Marley Kreiser Prepares for a Spiritual Saunter
A hiker known as 'Chill Out' plans a contemplative pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, aiming to address past religious wounds through walking.
Marley 'Chill Out' Kreiser is preparing for a long walk on the Camino de Santiago. This pilgrimage will be a deliberate departure from a previous Appalachian Trail hike, focused on spiritual reflection and personal healing.
Kreiser, who adopted the trail name "Chill Out" in 2022, describes a lifelong pattern of over-scheduling and burnout. A major friendship on trail introduced her to the concept of sauntering, inspired by a John Muir quote. "People ought to saunter in the mountains-not hike!… Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently," the friend shared. This philosophy now guides her approach to the upcoming journey.
The Intention to Saunter
For Kreiser, sauntering means walking with peace and presence, a conscious intention set for her 24th year. She contrasts this with her previous thru-hiking mindset, where productivity was most important. Nature has become a primary teacher and refuge. The Camino, she states, will be walked not only as a physical challenge but as a direct engagement with a painful part of her personal history.
A Pilgrimage of Spirit
The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage route with deep Catholic traditions linked to Saint James. Kreiser acknowledges this history but outlines a personal motive rooted in forgiveness. She was raised in a Christian environment, attending a private school and church regularly. A key shift occurred when she temporarily transferred to a public high school, an experience that broadened her worldview. Upon returning to the private school, she faced ostracism from former classmates, a wound that she says was allowed to fester by teachers.
This experience, coupled with learning about Christianity's historical role in colonization, caused a fracture in her belief system. Kreiser says she began regurgitating teachings without feeling their truth. She ultimately decided to leave organized Christianity, a move that cost her a sense of identity and community.
Seeking a Broader Truth
From 2019 to 2026, Kreiser has explored numerous spiritual traditions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Taoism, Stoicism, Indigenous wisdom traditions, and Baha’i. Each, she reports, provided a new lens and helped deepen her connection to the divine. She now chooses not to identify with a single route but to pursue a personal journey of spirit with curiosity.
The Camino represents a walk directly into the belief system that once caused her pain. Kreiser believes she is not alone in having complicated religious experiences. She frames the pilgrimage as a form of medicine-a willingness to remain open rather than adopt another prescribed system. Her goal is to explore the spirit intrinsic to every person and the mystery of a greater power from a place of nonjudgment.
This long walk is framed as a saunter for the spirit, a part of herself she had forgotten. She plans to write about this exploration while walking, striving to hold a middle path that does not segregate or alienate.
