Walking The Meseta in Late October .. what shoes to wear?

[Rebecca Pappa]

Hi All,

I have been doing the Camino in Stages, and will be walking from Burgos to Leon in mid October. I am curious if anyone has done this leg in trainers or sneakers opposed to hiking boots or shoes? Any suggestions are happily welcome!

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

 

[chinacat]

Hi Rebecca and welcome

@davebugg is our resident expert on all things relating to feet ... and a lot more besides

He has many ‘postings’ that cover all you need to know.
You could try the Search link (above left) for him ... or for ‘footwear’.

Buen Camino!

 

[Rebecca Pappa]

Hi Rebecca and welcome

@davebugg is our resident expert on all things relating to feet ... and a lot more besides

He has many ‘postings’ that cover all you need to know.
You could try the Search link (above left) for him ... or for ‘footwear’.

Buen Camino!

Thank you so very much ! Will do!

 

[rappahannock_rev]

This Sept/Oct I'm walking from Logrono to Leon once more.... Probably be the last hurrah for my much-loved Merrill Moab Ventilators, sigh... And would they be called 'trainers', sneakers, or shoes? I don't rightly know! But I'll miss 'em when they're gone. They never let me down.

 

[trecile]

Hi All,

I have been doing the Camino in Stages, and will be walking from Burgos to Leon in mid October. I am curious if anyone has done this leg in trainers or sneakers opposed to hiking boots or shoes? Any suggestions are happily welcome!

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Personally, I wouldn't wear hiking boots on any part of the Camino. Trail runners were great on my first two Caminos and sandals were even better on the second two.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

wear what you have that is comfortable and very supportive. You are not doing an epic journey, the landscape is rolling, the weather in October is usually quite nice. No need to invest in uber-technical "footwear systems." Just shoes will do you fine.

 

[Sparrow in Texas]

Hello Rebecca, I will be out there about the same time in Altra Timps, being among those who have made the conversion from boots to trail shoes. The Timps, which I wore last fall on the Aragones, provide comfortable cushioning and good stability. I do use an aftermarket insole for extra arch and metatarsal support.

 

[Rebecca Pappa]

Hello Rebecca, I will be out there about the same time in Altra Timps being among those who have made the conversion to trail shoes. The Timps, which I wore last fall on the Aragones, provided comfortable cushioning and good stability. I do use an aftermarket insole for arch and metatarsal support.

Thank you very much!!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Trail runners.
The meseta is flat.
No need for boots.

 

[amocatnerak]

I will be there... wearing sandals!

 

[LesR]

Hi All,

I have been doing the Camino in Stages, and will be walking from Burgos to Leon in mid October. I am curious if anyone has done this leg in trainers or sneakers opposed to hiking boots or shoes? Any suggestions are happily welcome!

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Trail runners (Keens Versago) or shoes (Keens Oakridge) for me....

The latter has a stiffer sole if roughness of the pathway is an issue...

 

[Dorpie]

Hi @Rebecca Pappa

Sounds like a lot of us will be on the Meseta in October .

I'll most likely be wearing Keen Arroyos which served me well on my last camino and are sort of a halfway house between between a sandal and a shoe with a closed toe box and heel and relatively small holes elsewhere. There's an element of risk to this if the weather is particularly bad but average daysof and amounts of rain are not much worse than May so I'll take my chances.

So if I were considering terrain alone I would say definitely don't wear a boot, only potentially bad weather would give me pause for thought.

Buen Camino,

Rob.

 

[lt56ny]

Walking wise this is the easiest part of the Camino. The camino is mostly flat. Trail runners are fine.

 

[Rebecca Pappa]

Trail runners.
The meseta is flat.
No need for boots.

Thank you!!!

 

[Rebecca Pappa]

Hi @Rebecca Pappa

Sounds like a lot of us will be on the Meseta in October .

I'll most likely be wearing Keen Arroyos which served me well on my last camino and are sort of a halfway house between between a sandal and a shoe with a closed toe box and heel and relatively small holes elsewhere. There's an element of risk to this if the weather is particularly bad but average daysof and amounts of rain are not much worse than May so I'll take my chances.

