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I too have the same problem with one of my pairs of hiking shoes. It is related to pressure on the top of my foot, right where the tendon comes down from my ankle towards the big toe. I can eliminate most of the numbness by lacing my shoes differently to avoid that pressure. Another good...
Another endorsement for trekking poles.
I don't have knee or ankle issues either, but did notice while training for my Camino that I knees/ankles could get sore. When it happened, it was usually due to long downhill or sidehill walks after I was already a bit tired. I think my walking form...
I use my metal (carbide) tips on virtually all unpaved surfaces. The metal tips have a much better bite and do not slip as much as rubber tips would. They are also great on snow and ice. Like you, I live in a cold climate and the metal tips are a big help in avoid slips and falls when walking...
I also have the Black Diamond Z-Poles. I really like the light weight and compact size when folded. I wasn't a fan of the small, hard rubber tips that came on the poles so I switched them out for Black Diamond Flex Tips (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FNCN98/?tag=casaivar02-20). This...
Several people have already recommended Sole insoles. I'll add my vote for them as well.
What hasn't been said so far is that Sole insoles are moldable. You heat the insoles in your oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, then place in your boots and then put on your boots, standing on the...
I think you'll really like the SOLES. I've have tried many brands. I used Superfeet for quite some time until I found SOLES and that's all I've used for the past 7 or 8 years. They'll last you a long time, you'll wear out shoes/boots before the insoles. You can reheat the SOLES and reform to...
To my surprise, I paid absolutely no attention to my pace while I was on the Camino. I pushed hard during training and was conscious of pace with every walk.
On the Camino, the pace was what is was. Typically dictated more by mood than by physical feelings. It varied greatly during the day...
I didn't pay it much attention either. What town am I going to today and go walk until I arrived.
Though I did somewhat pay attention to the total distance remaining to Santiago. Can't help but see that with trailside markers.
Another very large horreo. This one is slightly north of Arzua in A Painza at a very nice rural property with cottages and a large manor house and gardens. About 1K off of the Camino.
Often the tracks are recorded by another hiker, like yourself. Sometimes you'll even see where the hiker took side trips to see other sights or perhaps took a wrong turn.
The tracks are recorded with a GPS device or program.
I used a CdN track that I downloaded from wikiloc.com and it worked well. The were a few tracks there; I thought the one posted by a user named Pelegrino was the best.
I'll second the recommendation of squaremouth.com as a comparison site. We used it for insurance on our Camino. Ultimately we bought very affordable coverage from 7 Corners via the squaremouth.com site.
We never had to use the insurance, so I can't comment on the claims process.
Yes, MotionX is only for iOS devices. There are many similar GPS apps for Android, though I can't tell you much about them.
The better GPS apps will let you download maps for offline use. That's what I did for my Camino -- it worked like a charm. No need for a data plan.
You'll also need to...
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