Is it possible to "Jack Reacher" the Camino Frances - just for fun

[David]

This is just for fun .. lockdown meandering .. so, for those who don't know, Jack Reacher is a fictional hero. Ex army MP major who is now wandering around America, hitching and bus rides, without purpose. He stumbles across a problem, out-logics and outfights the bad guys, rescues the heroine, walks away - a modern Lone Ranger without the mask (or the weird light blue woollen onesie).

Now this is a modern version of old cowboy films as if you look at their horses they never seem to have anything on them as baggage, and never change their clothes either. He carries no baggage whatsoever except a toothbrush, not even a razor. When his clothes get dirty he goes into a cheap clothing store, completely outfits himself new and bins his old clothes.
Now, he mainly stays in motels so doesn't need bedding, toiletries, or towels.

Can this be done on Camino Frances? I use the Frances, (Camino de Santiago) as it has the most supporting infrastructure, towns and shops.

If money was no object - this is fantasy remember - then he wouldn't need any bathroom or bed items, just the toothbrush, but using refugios I would assume a small towel, bar of soap and razor and sleeping sheet?

So - refugio style Camino in summer ... could a rain jacket be rolled and tied around the waist and nothing else, except for water bottle clipped to belt. Or with a bum belt (fanny sack) or a tiny tiny tiny running minimalist backpack with those few items inside? Or just the toothbrush?

Would you do it? Could it be done? Pop in to the big supermarket in every city and buy all new, from the skin up, really cheap - very feasible. What would the problems be?
For me the very few essentials would build into a slightly larger bag - but what about the clothing thing?
Discuss

 

[mspath]

David,
Great idea for summer. I once
met a guy like that wearing only a kimono and clogs, no joke, going up Perdon!
Asked why, he answered "I like it"

In winter, however, one needs to be prepared with layers, food, etc.

 

[Turga]

On my 2018 Camino, I saw an old man who was walking with only a plastic bag in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. I saw him several times over a couple of weeks and though he walked very slowly, it seemed he was always ahead of me. (Of course, I don’t know if he had some luggage sent along by some carrier service.)

 

[David]

David,
Great idea for summer. I once
met a guy like that wearing only a kimono and clogs, no joke, going up Perdon!
Asked why, he answered "I like it"

In winter, however, one needs to be prepared with layers, food, etc.

Jack Reacher wore heavy winter clothes in winter - is really to do with can one Jack Reacher the Camino I think.

 

[William Garza]

Midieval pilgrim with surprised pikachu face..

You guys changed clothes? Took baths more than eastertides? You dint wear out your cloths first? As for sur names..just what was Jack reaching for? Sounds like a cut purse to me..
Ill see myself out!

 

[Rebekah Scott]

There are four or five guys who live along the Camino and practice this lifestyle, more or less. They get their clothes from the "leave behind" bins. They do carry a small towel and poncho. They are prepared to sleep on the church porch if they have to. Their fellow pilgrims do not always treat them with respect.

 

[Stroller]

It would interesting to go as a mendicant, carry nothing not even money and see how it went. I seem to remember a, slightly weird, priest did just that, or something similar, for a while in the UK although I can't remember the reason. He seemed to do OK. Lurked outside supermarkets and asked people to buy him a banana or sandwich, which some did. In Spain how long it would take for the Guardia Civil to take an interest is anyones guess.

 

[Tincatinker]

I left home at a tender age with nowt but a sleeping bag and a toothbrush. The tender ministrations of Public Bath-houses, Spikes and the Salvation Army kept me clean(ish), sanitized and re-clothed from time-to-time.

The Camino Frances with just a tooth-brush (and a credit-card ) would be a doddle. Taxis are waterproof and warm, as are most Hotels and Paradors. I guess a walking pilgrim might want to carry an umbrella but then the likes of Jack Reacher, James Bond (another baggage free traveller) and Jason Bourne, even William Palmer, would just "acquire" whatever they need by whatever means must. Perhaps that explains the mysterious disappearances, frequently reported, of walking-poles, boots, mobile 'phones and cash from varied locations.

 

[naplesdon]

Recently watched the Ken Burns series on PBS about Hemingway. Ernest might have broken all of the norms we all feel are sacred.

 

[Isca-camigo]

I have met and walked with two guys who live permanently on the Camino, a Spanish guy Juan who had little dog called Bella, and Joe who was from France, they both liked their drink, they would sleep rough usually outside of churches, they relied on the generosity of the people they met, they both knew Camino lore inside out, they had places up and down the Frances where they felt they could get shelter at night if they turned up and they both had hacking wheezing coughs from the damp that would get into their lungs through sleeping outside in Winter. It's not an easy life, but with Joe I felt he would rather be nowhere else.

