April or May 2012?

[tlongacre]

Hello there everyone,

I am planning to walk the Camino, Roncesvalles to Santiago this Spring and I am trying to decide when.

I could do it mid-April (~17th) to mid-May (~18th) or after May 20th. I want to travel as lightly as possible (carry as few clothes as necessary) and will be walking as much as possible in bare feet.

From a couple of other posts here, it sounds like the weather is equally as variable in either month?

Any advice about timing and basic minimalist approach would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Another barefoot experience:

el-camino-frances/topic8629.html

It will be much busier for the later start in May, and the weather may be hotter on your feet.

 

[jpflavin1]

I prefer hiking in late March early April. I like the cooler weather for my walking. This year on the Meseta in early to mid April there were several days in the 30's (90's). I find hiking much less enjoyable in that type of heat. The numbers of Pilgrims increase quite a bit from April to May, so it will probably be a little more congested.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[renegadepilgrim]

You didn't specify whether you have actually been training barefoot. The weather in April/May (when I walked last year) can be hit or miss...it can be hotter than Hades or it can be snowing and all weather in between. I've thought about doing the Camino in VFFs and have decided against it for the very reason the terrain is too varied and the weather is too crazy and unpredictable. There are people that have done it...but they have trained for quite some time to avoid tendonitis, blisters, and other issues with walking barefoot.

So, my thoughts are if you are one of those people who has the calluses built up and walk barefoot everywhere already and have trained to do it that way...go for it. If not, reconsider.

Otherwise your plan sounds great!

 

[Lydia Gillen]

The long acre is usually green and soft underfoot. The Camino tends to be very hard and stony. I'd make sure to bring footwear just in case.

Buen Camino

 

[tyrrek]

Hi

I'm with Lydia on that point. I was wearing a decent pair of boots and it still sometimes felt like I was walking barefoot! Much of the way is on stoney farm tracks, and rarely (if ever) grass. There are some forested sections where the leaves have rotted down to a soft surface, which might be nice to walk barefoot on, though.

Parts of the Way have softer ground round the edge of the path, but I was always aware of causing erosion so obviously tried to minimise walking on that. It may sound a bit ridiculous, but I was also quite keen to step over lines of ants or other insects, which meant I wasn't always walking in a totally regular step. That might impact badly on bare feet (although in boots it was fine, to be honest).

April-May this year was wonderful!

Buen Camino! Keith

 

[lynnejohn]

Hahaha! I thought I was the only one! I am obsessed with not stepping on living things when I'm walking, so often I find myself looking down when I should be looking up. Not to mention the little dances I frequently do to avoid stepping on ants, snails, and other critters.

 

[sillydoll]

Article with lots of photographs of the paths - From YOUR CAMINO

Dr. Renato Alvarado Vidal walked the Camino Frances barefoot in 2004.
‘The surfaces are all you can imagine, with the exception of sand. I met rock, snow, mud, grass, gravel, packed earth, water streams, and a little asphalt. I don’t want to be misunderstood, going barefoot is not a magical recipe, your soles must be well and long trained, the Camino is hard, in some stages very rough, with gravel similar to that used in railroads.’
http://www.barefooters.org/gallery/pilg ... index.html

Students to walk the Camino barefoot
http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/ ... t_forward/

 

[ksam]

Fr. Amado ran/walked the Camino barefoot just within the last two years...check out his blog.

http://www.amadopicardal.blogspot.com

You could always ask him for any advice or recommendations too!

Buen Camino, Karin

 

[andrea1977]

Hi tlongacre,

Also I'd like to make the cammino as much as possible barefoot.
Let me know when you want to leave. If you like we could do it together.
Hello
Andrea

 

[marco peel]

Looks like there are going to be a lot of bare footprints on the Camino this year. I believe one man has already started his Camino barefoot in Belgium, and another is walking up from Granada. I intend to walk the Camino Frances again this year, this time with my family. I did the Camino barefoot in 1996 (without any previous training), the Chemin d'Arles in 2005, and the last 200 km with both my sons when they were 9, and never taken any backup footwear with me. It is possible, but bear in mind there are large stretches of very hot asphalt and spiky gravel.

Buen Camino everyone,
Marco