How much water should I carry?

[Diegomartine]

Hi all!

I'm starting on SJPP on May 1st, on your opinion, How much water should I carry on the frances?

Also, do you recommend camelback or bottles?

Thanks a lot,
Diego.

 

[brawblether]

There's no need to carry any more than will get you to the next town. Be sure to check the map and see how far you have to walk between towns, and how hot the day is. I only carried 1.5L twice over long stretches, otherwise I tended to carry a 600ml bottle. There are drink machines and fountains everywhere you turn in the towns, and even outside of them! The more you carry the more you are weighed down, so there's really little point in going overboard.

 

[scruffy1]

Spain is a modern European country, every water source you meet will be clearly marked if the water is potable and fit to drink or if it should be avoided. Brawbletgher has only forgotten the ubiquitous presence of coffe bars even in the most unlikely places, my favorite? After leaving Arzua promising never to return, there is about a 5-8 kilometer stretch of beautiful Galicia, a crossroads and there in the forest a coffebar-heaven! It is said that one reaches Santiago through prayer and that is very true, cafe solo also helps very much.

 

[capun]

I have switched to a water bladder system, actually a Platypus with a wide opening to put crushed ice while walking in the summer in California from using Nalgene bottles. They are more convenient while walking, with bottles either you have to have someone get the bottle from your side pockets in your backpack or taking the pack off your back.

I take a small Nalgene bottle if I bring some of the energy powders to add to the water. I have a small wide mouth, I think it is a 14 oz bottle that fits on a bike water bottle holder. I don't put anything in the Platypus besides water.

We are walking from Sarria to Santiago (not enough time) and by reading the posts, watching some trip videos and looking at the map, we may take a 2-Liter Platypus just because they are the smallest we have but we probably only going to fill it between 750 cc to 1L only.

We just did a 13 mile with the Boy Scouts, the weather was what we expect in the late April/early May, there were a lot of steep hills and muddy roads. I took the 2L Platypus and only used 1L of water during the hike plus about 12oz of the energy drink during the lunch break.

 

[dougfitz]

My preference is to carry a reasonable amount of water, rather than have to go short. When I walked in 2010, a number of the fonts marked in Brierley were not operating. While scruffy1 offers an optimistic assessment of marking:

every water source you meet will be clearly marked if the water is potable and fit to drink or if it should be avoided.

my experience was entirely different, with only a few marked as either potable or otherwise.

Certainly the advice that you can get water wherever you can get a coffee is basically correct, although in some places that clearly required one to buy bottled water.

I used a bladder rather than bottles. I find it much more convenient to be able to regularly drink without the inconvenience of removing my pack if I am travelling alone, and that is just a bit more difficult with bottles.

 

[na2than]

last august the temp was any where between 35 and 40 centegrade.Istarted by carrying lots of water...after a chance meeting with a female marathon runner(she was doing her 9 th camino and trying to run it in 24 days) io swithed to 2 half litre bottles....one water and one isotonic drink. The isotic in spain is called aquarius...i found buying it in grocery stores and splitting the bottle with my walking companion to be the most cost effective.
Between bourgos and leon...carry extra water....a reserve 500ml in the pack just in case.Fountains are every where...and well marked...look out for the wine fountain!(Irache)

 

[Diegomartine]

Thank you for the great suggestions!

So I learn that I need to carry no more than 1.5L, depending of the distance between cities, if is a long distance 1.5L if not, probably less water, something around 1L, because I can buy or get it from a fountain.

Because I'm traveling alone I'll use a bladder.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I carried one small disposable bottle and filled it up in each village along the way when I needed to. There is plenty of potable water on the Camino Frances.

 

[jeff001]

I agree with Annie, and don't forget that anyplace with a restroom is also a water source. Knowing how far it is to the next fountain or other water source is another reason for carrying a guidebook.

 

[grayland]

Wow... Lise......that is a lot of weight to carry.
1 ltr = 1 kg = 2.2 lbs
3 lt = 3 kg = 6.6 lbs
plus 750 ml bottles??? 750 ml = 1.5 kg = 3 lbs

If you had 3 ltr in the Camel and one 750 ml bottle....you would be carrying 4.5 kg (9.9 lbs) just of water. I hope you were not carrying much else in your pack.
I think you said "bottles" so maybe it was more.

You were more in danger of pulling a muscle than dehydration. :shock:

 

[capun]

I had the same problem with my Platypus water tube falling into the ground and getting dirty. Platypus sells a mouthpiece guard/cover that fits over the mouthpiece. It has a cap which you close while not using it.

The other thing that I did is to change the tube clip, the Platypus stock unit is too stiff and tends to pop open. Camelback makes a better clip, it has softer plastic and it is a little longer so it does not snag open.

 

[gittiharre]

I have never on 4500 km carried more than one litre, I normally walk in the summer, however I have not done the Via de la Plata, I suspect one needs more there. I try and drink a litre before I leave in the morning and after I arrive in the afternoon and sip on the litre I carry through the day. Usually a Platypus type drinking bag, rather than a bladder. Gitti