Busy Summer? Bring a tent

[josullivan92]

Why not bring a tent for the summer walk. When everyone gets up early and makes the mad dash for the bed down the road, isn't that counter to why you walk the Camino in the first place. Let's enjoy the trip, maybe share a hotel room with some others on occasion. Plan to sleep out on most nights and enjoy the voyage. Enjoy the company of your fellow travelers.

 

[Anne100]

Not only for when it's busy but just so you have other options. Tents are good for naps, privacy, sleeping in, stopping later in the day, stopping because you've reached your walking limit even though you're nowhere near a town, staying in one place more than one night, etc.

 

[Stellere]

But they're either a) heavy or b) expensive. If money weren't a concern, I might buy an ultralight solo tent (not for the camino, since I'll be walking in March - but just to have.) I love the Big Berthas!

 

[Anne100]

Not expensive if you do your research, wait for a sale, check second-hand stores, garage sales, Craigslist, etc. For example, here's a one-person 3.5lb tent for $65 at Amazon, with good reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BF14XXS/?tag=casaivar02-20

As someone pointed out in another thread, if you can afford the airfare, pack, hiking poles, Gortex boots, etc. you can afford a small tent. There are so many options: tents, tarps, tarptents, bivies, even teepees. You can find room in your pack for a few pounds. A hiking buddy of mine hiked the entire A.T. with a children's Winnie the Pooh tent he bought in the clearance section at Walmart for $10.

With all the competition for beds, especially during the busy season, it seems irresponsible to do the Camino without a tent. If you're walking with the expectation there will be a bed for you every night without any kind of backup plan you're asking for trouble, in my opinion.

 

[jnoval]

Quick question since I'm a bit confused. I thought that albergues and their corresponding hospitaleros are not keen on letting peregrinos setup a tent on their grounds. Is this correct or did I misunderstand?

 

[StuartM]

But they're either a) heavy or b) expensive. If money weren't a concern, I might buy an ultralight solo tent (not for the camino, since I'll be walking in March - but just to have.) I love the Big Berthas!

Depends what you use and how much comfort you want.

I'm planning on bivvying a few nights on the Salvador next week, I'm taking a tarp tent from DD Hammocks. It weighs in at 720g plus pegs and pitches using a walking pole. Cost is only £35(UK) and has tons of space inside. Takes under 2min to pitch but it is pretty basic (single skin). It's not that I'm worried about the trail being busy, I just want to enjoy the mountains and wilderness and sleeping under the stars is part of that for me. It's just a 3m x 3m PU tarp with loops sewn in along the edges and reinforced patches along the spine. There are lots of ways to pitch depending on weather conditions (search DD tarp tent on YouTube). Very wind resistant too.

I believe wild camping is illegal in Asturias but I'm not planning on being obvious and not planning on camping outside the mountain sections of the trail either.

 

[Anne100]

There are also campgrounds, yes?

 

[Bajaracer]

Not very many, for the most part, its cheaper to pay for an albergue. For 6-10 euros you get a shower, a bed, and a place to do laundry, most times a kitchen to cook your meals.
Don't be scared off by full albergues, the municipal/donativo albergues are not the only game in town, they are the first to fill up. Stay at the private albergues instead.

 

[Anne100]

Well, it's not cheaper when there are no beds available in the albergues. You're right, there are always other options. Camping is one of those.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

You can find room in your pack for a few pounds.

Space is rarely the consideration; a tent ties nicely on the outside, too. Carrying three or four pounds for 33 days just in case an albergue is full does not make sense for the pilgrims who are cutting off the handle of a toothbrush to save 1/4 of an ounce! Unless you plan to camp regularly (and I still don't know how wild campers plan to take care of the morning bathroom needs -- pollute or impose on a bar? And imagine what it would be like if 180,000 other pilgrims did the same thing!), a tent is dead weight.

You have to work very hard not to get a bed on a camino. Yes, if you insist that everything be done your way, it can happen. Go to bed late. Sleep late. Walk long days. Arrive late. Stay in the published stage-end towns. Aim for the donativos. Plan for the places with ambiance. You can walk a camino where a tent would be a good idea.

However, if you are flexible and adapt to the camino, that is, don't be a control freak, beds are everywhere. Find the recent Forum post about a 10-person group that stayed in Mercadoiro. It is an hour before Portomarin, and no one stops because Portomarin is the end point for every guidebook. But the accommodations are great, the location serene, and the food good. The alternative is Portomarin where a group of ten, or just one, would end up on the floor of the sports facility, and then complain that everything was full and you need a tent.

 

[StuartM]

I think the thing is what you are looking for. On the Frances I enjoyed the camarederie of albergue life, it made it for me. I love camping, I camp all the time and it never occurred to me to camp on the Frances. It just didn;t appeal, there was hardly anywhere that was out of sight of somewhere, always people around, etc. And to be honest, it's not the most scenic of trails either. When I camp it is very often because I want to be part of that landscape to enjoy it more, there was nowhere on the Frances that I really felt that apart from maybe the forests of the last couple of days.

