Hot in Sept!!

[SueH]

I was considering walking the VdlP in Sept/Oct 2011, if my vague plans of doing it in the spring did not work out. However, having watched the first etapa of the Vuelta (Tour of Spain-bicycles), I have changed my mind!! Temperatures in the mid-30's at 10pm sound just too hot! I will stick to April/May, and hope the weather is not too cold/wet.

Sue

 

[Debinq]

hi Sue

yes I think Sept may still be too hot to start VdlP in Sevilla - I'm planning a start from Granada to Merida via Cordoba (late Mar/Apr '11) - and will then probably skip the rest - as I walked the laP in Sep/Oct 06 from Sanabria to SdC - if I'm still in walking mood at Merida perhaps I'll bus to Ferrol and do the C Ingles (which is only 5-6 days) or do SdC to Finisterra as I missed that section in 06 due to the heavy rains that washed out some of the tracks!

buen camino

Peter

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Sue and Peter,

I walked the Vdlp in May/June of 2009 and thought it was a terrific time of year. But I know that not everyone can walk in the spring. If you are considering September, you should follow Bill Behean's blog. He is currently walking from Sevilla, and has been able to get his walking in before 1 pm for the most part. As of Day 4, he is having a wonderful camino in spite of the heat.

http://billscamino.wordpress.com/

buen camino, Laurie

 

[SueH]

After reading all the posts, especially yours, Laurie, I have booked my flights to London today, to start walking from Sevilla April 25. Lots of training to do now. Hopefully the 'spring' weather will be mild and pleasant, the way spring is meant to be.
Laurie; did you take a sleeping bag? Were any nights really cold? To cut down on weight, I am thinking of making a fleecy sleeping bag to use with my silk liner (my cosy down s/bag weighs too much at 1 kg).

Sue

 

[jl]

Hi Sue - I have a One Planet down sleeping bag that wighs about 500 grams. Avaiable from the scout Outdoor centres (or Snowgum - not sure what they are called in NSW). Cheers, Janet

 

[marjude]

Hi Sue,
Macpac shops have light weight down sleeping bags. I bought an Escapade 150, it packs into a little cover that is sewn into it's side seem, so the cover can not be lost. It weights just over 500gms.
Have fun with your training and preparing. Judy.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Sue,

I have a lightweight sleeping bag Snugpak 750. I am going to buy a new one this year because it's 10 years old and I'm always cold in it. But I am what the Spaniards would call a friolera, meaning I'm always cold (if anyone has a good word for that in English, let me know!). I wore lambswool gloves for about the first two weeks on the Vdlp, till 10 in the morning or thereabouts. And I almost always used an extra blanket from the albergue on top of my bag. I remember that in Zamora, A Gudina and Laza the hospitaleros had already put away most of the blankets for the summer, but I was always able to get one. I think that shows, though, that I must be unusually cold!

So I guess there is a lot of variation and you should figure out where on the scale you fit and plan accordingly. But as I said, extra blankets seemed to be plentiful.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[ranthr]

Hi Sue!
I will be some days after you,starting from Sevilla 29.04. Good luck with your training and planning. Perhaps we will meet sometimes on the via. I am reading Bills blog at the time and taking all advice I can get from this forum. Like Laurie I bring with me a sleepingbag. Have been freezing a lot on my earlier walks. It is often cold in the albergues in the night. Last autumn I started from Le Puy in very hot weather, but ended up buying a buff and gloves. In 2005 and 2007 I walked in Mai/ June on the Frances and coming from the north thinking Spain was hot at that time of the year, I froze a lot.
Randi

 

[SueH]

Thanks, Janet, Judy, Laurie and Randi;

It seems my fleecy idea may not be warm enough. I would rather be too hot than too cold when sleeping, so when I go looking for footwear on Tuesday, I will look for a new bag as well.
We have a Snowgum shop on the 'Outdoor shop" strip on Kent Street in Sydney, so I will start there.

Many Thanks again;
Sue

 

[Debinq]

hola all
Seems like the topic has drifted towards keeping warm on the odd, perhaps unseasonal, chilly night (in Spring or Autumn!) - well for that eventuality I've found a thermal undershirt does wonders to keep core body temperature even inside my sleeping bag - as well as a woolen cap - 25% body heat is lost through the head after all!

:arrow:

happy trails and buen camino

Peter

 

[jl]

The One Planet 500gm bag is quite thin Sue, (it has always been satifactory for me) but there is another that they make a little bit heavier, and a LOT warmer. You may have to order that one though - here in Adelaide we did. A friend tested my 500 gm one and was a bit too cool, and so bought the next thickness and has been toasty warm. Snowgum stores should be able to order it for you, if interested - look on One Planet's web site before you go so you are forewarned about weight etc. Cheers, Janet

 

[hel&scott]

Sept is fine for walking and yes the lightweight sleeping bags do the job. We did this route in Sept/Oct when we do most of our northern hemisphere walking as its over the heat of summer and things are only just starting to close down, later then this and your'd be hard pressed to find a bed... and it gets pretty damn cold...

The light sleeping bags are good, but take merino underwear with you (icebreaker do a great light weight "no-stink" versions) as it will allow you to layer up when it gets cold.

 

[SueH]

Thanks to everyone for their input. Sorry I did not reply sooner, but I have been away (it is so hard being retired, at last!)
I have found the sleeping bag at Snowgum, and I think I will be happy with that. I will look for the merino t-shirts; thanks, Hel and Scott.
My planning has fallen to pieces, as I sprained my ankle 2 weeks ago; however, I don't start from Seville until April 25, so I should be fit and fine well and truly by then.


Sue

 

[+@^^]

! global warming rooles
14 Sept 2010 in Sevilla = 38 deg C+
2 days later the temp starts a steady decline, and by endish Sept it's at mid 20s
so i dump my extra fleecy top and some other warm gear
2 days later i want them back
the night mercury is at 1deg C
i am thankfull that i have carried my sleeping bag inner all this way
.
so, is the VdlP hot in Sept?
depends....
will it be cold in Oct?
probably
.
so, how do you pack?
in retrospect, i would have carried only summer gear from the beginning
and then bought warmer gear in Salamanca
.
but as i said, global warming rules....

 

[durzon]

Probably just luck, but this November has been heavenly! - set out from Sevilla on the 1st, and for the first few days it was a little bit too hot (26C round Fuente de cantos-Almendralejo, although early mornings were great) but for the last few days (other than one morning's rain) it's been as close to perfect as it gets - set out from Canaveral this morning in crisp clear sky and temperature at c5C, it got up probably to 16 max with a light breeze and scattered clouds, and arrived in Galisteo (with a newish moon) and that amazing walled town. Of course, there is snow in the hills, so I may be being premature, but the first half of November 2010 is as good an advertisement for the south half of the VdlP as you can get.

 

[hel&scott]

November has been heavenly!

Buggar! I really wanted to re-walk the VdP this year, but as my daughter couldn't get away till November we walked the Portuguese Way instead as I was convinced the VdP would be too cold in November / December. So we got 4 weeks of rain and mud instead. Don't get me wrong, it was a great trip but I missed the long open days on the Plata... Still pleased to hear the weather was better for you.