Am I the only one who won't walk in the rain?

[vagabondette]

I learned on my last long-distance hike that I *hate* walking in the rain. This was reconfirmed yesterday when it started pouring during one of my training hikes. It kind of sealed the deal that, as much as possible, I will not be walking the camino when it's raining. I'll either hunker down in a town for a couple days (assuming there's enough there to keep me interested) or cab ahead. I refuse to spend hours cold, wet and miserable slogging through the rain. I keep reading about people walking day after day in the rain and I can't believe I'm the only one who isn't willing to do that...

NOTE: I may be overly-sensitive about the rain given what the recent tropical storm/hurricane has done to the weather patterns here...

 

[Tia Valeria]

We don't walk in the rain at home/training as we both dislike getting wet unnecessarily. Somehow it is different on the Camino, although if you follow our posts you will see that we did get a taxi on one occasion in driving, freezing cold, rain. Also a bus the next day to avoid a dangerous slippery climb. Both were on long (for me ) sections. We do have very good rain gear so didn't get wet even when it rained nearly all day.
Hopefully you'll have a dry Camino. If not then an extra day in a hostel to be dry and happy is a good idea.

 

[Abbeydore]

Crickey I wear coat & sometimes over trousers & I don't usually get we when it's raining

Spainish rain is lovely :lol:

 

[vagabondette]

I have yet to find anything that keeps me 100% dry when it's raining. And I can't wear rain gear that goes close to my skin, I get way too hot. I got caught in the rain yesterday and even not wearing gear I was still hot and sweaty during my walk. I'd pass out if I was wearing rain pants and a close-fitting jacket. I'm hoping I have a better outlook when the weather gets better where I am. As it is, I'm starving and have no food in the house and it's been raining for 9 hours...

 

[ffp13]

You are not an orphan if heavy rain is forcast i will try to stay in a private albergue, then if it is pouring in the morning i can extend my stay by a day. Not having time contraints is a big advantage


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I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?wcrvdk

 

[grayland]

You would have had a very annoying time with me from Le Puy earlier. We left Le Puy on 30 March and had only about two days without rain to SJPdP. Most of the days were h e a v y rain. We had one day of a terrific thunder storm that blew trees down around us and lightning strikes close by. Nowhere to shelter as the trees were not a good choice. Rain was tropical.
We had horrific mud most of the time.
I don't mind a little rain but 29 days is a bit too much for me.

 

[Abbeydore]

Yeah, but the joy of those 2 days, you lie out on the dry evening grass pure bliss

We only had 2 days of sun too :lol: , luckily not much mud!

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

No, you are not! I had to abandon the VdlP in May after only four days, due to constant, heavy rain and blisters. Go to the very bottom of the web page http://www.calig.co.uk/camino_de_santiago.htm and check out the photos of the "Non-pilgrimage".

I wear glasses [spectacles] all the time. In rain I can't see where I'm walking. My blisters were so severe I had to get emergency hospital treatment and was told "NO walking for three days!"

The final pictures on the above link show Sanabria to Santiago - https://plus.google.com/photos/11172479 ... 5411788225
rain every day, and finally one feels "enough is enough". So don't think for one moment that it's only you who hates walking in the rain!

My forced return put me in a state of depression for two weeks - I felt I had let so many people down. But now, seven weeks later, I'm just thinking about the Camino Ingles maybe in 2014 .....

Buen camino!

Stephen.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Speaking personally I would never wear a jacket for walking. It is likely to be hot, you have to remove your rucksack to put it on and off and the straps rubbing will eventually allow wet in.
We wear ponchos and if really needed over-trousers, although the trousers can be hot.
We prefer to use just the poncho and it is loose enough to allow air to circulate, goes on and off over the pack and is long enough to keep me dry most of the time. In extreme conditions we use the trousers, and if it is cold.

We would have lost 4 days waiting for dry weather on our recent Camino but, with the ponchos, for 3 of those days the rain wasn't a problem.
Buen Camino


PS We also wear good, well proofed, light weight leather boots so our feet stay dry. Re-proofed regularly en the Camino using Buffalo cream (Spanish) when our sponge soaked in Renapur was used up.