So if I were considering terrain alone I would say definitely don't wear a boot, only potentially bad weather would give me pause for thought.

Buen Camino,

Rob.

Thank you very much. Buen Camino to you as well!

 

[kelleymac]

I wear men's TEVA kamik hiking shoes (nice big toe box, mush sole, and waterproof (sort of)). I also wear TEVA sandals with mush sole in the albergue. --

 

[Buz Radican]

I and a walking buddy walked the CF from 2 October to 10 November, 2016. I wore regular light weight hiking books and my hiking buddy (female, 68), wore hiking sandals with wool socks. That was her second CF wearing sandals without a problem.

 

[happymarkos]

Hi All,

I have been doing the Camino in Stages, and will be walking from Burgos to Leon in mid October. I am curious if anyone has done this leg in trainers or sneakers opposed to hiking boots or shoes? Any suggestions are happily welcome!

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Hi Rebecca
I walked it last October as part of the CF. Wore Hanwag low cut hi tech walking shoes. Very comfortable and waterproof. It’s a German brand that can be resoled. So unless you have a really heavy pack that’s what I would recommend.
Buen Camino
Happymark

 

[Karl Oz]

The meseta is very well-trodden, as mentioned above. However, I will offer a personal observation from my experience on the meseta in the wet Spring of 2013: The usually hard-baked clay path was often in many long sections a sea of well-churned, ankle-deep puddles and mud; there was no escaping it as even the new paths blazed by squeamish pilgrims along the border of the neighbouring fields were similarly boggy. At days-end you had filthy trousers and boots, and in my case only semi-saturated feet due to the Goretex lining. I would not liked to have tackled it wearing sandals or runners. However, I have not observed such conditions on subsequent caminos so maybe those conditions were exceptional. Something to consider, at any rate.

 

[trecile]

I would not liked to have tackled it wearing sandals or runners.

I have walked in ankle deep mud in sandals, and it was definitely better than wearing shoes. So much easier to clean and faster to dry. I now have waterproof socks, so even better in the rain and mud.

 

[Karl Oz]

I have walked in ankle deep mud in sandals, and it was definitely better than wearing shoes. So much easier to clean and faster to dry. I now have waterproof socks, so even better in the rain and mud.

Waterproof socks sound like a marvellous innovation. You wore them with sandals?

 

[trecile]

Waterproof socks sound like a marvellous innovation. You wore them with sandals?

I only needed them one day this year. They did keep my feet nice and dry, though they aren't as comfortable as my other socks. Last year when I walked in the mud I just had regular socks.

 

[amocatnerak]

Last year I brought waterproof socks as a last minute addition to my gear. Also, I initially walked in Vasque boots, but changed to Teva sandals in Pamplona. My waterproof socks over my Injinji socks worked perfectly in the rain and the snow. My feet never got cold or wet! Here is my Sealskinz and Tevas combo:

 

[freescot]

I've walked all my caminos in sandals in all seasons, even with snow. Invariably I am told I am wearing the wrong shoes. Walk in whatever is most comfortable for you. There are no rules. I may well be walking it in October. In sandals - Decathlon's cheapest, good for 2000km.
Buen Camino.

 

[Rebecca Pappa]

The meseta is very well-trodden, as mentioned above. However, I will offer a personal observation from my experience on the meseta in the wet Spring of 2013: The usually hard-baked clay path was often in many long sections a sea of well-churned, ankle-deep puddles and mud; there was no escaping it as even the new paths blazed by squeamish pilgrims along the border of the neighbouring fields were similarly boggy. At days-end you had filthy trousers and boots, and in my case only semi-saturated feet due to the Goretex lining. I would not liked to have tackled it wearing sandals or runners. However, I have not observed such conditions on subsequent caminos so maybe those conditions were exceptional. Something to consider, at any rate.

Thank you so much. That is very helpful.