PengoQuest
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- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Frances - July/August 2016
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I'm going to apologize in advance because what I'm going to say isn't what you are looking for but I feel I have to say it anyway so, please, bear with me.
IMHO, the most important steps in a camino are the ones you can't measure quantitatively.
Very interesting post, just good trivia to know too bad your not continuing on to Finnesterre. So we have an average on that as well. Regardless enjoy what days you have left!
Keith
Hola, PengoQuest,Hey everyone. This thread is for the more quantitatively-minded amongst you!
It was a big day out here on the Camino Frances today where I passed the 1,000,000 'Camino-steps' milestone.
I've just wrapped up Day 29 out of St Jean Pied de Port (now in Sarria) and have mostly been following the standard Camino Frances route with my trusty pedometer clipped to my belt since walking nervously out the front door of my St Jean hotel early in the morning of 7 July.
By my calculations, the millionth step happened somewhere on the outskirts of Sarria as we were coming in just before lunchtime.
The count includes the few hundred or thousand extra steps I take each day as I potter around the wonderful villages and towns that I've stopped in along the way. It also includes the few lazy steps I took on Day 20 when I had a rest day - in beautiful Leon.
And I've loved every one of them, except perhaps for that mis-step in the first week where I slipped into a water crossing.
Excluding the Leon rest day, my average daily step count so far has been just over 35,900 (most - 55,305; least 24,801).
I'd be interested to hear about any other CF step-counts that pilgrims might have recorded.
I'll check back in with my final number in a few days when I arrive at the cathedral in SDC at the end of this truly amazing adventure.
Users of Fitbits and other pedometer-type devices should be aware that the distances recorded are usually not accurate. This is because they use some type of accelerometer to record the impact of each step. Two factors affect the resulting accuracy: 1) the length of each step, and 2) the calibration of the device for average step length. With regard to #1, since we usually take shorter steps going uphill and longer steps going downhill than when walking on level ground, the calculated distance based on number of steps is almost guaranteed to be inaccurate, even after averaging out the step lengths. With regard to #2, few of the current popular devices offer any kind of realistic calibration; instead, they use average step length, which varies from person to person and type of steps as noted above. The "average" step length for an adult male is approximately 30 inches (76 cm), and the "average" for an adult female is a bit less (as in the 10% difference between you and your wife, for example -- assuming you walked side-by-side the entire way). Taller people tend to take longer steps and shorter people take smaller steps. So the gist of all this is that pedometers are a great way to count steps, but not to determine distances.My wife and I walked The France's route to Muxia then Finisterre in May/June this year.
My children gave me a Fit Bit just before we left. I found it very interesting to see the steps, km and total climb each day.
The totals include all walking including exploring the towns and cities in the afternoon and on rest days.
1108.32km
1432005 steps. My wife did 10% more
16434m total climb.
I like doing this sort of comparison and understanding the errors. I am often puzzled when people complain about the differences between their own measurements (or GPS) and those indicated in a guide book. I would expect at least a 10% variation, for the reasons you mention, as well as others. I don't see that it matters, though for the purpose of planning a walk. My energy levels change much more drastically than 10% every day and that is harder to predict!Our totals usually vary by at least 10 percent.
I"m starting on Monday - will keep you updated if possible.Hey everyone. This thread is for the more quantitatively-minded amongst you!
It was a big day out here on the Camino Frances today where I passed the 1,000,000 'Camino-steps' milestone.
I've just wrapped up Day 29 out of St Jean Pied de Port (now in Sarria) and have mostly been following the standard Camino Frances route with my trusty pedometer clipped to my belt since walking nervously out the front door of my St Jean hotel early in the morning of 7 July.
By my calculations, the millionth step happened somewhere on the outskirts of Sarria as we were coming in just before lunchtime.
The count includes the few hundred or thousand extra steps I take each day as I potter around the wonderful villages and towns that I've stopped in along the way. It also includes the few lazy steps I took on Day 20 when I had a rest day - in beautiful Leon.
And I've loved every one of them, except perhaps for that mis-step in the first week where I slipped into a water crossing.
Excluding the Leon rest day, my average daily step count so far has been just over 35,900 (most - 55,305; least 24,801).
I'd be interested to hear about any other CF step-counts that pilgrims might have recorded.
I'll check back in with my final number in a few days when I arrive at the cathedral in SDC at the end of this truly amazing adventure.
I agree that the relatively minor discrepancies in distances along the Camino make little difference in regard to the overall picture when one is walking the distances involved. But just to illustrate an example of what might be a typical variation between sources, the Brierley guidebook notes that the distance from Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Santiago is 574 km. His description of the stage from Santo Domingo starts at the albergue, which is just a short distance east of the Cathedral and the Plaza del Santo, so let's assume that that's the spot he says is 574 km to Santiago. I happen to have taken a photo of the regional government's 566 km marker. One would assume that marker to be 8 km west of the starting point, or somewhere just past Grañon. Being the map geek that I am, and the fact that it is one of my favorite Camino photos, I was having difficulty pin-pointing the photo location based on that assumption.I like doing this sort of comparison and understanding the errors. I am often puzzled when people complain about the differences between their own measurements (or GPS) and those indicated in a guide book. I would expect at least a 10% variation, for the reasons you mention, as well as others. I don't see that it matters, though for the purpose of planning a walk. My energy levels change much more drastically than 10% every day and that is harder to predict!
Congratulations on the completion of your journey. Your Camino is not over--it continues from here. Ultreia!Well, as foreshadowed in my lead post, here I am in beautiful, downtown Santiago de Compostela on Day 34 having spent the past few hours sitting in cathedral square reflecting on an extraordinary journey...
...
...I can't go without thanking everyone out there for the invariably patient and sage advice that fills this forum. It helped me a lot - great stuff
I'll be back!
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