 

[vagabondette]

You would have had a very annoying time with me from Le Puy earlier. We left Le Puy on 30 March and had only about two days without rain to SJPdP. Most of the days were h e a v y rain. We had one day of a terrific thunder storm that blew trees down around us and lightning strikes close by. Nowhere to shelter as the trees were not a good choice. Rain was tropical.
We had horrific mud most of the time.
I don't mind a little rain but 29 days is a bit too much for me.

Wouldn't have done it. Would have holed up in a town somewhere and chilled out. The camino is a walk for me, not a pilgrimage so I'll have no qualms about stopping due to rain. When I did the APR, I remember my lightbulb moment for deciding to stop after 7 days of rain (snow at high altitude), mud (or worse) and fog thick enough you couldn't see any of the scenery anyway. I was standing on a ridge line of what the guidebook said was the most spectacular view of the entire walk and I couldn't see more than 3 feet in any direction due to fog/rain and thought "this is stupid. I wouldn't be doing this at home, why am I doing it here?!" the next morning I hopped a bus to Interlaken and had a great couple weeks there.

 

[cote.lesta]

i DON'T like rain either!!!!. Had quite a mixed bag in the Portuguese last week, my biggest far was getting wet feet otherwise a bit of a drizzle is ok specially as this time of year temperatures in Northern Spain are god for walking. A light poncho was all I could put on. 8) :arrow:

 

[Tincatinker]

Regular posters may begin to speculate on any commercial interest I may have in the relevant trade but I cannot recommend strongly enough the benefits of an UMBRELLA. No sweaty encumbrance, no difficulty in deployment ( except, I'll concede, in high storm winds), keeps the rain off your face and therefore off your spectacles too.

I would never choose to walk in rain, if such choice was in my power, but if I have chosen to walk then the weather is what happens when I am walking.

Here in the UK we have a maritime climate, as does much of Spain through which the Caminos pass. That means that here in the UK tonight, at the SUMMER SOLSTICE it is blowing 20 knots, raining enough to soak me and the dog to the skin during an hours walk this afternoon. And no doubt will do it again when I log-off and we head out again.

The dog says rain is what makes the flowers grow - so it's useless unless you like flowers.

 

[anniethenurse]

My 29 day April camino had 4 sunny and hot days (the first days of the camino), 23 rainy days (2 days of those 23 bad snow strom from Rabanal to El Acebo), 2 days were sunny but cold and walking agaisnt the wind.

So mud, water, wet clothes, wet boots, damp blankets, damp beds in damp dormitories you name it.

The snow storm was REALLY scary.

We went out and walked every morning whether it rained, snowed or did whatever. Not much walking done in April 2012 if you let the weather decide.

annie

 

[Deleted member 3000]

It is hard to walk a Camino without discomfort. No one should do anything they do not want to do, but every limit you put on yourself is a limit on the Camino!

 

[vagabondette]

Not much walking done in April 2012 if you let the weather decide.

Ha! yeah, after the 2-3rd day of rain and looking at the coming forecast, I'd have headed elsewhere. Light, occasional, short showers, no problem. Day after day of wet misery - nope. I'm outta there. It's just not worth it to me.

 

[vagabondette]

It is hard to walk a Camino without discomfort.

Oh, I'm expecting discomfort. I can walk sore, sunburnt, tired, hungry, thirsty, whatever. I just won't walk wet. To me, that's not discomfort. That's misery.

 

[grayland]

It is hard to walk a Camino without discomfort.

Oh, I'm expecting discomfort. I can walk sore, sunburnt, tired, hungry, thirsty, whatever. I just won't walk wet. To me, that's not discomfort. That's misery.

Hope you are planning a July or August Camino...or the Via de la Plata.
Otherwise, you may be doing something other than a Camino on your trip to Europe..

 

[anniethenurse]

Ha! yeah, after the 2-3rd day of rain and looking at the coming forecast, I'd have headed elsewhere. Light, occasional, short showers, no problem. Day after day of wet misery - nope. I'm outta there. It's just not worth it to me.

