As I said on another thread, I used my mountain backpacking clothing system (all nylon quick drying; sun shirt over short sleeve shirt) for my Camino (SJPP-Finestere, July 3 to Aug. 9, 2014). I wish I had modified it.
Instead, I would have two sets of clothing—one for the mountains and one for drier parts in and before the Meseta (really by the time you leave Riojas, before you even hit Burgos and the official start of the Meseta). The mountain clothes would be quick-drying nylon. The clothes for the Meseta, however, should be like you would wear in the desert—the one place where cotton is good because it traps moisture--creating an evaporative cooling system. Dangerous in the mountains, but exactly what you want in hot, dry climates. Caveat: never cotton socks--moisture around the feet is bad anywhere.
The mountain clothes would be a single layer long sleeve nylon shirt matched with long (non-convertible) pants. The desert clothing would be the same, except in cotton. Everything SPF50 or at least SPF25. I found that what I was doing was using one set of clothing for walking, then when I reached the albergue, changing into the other pair and washing the trail clothes. The summer sun was so hot that drying was not much of a challenge. And then I would put the same trail clothes on for the next day. The clothes I wore in the albergues did not get that dirty, and were usually washed about once a week when we hit a washing machine (wearing rain gear, so we could wash all of the clothes at once). When I do another summer Camino, I would start out wearing the appropriate mountain attire while walking, wearing the desert clothes at night around the albergue. Then I’d switch and wear the desert clothes during the day when it started getting hot after Riojas. Then I’d switch back when we hit Galicia. Note: this idea is only for the summer, not for the fall or spring when cooler temperatures and more rain might make the cotton into a dangerously cold, soggy mess.
Three final notes: First, I would take long sleeves and long pant for both sections. In my opinion, wearing short sleeves or shorts and then lots of sunblock (or not, and we saw some amazing sunburns) is counterproductive. The sun on your skin undoes any cooling effect of the shorter garments. I took convertible pants, but ended up leaving the legs attached the whole trip for the shade--I should have saved the weight and just taken normal long pants.
Second, walking that time of the year requires a very early start--before sunrise, as soon as there is any light in the sky (bring a headlamp to find yellow arrows). We started out sleeping in (after all, this our vacation, right?). The result was that we ended up walking in the heat of the afternoon. Not only uncomfortable, but resulting in very hot feet and (with other factors, see below) an amazing amount of blisters.
Third, take very well ventilated shoes or walking sandals (Keens). I started out in my normal, well-broken in backpacking boots. A fuller account is in my gear report on another thread, but it was a disaster. Way too hot for the environment. I ended up buying Keen sandals and Merrell trail shoes. For another Camino, I'd keep the Keen sandals (for the rougher trails and rain) and swap the Merrells for running shoes designed for asphalt/concrete (there is more of that on the Camino than anyone wants to think about). Two pairs of footwear to alternate is not too much when walking 500 miles. On my pilgrimage, I learned my feet were the most important thing. The rest of me and all my gear just became a foot life-support system.
Buen Camino
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