 

[dailycamino]

I have met and walked with two guys who live permanently on the Camino, a Spanish guy Juan who had little dog called Bella, and Joe who was from France, they both liked their drink, they would sleep rough usually outside of churches, they relied on the generosity of the people they met, they both knew Camino lore inside out, they had places up and down the Frances where they felt they could get shelter at night if they turned up and they both had hacking wheezing coughs from the damp that would get into their lungs through sleeping outside in Winter. It's not an easy life, but with Joe I felt he would rather be nowhere else.

Sorry that I’m going sort of off topic here but I met Juan and Bella! She was pregnant at the time. I was walking in reverse and got lost in the woods and saw something move. I yelled out to him and ran over in that direction. I was feeling a bit desperate because it was getting dark. We walked and chatted. He saw me safely to an albergue and went on to the next town. The next morning I was having coffee in that next town with a handsome pilgrim who’s feet had given out and was waiting for a bus. Juan appeared, to my delight and I proceeded to tell my coffee mate how Juan had saved me from being lost. Because I can be kind of dumb, I had repeatedly said I was going to buy Juan cofffee and he repeatedly said “beer”, somehow I wasn’t comprehending. We went inside and he got his beer. When I came back out it dawned on me that my coffee companion was not only trying to pick me up in kind of a creep way but that he was appalled by Juan. In that moment Juan reappeared and I jumped up and said well, I have to get going, buen camino! Juan had camped out at the church and left Bella there with his things. He was hoping to get some donations after the service let out. I thanked him profusely for saving me twice. He gave me a few tiny gifts, two of which ( a rock and a shell) I still have and shocked me with a chaste kiss! He was absolutely a camino angel. It was clear he had a tough life. He was probably roughly my age but looked older from living outdoors. He told me he lived on the camino and that Bella had walked it multiple times with him. Here she is in her little autumn jacket.

 

[dailycamino]

It would interesting to go as a mendicant, carry nothing not even money and see how it went. I seem to remember a, slightly weird, priest did just that, or something similar, for a while in the UK although I can't remember the reason. He seemed to do OK. Lurked outside supermarkets and asked people to buy him a banana or sandwich, which some did. In Spain how long it would take for the Guardia Civil to take an interest is anyones guess.

I met a woman on my last trip who was doing it without money. She had only her gear and her dog. I’m not sure where she started but I know she made it to Finisterre. She was very personable and humble.

 

[sharonmonty]

This is just for fun .. lockdown meandering .. so, for those who don't know, Jack Reacher is a fictional hero. Ex army MP major who is now wandering around America, hitching and bus rides, without purpose. He stumbles across a problem, out-logics and outfights the bad guys, rescues the heroine, walks away - a modern Lone Ranger without the mask (or the weird light blue woollen onesie).

Now this is a modern version of old cowboy films as if you look at their horses they never seem to have anything on them as baggage, and never change their clothes either. He carries no baggage whatsoever except a toothbrush, not even a razor. When his clothes get dirty he goes into a cheap clothing store, completely outfits himself new and bins his old clothes.
Now, he mainly stays in motels so doesn't need bedding, toiletries, or towels.

Can this be done on Camino Frances? I use the Frances, (Camino de Santiago) as it has the most supporting infrastructure, towns and shops.

If money was no object - this is fantasy remember - then he wouldn't need any bathroom or bed items, just the toothbrush, but using refugios I would assume a small towel, bar of soap and razor and sleeping sheet?

So - refugio style Camino in summer ... could a rain jacket be rolled and tied around the waist and nothing else, except for water bottle clipped to belt. Or with a bum belt (fanny sack) or a tiny tiny tiny running minimalist backpack with those few items inside? Or just the toothbrush?

Would you do it? Could it be done? Pop in to the big supermarket in every city and buy all new, from the skin up, really cheap - very feasible. What would the problems be?
For me the very few essentials would build into a slightly larger bag - but what about the clothing thing?
Discuss

I love this idea! Planning to do Tui to SdeC this May for the first time with the least baggage I can get away with. This has made me think it could be even less!

 

[WGroleau]

Would you do it? Could it be done? Pop in to the big supermarket in every city and buy all new, from the skin up, really cheap - very feasible. What would the problems be?
For me the very few essentials would build into a slightly larger bag - but what about the clothing thing?

"All new" in every city would not be cheap. If Spain had more thrift stores like USA (charity shops in England), it would be feasible for the non-rich. Another option: two or three changes of clothes, and let the one just washed hang on the outside of your bag until it dries.