Next week I start the Salvador and my tent will be with me. I deliberately looked for a remote walk and deliberately looked for a solitary trip. I fully intend to sleep under the stars where it is reasonable. Any time I'm doing stuff like this my usual rule is to pitch the tent just before sunset and break camp just after sunrise (weather allowing) so I'm making as minimal an impact on the trail (and drawing attention to myself as little as possible). And where it isn't reasonable I won't be camping.

As for sanitation needs, anyone who spends time in the wilderness knows how to deal with it again with little impact on the landscape. I think the big trouble on the Frances, going by what I saw and the disregard for the environment a lot of people showed, is that the majority of the people walking it aren't generally outdoors people. They are just people who happen to be walking and don't have the skills or knowledge (and often the respect or common sense when it comes to landscape or water courses) that would be expected of trail walkers outside of the Camino.

This is a leaflet that is widely distributed amongst walkers in the Scottish hills and should be mandatory reading for everyone doing any long walk: http://www.mcofs.org.uk/assets/access/where-to-go-leaflet.asp.pdf I think it covers, ahem, "practicalities" very well. I wish more people would pay it attention.

Weight of the tent... you can split it between two walkers very easily, it's standard practice. Or you can use ultralight or tarp tents that are very minimal. Or bivvy bags (I hate them). I carry cheap foam sleep mats on long walks. they are very light to start with but I cut them down to about 2/3 of the length and then trim it to an elongated ellipse as it's all you need. Very light, very compact. Or something like the Klymit X-Frame if you want an inflatable is very good. More than likely you'll have a bag anyway. So not a huge amount of additional weight. I wouldn't bother with cooking kit, especially as cooking outside can really get European cops backs up more than pitching a tent will due to the wild fire risk.

 

[Anne100]

In my opinion, part of being adaptable is having alternate plans for when albergues are full. That can be a private room in a hotel or a night of camping in a tent. Always walk with options.

 

[Maggie97520]

This is a leaflet that is widely distributed amongst walkers in the Scottish hills and should be mandatory reading for everyone doing any long walk: http://www.mcofs.org.uk/assets/access/where-to-go-leaflet.asp.pdf I think it covers, ahem, "practicalities" very well. I wish more people would pay it.

Bravo! Thank you for posting this link.

 

[StuartM]

In my opinion, part of being adaptable is having alternate plans for when albergues are full. That can be a private room in a hotel or a night of camping in a tent. Always walk with options.

Not just adaptable but common sense. It's basic safety for trail walking. Just because the Camino is a bit more esoteric than, say, a GR route it doesn't make you immune from the same considerations. Always have a fall back plan, nothing is a panic when you know what your other choices are in advance.

 

[NicoZ]

The best back up plan is cash followed by an ATM card.

With people arguing about the number of socks that you can get away with or who has the lightest underwear a tent that you may never use seems a strange choice.

Remember that added weight should mean you go with a better backpack. Not an ultra light weight trail runner pack.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I walked this summer and specifically kept my eyes open for camping options. I found that GENERALLY, a person is best off to walk THROUGH a village, buy their food and water, and then camp on the other side. There were very few times that I could not find an appropriate place to set up a small, inconspicuous tent, and often there were tables and seats as well. A tarp tent is a great idea, or even a screen tent during the summer. If there is rain, you can find an albergue or rent a private room with the cash you save.

 

[StuartM]

The best back up plan is cash followed by an ATM card.

With people arguing about the number of socks that you can get away with or who has the lightest underwear a tent that you may never use seems a strange choice.

Really? It would never occur to me to be walking any long distance trail without sleeping outside in some sort of fashion being an option, even if it's only keeping a weather eye out for makeshift shelters which was my back-up plan for the Frances. It wouldn't be the first time I've slept in a bus shelter or wood store because I've had to. When it got to about four or five o'clock my eyes were always wandering to anything that could pass as a roof for the night just in case. I think if I went again or walked one of the less travelled routes I'd certainly have a (much hated) bivvy bag packed at the least.

Sadly, I think the attitude that a credit card will get you out of trouble is all too pervasive these days. There will be a time when you can't just buy a room for the night and I'd rather have a plan for that eventuality made in advance than start worrying about it when cold, tired, wet and a long walk in the dark from the next town. Reading about people racing for rooms... personally I'd rather just take my chances and face a few nights under the stars.

Remember that added weight should mean you go with a better backpack. Not an ultra light weight trail runner pack.

Not necessarily. With a bit of thought you can get away with very small packs. I can get everything I need in a 30L pack including camping gear. I spent a month tramping round Asia with a smaller pack than that.