LauraK
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Leon-Santiago (2004) Roncesvalles-Leon (2006) Camino Frances (2012) Kumano Kodo-Japan (2014) Camino Sanabres/Salamanca-Santiago (March 2015) Camino Del Salvador and Camino Primativo (Oct 2015)
Yahoo! I have earned enough frequent flyer miles for a trip to Spain and will have enough time open in October to walk again. I plan to start walking on October 15. I walked the VdlP and Sanabres from Salamanca in March so I feel very fortunate to be able to get another walk in this year. Thanks to Peringrina2000's wonderful posts I have decided to walk the Del Salvador and Primitivo caminos. I have several questions and would greatly appreciate help in my planning. I am upping my daily walks to 9 miles 5 days a week with a few longer walks before I leave. Dallas is flat so I will not have the ability to climb mountains. Training is a first for me since I generally go without any training and use the first few days to get in shape but I admit I am a little intimidated by the elevations on these two routes. So here goes...
1. Solo walking: On my solo March walk I only shared an albergue on 4 nights out of 21 and basically saw no pilgrims during the day...a very solitary camino. I am fine walking alone but would not mind a little more company in the evening. On many of the older Salvador and Primitivo posts I find comments stating that these are mountain routes and dangerous to do alone. Is this true? Will there be other pilgrims during this time of year?
2. Weather: I have walked the CF in Jan-Feb and the Sanabres in March so I have winter layers and equipment. Do I need to bring my wool base layers (merino top & long johns), fleece hat and gloves for this time of year? I will have a fleece jacket and rain jacket/pants to use for layers. I walk hot so even in freezing weather I will often have my jacket off during mid day. Will my fleece be enough for evenings in the mountains? It appears that I should anticipate many rain days.
3. Number of Days: I need to book my fight but I am not sure how many days I need to walk with these elevations - I generally can do 25-30km and have walked up to 37 km in a day with several rests along the way (but not in the mountains). I am planning 5 days on the Salvador and 12 days from Oviedo to Santiago. Is this reasonable? I will need to leave the day after I arrive in Santiago so I won't have extra days for rest. I am fine cutting out the last part on the CF if needed.
I have Laurie's notes and I have downloaded the guides, but any other recommendations would be welcomed. I admit these caminos have me a little more nervous...but I think I felt the same way before the last one.
1. Solo walking: On my solo March walk I only shared an albergue on 4 nights out of 21 and basically saw no pilgrims during the day...a very solitary camino. I am fine walking alone but would not mind a little more company in the evening. On many of the older Salvador and Primitivo posts I find comments stating that these are mountain routes and dangerous to do alone. Is this true? Will there be other pilgrims during this time of year?
2. Weather: I have walked the CF in Jan-Feb and the Sanabres in March so I have winter layers and equipment. Do I need to bring my wool base layers (merino top & long johns), fleece hat and gloves for this time of year? I will have a fleece jacket and rain jacket/pants to use for layers. I walk hot so even in freezing weather I will often have my jacket off during mid day. Will my fleece be enough for evenings in the mountains? It appears that I should anticipate many rain days.
3. Number of Days: I need to book my fight but I am not sure how many days I need to walk with these elevations - I generally can do 25-30km and have walked up to 37 km in a day with several rests along the way (but not in the mountains). I am planning 5 days on the Salvador and 12 days from Oviedo to Santiago. Is this reasonable? I will need to leave the day after I arrive in Santiago so I won't have extra days for rest. I am fine cutting out the last part on the CF if needed.
I have Laurie's notes and I have downloaded the guides, but any other recommendations would be welcomed. I admit these caminos have me a little more nervous...but I think I felt the same way before the last one.