Is it necessary to carry a sleeping bag ?

[tangata hikoi]

Hello to all
Can you advise me on how important it is to carry a sleeping bag? I intend to carry a sleeping bag sheet but would very much like to avoid taking the actual sleeping bag. I've been told most gites have blankets but would like to hear others experiences.
I plan to start in April 2014.
With thanks
Megg

 

[MendiWalker]

Hi Tangata Hikoi

Welcome to the forum
Which Camino do you plan to walk?

Buen Camino!

 

[tangata hikoi]

Hi Tangata Hikoi

Welcome to the forum
Which Camino do you plan to walk?

Buen Camino!

Hi Mendiwalker

I'm planning to leave from Le Puy and get to Saint Jean Pied de Port....I have six weeks in which to do it.

Megg

 

[tangata hikoi]

Tena Koe

Another question is how do you sleep...hot or cold. ?

I sleep hot...but was cold in a sleep liner in Aug going from St Jean to Zubri. After that it was good..but more on the too hot side for the rest of my walk.

Another thing to consider is what positions do you sleep in. I tend to starfish....or sleep on my side in a "K" shape. I got frustrated by my liner in that it felt restrictive.

So if I went again I would apadt my liner so I can stretch out or get a sleeping bag that opens from the bottom and forms a blanket.

I think unless you are staying in private accomodation all the way...you should take something. ..even just a sleep sheet for hygiene resons. Remember 100's if not 1000's of Pilgrams would have bedded down before you in your bed for the night.

Kia Kaha and Buen Hikoi

Tena Koe Lise!

Thats helpful advice. I'll definitely take something to sleep in or on - a liner or sheet - but I really want to avoid the sleeping bag if at all possible. I'm a very hot person generally but sleeping I do like to be warm. Sounds like you didn't take a sleeping bag, just the liner and mostly found that ok?

Megg

 

[MendiWalker]

As LisaT suggested, I would carry a sleeping bag a lightweight one if its in summer when you plan to do it as well as a sleep liner. Use the sleep liner as a flat sheet and cover yourself with the lightweight sleeping bag.
As I have not walked the Camino in winter, someone else can inform you much better than me. But I suspect that they will indeed recommend one.

Buen Camino!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I was always able to find a blanket when I needed one. In April of this year I did just fine with only a nylon liner. That said, it can get cold on the Le Puy route. We had snow in May this year!

 

[billmclaughlin]

I'm just back from walking from Le Puy to SJPP between Sept 12 and Oct 12. I used my sleeping bag perhaps 3 or 4 times, only because a room sometimes felt chilly when I was unpacking and settling in. Could easily have done without it. A silk liner and the blankets provided were always enough.

Bill

 

[JabbaPapa]

I'm planning to leave from Le Puy and get to Saint Jean Pied de Port....I have six weeks in which to do it.

I'd suggest that you will in fact need a sleeping bag.

Both in France and in Spain, there are pilgrim hostels where the sleeping accommodations are basically somewhere soft to place your sleeping bag upon ; some places in France have not even that.

Unless you are wealthy and can afford better sleeping arrangements, of course.

 

[vicrev]

Sleeping bag for me in April.....sometimes you just have to compromise on weight ..............Vicrev

 

[Thornley]

I'd suggest that you will in fact need a sleeping bag.

Both in France and in Spain, there are pilgrim hostels where the sleeping accommodations are basically somewhere soft to place your sleeping bag upon ; some places in France have not even that.

Unless you are wealthy and can afford better sleeping arrangements, of course.

We walked Le Puy in May a few years ago and a sleeping BAG is not needed.
A liner is all that is required.
The sleeping quarters are much better than Spain we found and even when the old albergue was required there were plenty of blankets and NOT many pilgrims.
It is a beautiful way , Buen Camino

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

April is the wet month in Spain. In Salamanca last year in MAY I set out one morning when it was just 4 degs C. Some albergues don't have blankets, or pillows. Take a sleeping bag!
Buen camino!

 

[Thornley]

April is the wet month in Spain. In Salamanca last year in MAY I set out one morning when it was just 4 degs C. Some albergues don't have blankets, or pillows. Take a sleeping bag!
Buen camino!

There are not that many albergues in FRANCE on the GR65 , Stephen.
Le Puy is completely different in many, many ways than the spanish camino's.
A liner and the blankets that are available in the albergues and convents will be ample.
Most accommodation on these french paths are in gites and are very superior to the norm on the spanish side..

******Before i am hung and drawn ................no replies unless you have walked from Le Puy.

 

[Sheffield James]

Hi Tangata,

I walked from SJPdP to Santiago in May this year and I thought I would manage with a sleeping bag liner in place of a sleeping bag. My sleeping bag is very warm but it was too bulky to fit in my backback and so it got left behind. Plus, I am normally quite tolerant of coldish weather.

I was wrong!! and would not do it a second time. Now it may be that May was unseasonally cold in northern Spain this year, but you are walking in April and so the temperatures aren't likely to be any warmer. I remember that blankets were a fairly rare sight at the albergues I frequented along the way,but oh, how pleased was I to see them when I did - smelly or otherwise.
Buen Camino.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The Le Puy route is different from the Camino Frances. I have always found blankets on the Chemin du Puy. This May was the wettest in French history. It also was cold and wet in Spain, but you won't be there.

Only you know how warm you want to be. In April of this year, there was snow from Le Puy well past Domaine du Sauvage. It was nice and warm in all the gites. It rained on 26 of 31 days in May 2013.

 

[Kathy F.]

I walked the CF May - June, 2013. I took a lightweight sleeping bag (comfortable down to 15 degrees C) and was always comfortable. I carried it in a jumbo zip-loc baggie so it would stay dry but would not be difficult to stuff into a stuff sack. I used the albergues's blanket on two ocassions for extra warmth. I recommend taking a lightweight sleeping bag. I had thought about taking just a sleep sheet in order to save weight but opted for the bag in the end. It turned out to be a good decision.

 

[MendiWalker]

As you can see Tangata Hikoi, some say you need others say you don´t.
Take the middle of the road solution.
Carry a sleeping liner and you can use it if a sleeping bag is too much. If you need more use the liner as a flat sheet.
And use a lightweight sleeping bag as a blanket. And if you need more put the liner in the sleeping bag and get into both.

Buen Camino!

 

[Thornley]

The Le Puy route is different from the Camino Frances. I have always found blankets on the Chemin du Puy. This May was the wettest in French history. It also was cold and wet in Spain, but you won't be there.

Only you know how warm you want to be. In April of this year, there was snow from Le Puy well past Domaine du Sauvage. It was nice and warm in all the gites. It rained on 26 of 31 days in May 2013.

Hi Tangata Hiloi,

As you can see Falcon has just completed a sometimes wet, cold GR65.
But the most important words he said are ;
THE GITES WERE WARM ...This is where you will spend 90% of your accommodation.

The others are Abbeys, old hospitals that the nuns run and these are also warm with private rooms.
The albergues are connected to churches [example Estaing ] and these have many ,many unused blankets awaiting.
The french walkers mostly use gites and you will find the albergues once you have past Conques used by pilgrims which allows you many spare beds and blankets.

** THe Spanish camino's CANNOT be compared with this GR.
No sleeping blanket , get a better poncho.
Take your time, this is a beautiful way.

 

[tangata hikoi]

I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to respond to my query....and I realise in the end it will need to be my responsibility to decide to take the risk if I don't carry a bag, and I am aware it will be a risk.

However it seems those who have walked the LE PUY route have mostly (all?) said the gites are warm and all seem to have blankets. So looks like I'd get away with not having a bag on the LE PUY route. I'd be keen to hear from anyone who walked this route without a sleeping bag and got stuck....or regretted not having a bag.

From this thread I can see if I get to walk the Spanish route from SJDPP I would definitely need to take a bag as the Spanish Albergues are not so well equipped as the French gites.

 

[Tom Halter]

I will be walking LePuy route the same time you are. I have done two Caminos before. Maybe we could link up. My email is oldspice2010@gmail.com, Please reply if interested. Traveling is better when there are two people. Hope to here from you. Tom

 

[tangata hikoi]

I will be walking LePuy route the same time you are. I have done two Caminos before. Maybe we could link up. My email is oldspice2010@gmail.com, Please reply if interested. Traveling is better when there are two people. Hope to here from you. Tom

Hi Tom
I plan to start in April - not set the exact date yet and I have a friend who is walking with me. I expect to be pretty slow when I start and hopefully get quicker as I go and would not want to subject someone I don't know well to what might be a difficult start on a first long walk. However, hope we do catch up along the way.
Megg

 

[irishgurrrl]

I plan to start in April
Megg

All going well, I'm starting in Le Puy en Velay in mid April with a friend of mine. Might meet you along the Way too...

 

[backpack45]

Hard to say; I carry one wherever for insurance. We have walked many routes--including LePuy and Camino Frances. In Spain, we tried to get a bunk near the windows so we could keep them open . LePuy route in April/May we had snow and rain much of the time. Sleeping bag is only two pounds/my total usually is 16 pounds and I consider myself ready for anything!

 

[alansykes]

I've done the VdlP twice ending in SdC in December and have never felt the need for a sleeping bag (and I won't be carrying one when I leave from Madrid next week). It's not the weight so much as the bulk that I don't want to carry. and all the albergues I stayed in had blankets. Once or twice it was uncomfortably cold, but sticking a few blankets on top meant that it was never that bad. And the miracle of merino certainly helps.

 

[Kitsambler]

I'd suggest that you will in fact need a sleeping bag.

Both in France and in Spain, there are pilgrim hostels where the sleeping accommodations are basically somewhere soft to place your sleeping bag upon ; some places in France have not even that.

Unless you are wealthy and can afford better sleeping arrangements, of course.

I must point out that in two years of walking the Le Puy route, I never encountered such a difficult arrangement, and my average was 35 Euros a night with demi-pension. Perhaps they exist, but they are certainly in the rare minority, or the bottom of the price range. My personal experience is that a silk sleep sack is perfectly adequate, and that blankets were always available. I found the sleep sack a bit constrictive myself, and took a pair of scissors to open up the side seam. That worked just fine. When one is minding the pack weight so carefully, an extra kilo for an unnecessary sleeping bag is - well, unnecessary.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I must point out that in two years of walking the Le Puy route, I never encountered such a difficult arrangement, and my average was 35 Euros a night with demi-pension. Perhaps they exist, but they are certainly in the rare minority, or the bottom of the price range. My personal experience is that a silk sleep sack is perfectly adequate, and that blankets were always available. I found the sleep sack a bit constrictive myself, and took a pair of scissors to open up the side seam. That worked just fine. When one is minding the pack weight so carefully, an extra kilo for an unnecessary sleeping bag is - well, unnecessary.

Well, it's certainly true that the better your budget, the less a sleeping bag would be needed.

 

[tangata hikoi]

All going well, I'm starting in Le Puy en Velay in mid April with a friend of mine. Might meet you along the Way too...

I hope we get to cross paths....I'm walking with a friend also and suspect we might be pretty slow to start with. Looking forward to it very much.
Megg

 

[HalfDomeOrBust]

There are some lightweight bag options out there that you might look at. Google lightweight bag.

 

[irishgurrrl]

I hope we get to cross paths....I'm walking with a friend also and suspect we might be pretty slow to start with. Looking forward to it very much.
Megg

Great Meg. We'll be taking it easy as well.Looking forward to it too

 

[irishgurrrl]

I must point out that in two years of walking the Le Puy route, I never encountered such a difficult arrangement, and my average was 35 Euros a night with demi-pension. Perhaps they exist, but they are certainly in the rare minority, or the bottom of the price range. My personal experience is that a silk sleep sack is perfectly adequate, and that blankets were always available. I found the sleep sack a bit constrictive myself, and took a pair of scissors to open up the side seam. That worked just fine. When one is minding the pack weight so carefully, an extra kilo for an unnecessary sleeping bag is - well, unnecessary.

That's good to know. I'll be walking with my friend for the first few weeks but then she has to go home and I may continue on solo... Is the 35 euro a night demi-pension in a shared dorm style room or a 'single' room. