The St. Bernard breed of dogs from the Alps in Italy and Switzerland were originally bred for rescue in those mountains. The dogs were named for a real person, St. Bernard of Montjoux.
St. Bernard was born in 923 and ran away from his home to avoid an arranged marriage. He went to Italy and joined the Benedictine order. In the Alps he found people still following pagan ways and dedicated the next 42 years of his life to converting the local people. In 962 St. Bernard established a monastery and a hospice at the highest point of a highly traveled and treacherous pass in the Alps between Italy and Switzerland. Eventually that pass came to bear his name.
The monks would go out during heavy snow storms (as well as the rest of the year) accompanied by their dogs in search of travelers or those who had perished trying to travel the pass. The earliest written records of the St. Bernard breed are from 1707 from that very monastery though paintings and pictures date back even further.
St. Bernard (the man) is the patron saint of skiing, snowboarding, hiking, backpacking and mountaineering and the dogs that bear his name are still very tied to the Alpine lifestyle. His feast day is May 28th (our youngest son’s birthday).
I have pinned this medal to my backpack strap as a physical reminder that I have asked St. Bernard to pray for me in my prep hikes and during my Appalachian Trail journey and for the safety of all hikers. I have also asked family and friends for their prayers -- those who have gone before me and those living because we are the communion of saints.
Glad you are doing this. I have been hiking in the Smoky Mts. for years and I am trying to join the 900 mile club. That means hiking all 150 maintained trails for over 800 miles. You actually end up hiking a lot more since many trails are an out and back type and not a loop. Would like to do the AT but my back would not allow carrying the heavy pack. Good luck and keep up informed.
ReplyDeleteA.H.