It was raining alot everywhere in Spain in April.
And yes, pilgrims interrupted their camino and went back home.
I came to Spain to walk and I walked 780 km in 29 days - very good experience. It was not miserable - I learned how to cope with and how to keep myself warm in any inside or outside conditions. How to get the gear dry, what to wear, when to stop etc. Wonderful experience!!!!!

As I said before - raining is OK but snow storms are scary.

 

[vagabondette]

Yes, I'm doing the CF in September. If I have to do something else, it's no biggie. It'll just give me more time to explore other parts of Spain or move on to Portugal/Morocco sooner. The camino is just the first leg in a 4-month trip so it can be reshuffled easily. In fact it won't be surprising at all if I have to change because every time I try to plan a trip (meaning do more than just purchase tickets to a destination) my plans always get shot to hell for one reason or another but it always works out in the end.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

You should be fine in September. In normal years, April is THE wet month in Spain, followed by drier weather, and rain is fairly rare from mid-May to October. When it comes, it comes in heavy showers, and then the sun shines again.
This year there is an anomaly in the Gulf Stream which creates western European climate: it is staying much further south than is usual. That is why we, in the UK, are having such a wet year. We have a saying "flaming June" which implies great heat throughout the month. This year has been the wettest since .... maybe records began?
Let's hope the Gulf Stream behaves itself next year, and we're back to warm or hot summers, and the Camino isn't a pathway of rain, mud, snow, puddles, low cloud and snow like it was in May this year!
Buen camino!

Stephen.

 

[na2than]

i'm walking with my 17 year old son this august...i asked him about rain...his reponse was intresting

"dad we are walking in running shoes...if the rain and mud is bad we switch to flip flops and wash our feet afterwards"

more tellingly...."dad if it rain real hard will my hair get wet(he has shoulder lenght hair)...i best take a big towel...those micro things are no good on my hair"

then following reading this thread......" dad ...you know something...you are right!...i will take a waterproof jacket and my i pod"

 

[Deleted member 3000]

From Jirit today:

Arrived in Lourdes France yesterday after a long five weeks, mostly rainy walk from Le Puy.

 

[Melbrob]

Tincatinker,
So you are to blame for the weather here in Melbourne!! Your description of the solstice weather matched what we were experiencing (upside down of course which makes an umbrella useless). Great training weather - it may even snow this weekend.
It can only improve on the CF in April ?

 

[Abbeydore]

i'm walking with my 17 year old son this august...i asked him about rain...his reponse was intresting

"dad we are walking in running shoes...if the rain and mud is bad we switch to flip flops and wash our feet afterwards"

more tellingly...."dad if it rain real hard will my hair get wet(he has shoulder lenght hair)...i best take a big towel...those micro things are no good on my hair"

then following reading this thread......" dad ...you know something...you are right!...i will take a waterproof jacket and my i pod"

Sorry for being cheeky, but if he got a hair-cut he could save a lot of wet-weight :lol:

If you walk in ankle shoes in rain I guess you are going to get problems with wet feet;
light-weight boots and protect the tops with gaiters or overtrousers.........worked for us :wink:
:mrgreen:

 

[unadara]

This year was Camino Norte from Apr-May 19th, 29 days, lots and lots of rain and mud, but I would say not cold, others disagreed with me, also it was hard to get clothes dry every night. I did not bring overtrousers as I suffer from over heating (hotblood!). BUT it was actually far better than last years Sep/Oct walk on CF where we got 33 degrees most days, too hot to walk after noon etc.
So I will walk in the rain, I will embrace the rain for it's coolness, I am on Camino. I will not wear a poncho, I will carry all clothes in dry bags and will try to stay maybe on a road rather than go through fields or other likely to be muddy terrain.
The Via de la Plata sounds a good bet for dry weather, but everywhere is getting unusual weather so if I go to walk I will walk please god. My shoes did keep out most wet but my friends did not, she sent them home (and her coat) and bought new gear that kept her dry.
We are Irish too :lol: