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Winter camino what to wear ?

Frank1

New Member
Sep 26, 2009
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When I do jogging in winter, a t-shirt, a fleece, gloves and long pants is enough. What do I need to wear to walk the Camino in december ? Do I have to wear a warm winter jacket or is thermical underwear, t shirt, 1-2 fleeces, gloves and a jacket to proctect me to the rain and wind ?


Greetings,
Frank
 
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newfydog

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Sep 10, 2009
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Ditch the cotton t shirts. A synthetic shirt such as Patagonia's capilenne, a fleece jacket, a good quality gore tex jacket will be great. Then throw in a really light down vest or jacket for emergency. If you can afford it, the Mont Bell down jacket is incredible.
 

anniethenurse

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Mar 8, 2009
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Yes, ditch the cotton! Check the gear made of merino wool - for instance Icebreaker or Smartwool and dress in layers, the outer layer wind and waterproof. Goretex boots with merino socks. This is what suites me... Merino is expensive but you get what you pay for! I prefer Icebreaker.
 
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doctor_robert

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Dec 24, 2010
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You are not going to be running and depending on how quick you move you really might not break a sweat. It is mostly a long walk on gentle terrain.

I walked in Feb and this is what I thought was important for keeping warm:
warm hat and gloves
goretex trailrunners
gaiters
a couple of fleece jackets
lightweight thermal underwear
raincoat and rainskirt (rainskirts are so much better than rain pants)

Also very important was my 0 degree Celsius rated sleeping bag. A lot of the albergues have heat and blankets, but it is not prudent to trust that they will. My good sleeping bag was worth the weight at the cold albergues.
 

samba

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Jan 27, 2008
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Iagree -sleeping bag is most important alongside good walking shoes and thermals plus jacket .I walked the camino frances at the beginning of May about 4 years ago ,and there were many times when my sleeping bag was my best friend .Especially at the beginning where the temperature changed just during day from very hot to freezing ,as climbing over the pyrenees .The hostels are not always warm ,and even when they are feel freezing at end of walk sometimes .
 

dougfitz

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Mar 12, 2011
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Frank1 said:
When I do jogging in winter, a t-shirt, a fleece, gloves and long pants is enough. What do I need to wear to walk the Camino in december ? Do I have to wear a warm winter jacket or is thermical underwear, t shirt, 1-2 fleeces, gloves and a jacket to proctect me to the rain and wind ?


Greetings,
Frank

I think it would be difficult to extrapolate from jogging, presumably unloaded and over relatively short distances compared to a Camino day, to what might be required for long days, slower pace and heavier loads.

Further, I will join the chorus on ditching any cotton. If you do manage to get warm enough to sweat, cotton will retain it. You will find that most manufacturers of goretex or similar clothing advise that these materials are ineffective when there is a cotton layer underneath - you will need inner and middle layers that will wick moisture away from your skin.

In Mar 10, I used four layers for my torso:
1. short or long sleeved thermal vest (Kathmandu) - (both had plenty of length to tuck into the bottom layers.
2. long sleeved trekking or hiking shirt (Lowe Alpine) - mid layer
3. light fleece (Macpac) - this was normally the outer layer, but if it was really cold or windy, I would then wear
4. Rain jacket (Lowe Alpine) - this is one that allows a Lowe Alpine fleece to be zipped in, but I decided not to carry that in preference for the lighter Macpac fleece. It also has a mesh liner in the jacket, which adds to the amount of air it can capture.

At the start, I planned to have up to three bottom layers:
1. thermal long johns (Kathmandu)
2. trekking pants (North Face?)
3. gaiters, or rainpants if it was really wet.

I only did this on the first day, and found that my lower body was too warm, and after that I wore a pair of briefs and the trekking pants, and on cold days wore the gaiters, and only wore the rain pants when it was raining heavily.

In terms of keeping my extremities protected, I wore the Outdoor Research Seattle Sombrero most days, sometimes with a beanie. When it was really wet, the sombrero had sufficient adjustment to allow it to go over the rain jacket hood, but not both beanie and hood comfortably.

I carried liner gloves and a pair of water resistant gloves, as well as a pair of mitts (I use these almost all the time with trekking poles unless it is really cold).

I wore Scarpa boots, with a combination of Horizon liner socks and Horizon Coolmax Leisure socks. This was okay in late Mar, but might not be warm enough earlier in the year. Note that there is plenty of commentary on this site about the relative merits of boots vs shoes. I prefer boots, but you need to make your own choice.

In summary - have good options for layering, with the upper body needing at least an extra layer, and make sure you have good options for the extremities - head, hands and feet.

Regards,
 
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Frank1

New Member
Sep 26, 2009
24
1
Thank you for the advice. I have some questions
[*] Are the albergues and restaurants open ?
[*]Are there blankets in the albergues and are the albergues heated.
[*] Is is esay to find the yellow arrows in winter with the snow ?
 
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Many albergues close on or about October 31, and do not reopen until April 1. Still, there are beds to be found. You may want to stay in hostales to avoid long stages. Hospitaleros may know which places ahead are closed, so ask.

Most albergues, particularly those with cold weather, have blankets.

Many arrows are painted on rocks, which may be covered with snow. Navigating will be more difficult. A guide with turn-by-turn instructions, like Raju, will be useful. So would detailed maps or a GPS. You will have fewer pilgrims to follow!

Here is a blog about a winter camino:

http://kaybeetravels.blogspot.com/2009_ ... chive.html
 
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