Camping

scott said:

Hi I would like to know are we able to camp on the camino or am I wasting space in my bag? Also how far apart is each town? I haven't seen any pics or videos on using a tent on graves the camino.

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Scott,

For info on camping along the caminos check out these earlier Forum entries -- on wild camping, and camping in general.

Happy planning and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

This planning guide shows the camping sites:

http://www.godesalco.com/plan/frances

Scott, my husband and I camped several times on the Camino and loved it. We stayed at the Monastery grounds in Roncesvalles, at Camping Urrobi in Espinal/Aurizberri, in the courtyard of Albergue Padres Reparadores in Puente la Reina/Gares, campground La Playa in Logroño, at a campground in Castrojeriz, and at Posada El Tesin in Rabanal del Camino. They are other campgrounds, but they are usually far from the Camino. It was nice to have a night by ourselves, without all the snoring. My husband also took the time to set up and operate his amateur radios

I take a bivy bag and have met others doing the same. My first night on my first camino I had to use it because the arroyo out of Seville was flooded. I now love nights under the stars and the feeedom to elect where to sleep. Nobody has ever bothered me.
For details of distances and much more information I use Mundicamino.
Buen Camino

freescot said:

I take a bivy bag and have met others doing the same. My first night on my first camino I had to use it because the arroyo out of Seville was flooded. I now love nights under the stars and the feeedom to elect where to sleep. Nobody has ever bothered me.
For details of distances and much more information I use Mundicamino.
Buen Camino

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What type of bivy do you have?
I'm jealous!
I love sleeping out!

Hi Annie, it's here: http://www.backcountry.com/marmot-alpinist-bivy. I had another before this http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/accessories/bivy-sacks/alpine-bivy.html but it was more sweaty and then leaked terribly.
Yes, it is a wonderful feeling snuggling up just off the Camino for the night and I understand all those psalms which ask for protection for the night. Then there is also the dark away from towns which has its own magic. And so easy to get up and off in the morning.

freescot said:

Hi Annie, it's here: http://www.backcountry.com/marmot-alpinist-bivy. I had another before this http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/accessories/bivy-sacks/alpine-bivy.html but it was more sweaty and then leaked terribly.
Yes, it is a wonderful feeling snuggling up just off the Camino for the night and I understand all those psalms which ask for protection for the night. Then there is also the dark away from towns which has its own magic. And so easy to get up and off in the morning.

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Freescot, do you also take a sleeping pad for under the bag with you? Or will the bivy do it all?

Suzanne Edminster said:

Freescot, do you also take a sleeping pad for under the bag with you? Or will the bivy do it all?

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Yes I take a half-size, very light sleeping pad and a light groundsheet. At first I used a bit of cardboardor plastic which I would pick up on the way towards the end of the day. I look here to find what's on the market and then shop around - I have also bought from this store - http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/. If it is heavy rain I now look for shelter since none of my breathable waterproof bivy bags have stood up to Galician rain storms.
Here's my sleeping gear on my last camino on a night of storms when I slept under shelter in a football ground in Oia. My rucksack with all the gear weighed under 6 kilos.

If anyone is interested there is another photo of the first night I slept out on the first day of my first camino here, as well as how it changed my outlook profoundly
http://www.the-raft-of-corks.com/blog/miracles/ - just the start of many points of growth which the Camino has gifted to me.

freescot said:

Hi Annie, it's here: http://www.backcountry.com/marmot-alpinist-bivy. I had another before this http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/accessories/bivy-sacks/alpine-bivy.html but it was more sweaty and then leaked terribly.
Yes, it is a wonderful feeling snuggling up just off the Camino for the night and I understand all those psalms which ask for protection for the night. Then there is also the dark away from towns which has its own magic. And so easy to get up and off in the morning.

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Were you always able to find shelter from rain?
Did you spend any nights in the bivy in rain?
Sorry for so many questions.

I'm enjoying your blog, by the way! And answering some of my own questions about rain!
Sorry I keep editing this.. I keep having more questions.
Were you warm enough in your bivy?
How much did your pack weigh?

freescot said:

Yes I take a half-size, very light sleeping pad and a light groundsheet. At first I used a bit of cardboardor plastic which I would pick up on the way towards the end of the day. I look here to find what's on the market and then shop around - I have also bought from this store - http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/. If it is heavy rain I now look for shelter since none of my breathable waterproof bivy bags have stood up to Galician rain storms.
Here's my sleeping gear on my last camino on a night of storms when I slept under shelter in a football ground in Oia. My rucksack with all the gear weighed under 6 kilos.

If anyone is interested there is another photo of the first night I slept out on the first day of my first camino here, as well as how it changed my outlook profoundly
http://www.the-raft-of-corks.com/blog/miracles/ - just the start of many points of growth which the Camino has gifted to me.

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Thanks so much for the photo, explanation, and really interesting blog post. I appreciate your sharing both the inner and outer camino. Sounds like the "outer" camino... sleeping out... really infused the inner experience.

IMHO and based on some experience, camping should be considered as a just-in-case issue. There are so many lodging options along at least the Camino Frances that HAVING to camp out is virtually a last resort. That said, I respect the preference of some to occasionally sleep under the stars. I just outgrew it, preferring a mattress if possible.

I see it (sleeping outdoors) in cases where there is literally no room at the inn and you get "stuck" between villages (very unlikely). Or the weather compels you to seek immediate expedient shelter. It CAN happen, albeit not very often.

I no longer bring a sleeping bag due to weight issues. However, this year I am using a double, nested liner setup I developed. It is a Cool Max Liner fastened inside a silk outer liner. Both are rectangular and weigh an all-in, combined, 540 grams in the stuff sack.

My fastening system to keep the two somewhat difficult liners nested, is four ping-pong balls, one in each corner secured on the outside by nylon, bungee-like, hair scrungie bands. As both liners had "pillow pouches," this corner fastening worked rather well. I used orange scrungie bands so they would not be easily lost. The four ping-pong balls and four baby bungee rings added 10 grams in total.

I also have an SOL (Survive Outside Longer) brand "Escape" bivvy sack that weighs 238 grams. It has a reflective interior and a 1/4 zip. I expect that will remain at the bottom of my rucksack for the entire Camino. But it is my just-in-case "emergency" item.

These three components provide me with a flexible and scalable sleeping system allowing me to go from a heated albergue all the way down to sleeping under the stars if need be - at least in May. Taken together, the components (nested liners, and bivvy sack) weigh about the same as last years' Snugpak "Traveller" sleeping bag. However, I think it provides more flexibility.

Anniesantiago said:

Were you always able to find shelter from rain?
Did you spend any nights in the bivy in rain?
Sorry for so many questions.

I'm enjoying your blog, by the way! And answering some of my own questions about rain!
Sorry I keep editing this.. I keep having more questions.
Were you warm enough in your bivy?
How much did your pack weigh?

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Yes, Annie, I did spend nights in the rain. That first night near Seville it rained and I was cosy. I got bolder and learned that when the rain reached a certain intensity - a bit more than light rain, the bag began to soak through. After that I sought shelter in heavy rain or, sometimes doubled over my groundsheet. I usually found somewhere and also asked farmers to use a barn or garage. I cursed locked church porches.
The bivy adds about +3º to the value of your sleeping bag and I was always cosy going to bed but there is often a sharp drop in temperature about 4 or 5 am and that frequently woke me up. Also there can be a lot of dew so I take a big bin bag for my rucksack and odds and ends overnight.
Also my feet were quite damp some mornings. The bivy takes a bit of getting used to and it is a few steps down in comfort from an albergue, but very quiet and some spots can be spectacular as this one in the Basque country on the camino high above a valley.

freescot said:

Yes, Annie, I did spend nights in the rain.

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Yes, I am familiar with that sudden drop in temperature. Luckily it usually happens right at dawn (isn't that weird?) so I'm usually ready to get up anyway. I hope to spend some nights outdoors while on the VDLP this year if it's warm enough. Thanks for your answer!