone calls and messages. Two years later Mattie decided to complete a pilgrimage of her own.

In the two years preceding her pilgrimage, Mattie became interested in physicality and deepening her relationship with her body. She had never completed a long distance hike. She had never had to navigate Spain alone as a single woman traveler. Yet, the Camino called. 

Getting Ready for the Camino

As Mattie prepared for the Camino, she developed a new relationship with her body, in terms of fitness. She became curious about what it would take to carry her body across the hundred+ mile pilgrimage finish line. Hayden’s hike might’ve prompted Mattie’s interest but as she prepared, the Camino began to take on a life of its own. On the weekends, Mattie undertook 13 mile day hikes toning her muscles, and mentally preparing to walk everyday, all day. In addition to her physical preparation, Mattie had to pack. She relied on the Camino trail subreddit to refine her packing list:

“[Reddit] is a very popular place for people to post a picture of everything they are bringing and ask, ‘Can you tell me what I need or should take out?’”

Mattie is unique among the hikers that we have interviewed because she didn’t watch Camino trail YouTube videos before her hike. Mattie didn’t want to spoil the physical trail for her and wanted to land in Spain with no idea of what the road ahead looked like. Youtube Camino trail videos are a popular sub genre on the platform.

On the Trail

Mattie was expecting her Camino to be a spiritually taxing, introspective experience. However, the Camino for Mattie was a joyful, living in the moment experience where she left the cares of her “regular world” behind. She loved the trail and the people she met along the way. Her days were structured around staying close to her “pilgrim pod” similar to an Appalachian Trail “tramily”. WhatsApp was the main communication tool on the trail and this is how Mattie kept in touch with her pod and reserved hostel rooms.

Digital communication on the trail, like WhatsApp and Booking.com, is a relatively new phenomenon and has been met with some resistance. There are Camino “purists” who believe that a pilgrimage should be completed without the aid of a smart phone. Mattie does not align with this ideology. She didn’t think that her phone use distracted from her experience. If anything, it helped her not be limited by lowering her anxiety and overcoming the language barrier. With tools like Booking.com, Duolingo, and WhatsApp she was able to communicate with the folks along the trail. Another way that Mattie used her phone on the trail was recording her experience. Not one to share on social media, Mattie stuck with pictures and videos to preserve her experience:

” I think my favorite videos are the ones where I’m with people and I’m filming and I can hear their chatter in the background.”

The Camino trail has seen thousands of visitors. As more pilgrims begin to use their phones, the Camino trail hostel owners and shops have had to adapt. Mattie saw older hostel owners adapting in different ways. For example, they would take down the information she provided online and jot in down in their physical account books. Others used various apps to take pictures of passports and register pilgrims. We make special note of this because it shows the ingenuity of older adult business owners along the Camino trail and defies ageist technology stereotypes.

Business owners are not the only people adapting to a digital trail culture. Pilgrims are now able to share their experience with family members and friends in real time. Mattie is a special case compared to other long distance hikers because communicated with her family only to let them know that she is alive and well. Mattie is not alone in enjoying limited digital interaction, some hikers go to the trail to get away from the modern world. However there is a large group of hikers that video, photograph, and call their way along the trail. Mattie wanted to live in the moment and share an abbreviated version of her travels when she gets home.

We want to thank Mattie for her time and insights. She is an inspiring example of setting a goal and accomplishing it in an individualized way. We wish her safe travels on future trips and look forward to hearing more stories about the trail.