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I am sitting in front of León cathedral having lunch and preparing for what sounds like a hot spell coming. The first half, full of physical challenges was spectacular.
A few thoughts on March travel from our experience:
Beds- always available
Water, coffee, food- several 12km plus stretches...
We are walking off stage and needed beds for four in Azofra where the only Albergue is not yet open. Ana at Pension La Plaza kindly let us book four to a room which makes the price like an Albergue. We had beautiful private patio looking out over the church and the valley for last night’s full...
Travelling in mid March from SJPP I am kind of doing the opposite- no sleeping bag but carrying a sufficiently heavy fleece (plus layers) that I can sleep in them and keep warm if I need to. The net weight of no sleeping bag + heavier fleece ended up being the minimum weight for me. Even with a...
It definitely seems like more of a mountain hike than a typical camino trail from what I have read at this point. Navigation seems to be one of the bigger challenges. Appreciate your perspective having attempted it previously Tincatinker. For us this will be a call at the time with careful...
We are going to start mid March through Valcarlos, then have a close look at the Dragonte Route at the other end. There are some interesting descriptions and pictures online that suggest this might be an interesting higher alpine substitute. If you are leaving in January, I don't know if this...
I am continually amazed by the longevity of better quality hiking products like those made by Patagonia. Similar to SilentNight I am still trying wear out my first of their products I purchased twenty years ago but I am wearing out faster than they are. I just finished about 200km of testing...
I have the same wool allergy, turn into a lobster with merino. After much testing (200km+) have opted for Patagonia capilene products in various weights. They feel like cotton, dry fast and have anti microbial technology that is pretty good. Lined double layer synthetic-wool socks seem ok but...
Would it not be possible to check with the various albergues west of Burgos to see if he registered overnight? Might provide some updated locations prior to Santiago. I have not yet walked a camino but my understanding is that there is some sort of nightly registration process where you show...
We are planning to walk the Frances starting March 10, so via Valcarlos as Napoleon is closed. I assume booking through to Pamplona should start soon given crowds and many albergues being closed for the winter?
I see a pattern here. Like you JabbaPappa I have thousands of km on my current staff and at this point it feels unnatural not to be walking with it. Maybe that familiarity is what makes it work? I really can't recall how long it took to get to that point but now it is so integral to how I walk...
Interesting topic. I make walking sticks for myself here in Canada and intend to bring one with me to walk the Frances next fall, despite the hassle of shipping it. I find there is a very nice metronome effect to an oak stick with a decent heft- it seems to keep me in a very good rhythm, about...
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