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Just how difficult is it getting over The Pyrenees..
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[QUOTE="Thengel1, post: 193917, member: 17535"] This thread has been around for awhile now, and I have avoided posting my SJPDP to Roncesvalles experience, for fear of unduly worrying people who were getting ready to walk for the first time. With a hundred posts, I guess it is safe to throw in my first day's experience into the mix. A little background: when I first started actively planning my camino, I was carrying more weight on me than is healthy. However, I was pretty active and wasn't remotely concerned. Unfortunately, in 7 months between starting to plan and my first step out the door of the L'Esprit du Chemin, I managed to gain another 70 pounds. I would have been close to 320 lbs that day. The only plus I had going for me is I was used to walking a lot. I had planned on trying the Napoleon route, and stopping at Orrison to split it up. However, in early April, the Napoleon route was still closed, so via Valcarlos I went. I set out around 8 AM. Initially, it was fine, walking along quiet roads, passing some sheep grazing quietly on 70 degree slopes, ignoring some dogs who sole purpose in life appeared to be to bark continuously and loudly at anything that came within their visual range. There was some up and down, but on the whole, not a bad morning at all. By the time I reached Valcarlos, I was feeling somewhat tired. There is a covered pavilion/stage just where you rejoin the main highway for awhile, and I had lunch there and considered my options. I had covered about half the distance in roughly 3.5 hours. However, most of the elevation gain on the Valcarlos route is at the end of day, and I was already feeling tired. My body was telling me to stop, particularly since this was the last place with accommodations before Roncesvalles. My brain decided to fixate on the 23-24 km I needed to average per day to finish in 5 weeks and that 12 km was just not enough. On remote hiking trails, this is the sort of thinking that gets people killed or lost. Fortunately, I wasn't on a remote hiking trail. Soon after leaving Valcarlos, I began to slow down. Just past Ganecoleta, my right thigh muscle cramped for the time. Not long after, a rash began to develop, which slowed me down still further. By the time I reached the START of the long, sustained climb, I was exhausted. I figure the last 2.5 km I walked that day took me in excess of 4 hours. During those four hours, my right thigh had cramped twice more and the rash had become problematic, every step hurt. The last woman to pass me, at around 4:00 PM, had yelled back to me that she would let the staff at the albergue know that I was still on the trail. At just before 7 PM I came out onto the road beside what the guidebook describes as a dog kennel. As best I could judge it, I had another 3km and 100 metres of elevation gain to go, it was cool and raining lightly, and it would be dark in an hour or so. I was beaten. I knew, KNEW, if I went back to into the woods to continue, someone would have to come get me. when i was younger and in better shape, I had lots of long day hikes, and while I had been tired, it was nothing like this. This feeling of being helpless was a new and unpleasant experience in my life. So, I made the only decision I could. I crossed the road, and tried to flag down a passing vehicle. It took between 45 minutes and a hour to get a ride, during which time I started to worry about hypothermia. Like I said, it was cool and rainy, and I so exhausted that I found it very difficult to move much. While I was waiting, I decided that coming here was a huge mistake, that I simply wasn't equipped to do this. I was going to find a place to stay in Roncesvalles overnight, take a cab or something to Pamplona in the morning, and figure what to do next. While trying to get my bearings after being dropped off, I was approached by younger woman (25ish) and an older gentleman (early 50's), who offered to show me where the albergue was. They led me in and the guy carried my pack, which was good I wasn't entirely sure I could lift it my pack onto my back again. When I got there, I got checked in. I wasn't going to stay, but I felt obligated to let the albergue staff know I had made it. Sure enough, they were expecting me. I ended up staying, just because it was easier. One of the albergue staff had to tighten my sandals for me, because I physically couldn't reach to tighten them myself. That night, it took several hours to fall asleep, because different parts of my body would take turns cramping. My thighs, calves, feet and one of my thumbs. A few points in closing: 1. When I awoke in the morning, I was still convinced that it would be foolish to continue. However, I got up, threw away everything in my pack that didn't seem necessary, and walked out the door. I looked at the map and saw that the next village was only about 3km away and decided I could quit when I got there. And when I reached it, I decided the 3.5 km (mostly flat) to the next village was a distance I could cover before looking for that cab. For the next two days, that was pretty much how things worked. And, as you can tell from my profile picture, I did eventually make it to Santiago. 2. I don't know the names of the people who led me to the albergue, or the albergue staff I interacted with that night (April 2), but on the remote chance that they frequent these forums, I did want to say thank you. Your kindness that night literally saved my camino. 3. Like I said at the beginning, I wouldn't want anyone to think my experience was typical. :) Glen [/QUOTE]
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