Priest Ranch's Judd Wallenbrock embarks on Camino fundraiser for mental health

A Napa Valley winery executive is trading spreadsheets for hiking boots this summer, setting off on a 500-mile trek across northern Spain to raise money for Mentis, the county's mental health services nonprofit.

Judd Wallenbrock, the CEO of Priest Ranch Winery who also serves on the Mentis board of directors, leaves July 14 to walk the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route that has drawn travelers for more than 1,000 years. He plans to cover 15 to 20 miles a day for roughly 30 days, with two or three rest days built in, before reaching the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

Wallenbrock said he is already in training mode, walking Partrick Road to build up mileage and elevation.

"I get hills in and the length in," he said. "I love it. I take pictures I've taken a million times, and it's so peaceful."

He is making the trip with Jeff Earp-Thomas, a college roommate, best man at his wedding and longtime friend known simply as "The Dog," who completed the Camino's French Route nearly a decade ago.

"He recorded his trip on a blog and told me when he looks back on it, 'I forget how much pain I was in,'" Wallenbrock said of Earp-Thomas' earlier journey.

The pair will walk the Camino del Norte before switching to the Camino Primitivo about halfway through, a route Wallenbrock said neither of them knew much about before committing.

Also known as the Way of St. James, the Camino de Santiago is a network of pilgrimage routes across Spain, Portugal and France that converge at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of the apostle St. James are said to be buried. The most heavily traveled route is the Camino Francés, but dozens of paths lead to the same destination, including the coastal Camino del Norte and the older, more rugged Camino Primitivo that Wallenbrock and Earp-Thomas will follow.

Pilgrims who complete at least the final 100 kilometers on foot, about 62 miles, can earn a Compostela, an official certificate from the cathedral recognizing the completion of the journey. Along the way, walkers typically stay in modest hostels called albergues, sharing meals and stories with travelers from around the world.

The Camino Francés and other northern Spanish routes were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993, recognizing their historical and cultural significance.

Wallenbrock, who turns 69 in October, said the walk is partly about recapturing the spirit of adventure travel he pursued after college, including a six-month backpacking trip he called an Australian-style "walk-about."

On his post-graduation adventures, he hitchhiked across Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand in his early 20s and later trekked and whitewater-rafted in Nepal. During one stretch in Indonesia in the 1980s, he contracted dengue fever after a mosquito bite and nearly died with no way to alert anyone back home, he said.

"I'm not delusional and thinking I'm going to magically be 25 again," Wallenbrock said. "But what was great about those experiences was all of the people I got to meet throughout my travels."

He said he has come to see the trip as a closing chapter on that adventurous period of his life.

"You blink and 40 years pass," he said. "I'm understanding that I might not get many more opportunities to do something like this again."

Wallenbrock has been on the Mentis board for three years, so the idea of turning the trip into a charitable effort made perfect sense.

"I got on the board because everyone that I know has some connection of some kind to some sort of mental health thing," he said.

Rob Weiss, executive director of Mentis, said Wallenbrock's trip lines up naturally with the organization's mission.

"Judd is a very committed Mentis board member, and his Camino journey in Spain offered an opportunity for him to spotlight the great work that is being done at Mentis," Weiss said. "Walking the Camino is both physically and mentally challenging, which ties back to the community members that we serve, who themselves face complex emotional health challenges daily. To address these mental health challenges, it takes resilience combined with learning effective coping skills in a supportive environment. This is what we provide at Mentis."

Mentis was founded in 1948 to help families readjust after World War II and has since grown into one of Napa County's oldest nonprofits, offering bilingual, affordable mental health services across the income and age spectrum. According to the organization, demand has intensified in recent years amid added stressors, including wildfires, prompting a shift toward prevention as well as treatment.

Wallenbrock is pairing the walk with a "walk-a-thon" fundraiser, inviting supporters to pledge anywhere from $1 to $100 or more per mile. Over 500 miles, organizers note, even small per-mile pledges can add up quickly.

He plans to document the journey on Substack under the title "Dog Is My Co-Pilot," a nod to his traveling companion Earp-Thomas, with posts chronicling the route from San Sebastián through the Camino del Norte and Primitivo to Santiago de Compostela.

"Won't you come along and vicariously walk with me and help charity?" Wallenbrock wrote in his first Substack post. "Please do, stay tuned, and Buen Camino!"

Those interested in supporting Mentis through the walk can make a pledge at mentisnapa.org/judds-walk-for-mental-health. Wallenbrock's journey can be followed at substack.com/@juddwallenbrock.

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