- Time of past OR future Camino
- First: Camino Francés 2002; most recent: Norte/Primitivo 2019
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Interesting idea, Rick. Here's how the numbers play out: Francés 266, Norte 256, Le Puy 229, Primitivo 349, Inglés 240.
Frances | Norte | Primitivo | Le Puy | Ingles | Factor | |
Easy | 32 | 31 | 8 | 32 | 20 | 1 |
Easy/Moderate | 36 | 44 | 50 | 64 | 80 | 2 |
Moderate | 72 | 57 | 51 | 54 | 60 | 3 |
Moderate/Strenuous | 36 | 64 | 100 | 44 | 80 | 4 |
Strenuous | 90 | 60 | 125 | 35 | 0 | 5 |
Score | 266 | 256 | 334 | 229 | 240 | |
Relative score | 80 | 77 | 100 | 69 | 72 |
I have only walked the CF , Primativo And Portaguese. I agree with just about everyones comments. The CF for me, the first time, was magical and yes live changing. The Portaguese was very nice and not really very hard. Now I walked the Primativo with 2 young grandsons, 19 & 14, it was pretty walking.I’ve been tinkering around with the Chemin Le Puy / Via Podiensis route lately and I realized I now have good data for a number of different routes. I thought it would be interesting to make a more formal, apples-to-apples comparison of the relative challenge of each of those routes. To have a more universal case, I also ran the numbers for the Camino Francés, using Sandy Brown’s lovely new guidebook.
Here’s what I found:
View attachment 72009
Here’s how the sausage is made: for each stage, I divide the total elevation gain and loss by kilometers walked. The vast majority of the time, the number generated falls between the 20s and the 60s. This tidily sorted itself into the five tiers of challenge outlined above. An Easy stage ends up scoring less than 30 (think Güemes to Santander), a Moderate stage scores 40-50 (Santillana del Mar to Comillas), and a Strenuous stage exceeds 60 (many of the stages in the Basque Country!).
Is that the optimal way to do it? I have no idea! At the very least, though, it offers some shred of consistency as I compare these different routes.
As for findings, there are at least a few takeaways that stand out to me. The Primitivo is confirmed as the most challenging, with half of its stages in the two most strenuous categories. I’m surprised, though, by how equivalent the Norte and Francés appear to be, as the former is often regarded as a greater challenge. Finally, the Le Puy route emerges as the easiest of these options, thanks to a very, very flat second half.
There are, of course, other factors that play into the challenging nature of a walk. Tough footing can make a walk much more tiring, for example. But, this is at least one way of comparing some of the routes!
If you want to go on with the idea of a score, then perhaps consider computing a relative score by normalizing the initial score to obtain a number between 0 and 100 (divide scores by highest value and multiply by 100):
Frances Norte Primitivo Le Puy Ingles Factor Easy 32 31 8 32 20 1Easy/Moderate 36 44 50 64 80 2Moderate 72 57 51 54 60 3Moderate/Strenuous 36 64 100 44 80 4Strenuous 90 60 125 35 0 5Score 266 256 334 229 240Relative score 80 77 100 69 72
Ah, I think I see the village up ahead now where we will seek shelter, hot food and hospitality and hope to dry out all our sodden clothes. It’s been a fascinating conversation. Maybe we’ll pick it up tomorrow if the rain continues?
I have walked the CF CN and Le Puy. I totally agree with @davebugg. It is the inclines of both the uphills and the downhills and the distances you have to walk to achieve each peak and the amount of daily up and down. The other major factor is of course fitness level and age. There is not a doubt in my mind and I would be surprised if there was for any but the most fit pilgrims that the Norte and the Le Puy caminos are far more difficult to walk then the Camino Frances. I have not walked the Primitivo but by all accounts of friends who started on the Norte with me but branched off to the Primitivo (I walked the entire Norte) that the Primitivo was more difficult than the Norte. There are no week or more stretches on the CF that equal to the first week on the Norte or the first 10 days or so on the Le Puy Camino.
Interesting figuresI agree, Rebekah!
And I also agree, at least in part, with you, Ella. I wasn't keen on including a "degree of difficulty" rating when I first worked on the guide, and I'm still opposed to including an estimated walking time. At the very least, though, I wanted some degree of consistency in the numbers. Maybe helpful to some, maybe useless to others. Kind of like guidebooks!
Interesting idea, Rick. Here's how the numbers play out: Francés 266, Norte 256, Le Puy 229, Primitivo 349, Inglés 240.
It might be, but the discussion that has followed contains one fundamental and fatal flaw. @davebugg hints at it in his post, and that is that we are not measuring things here, we are assessing their relative difficulty, and ordering the results. Despite the attempts at different mathematical manipulations, in the absence of what a mathematician might call ratio value, these manipulations are basically invalid.Is that the optimal way to do it?
PS - on a side note, received your wonderful book the other day. I had planned to read it on the plane from Canada to London, then Asturias and start the Primitivo. Well we all know that will wait for another day, but have started reading it now and am enjoying it immensely. Thank you and wishing you a very healthy Spring!The Camino de Santiago is not a trail, it is a pilgrimage. No matter how you slice it up and quantify it, it is a spiritual journey. That makes it unique in all the world -- that, and the open-handed generosity of the people you walk it with. Otherwise, it's just another hike.
The Camino de Santiago is not a trail, it is a pilgrimage. No matter how you slice it up and quantify it, it is a spiritual journey. That makes it unique in all the world -- that, and the open-handed generosity of the people you walk it with. Otherwise, it's just another hike.
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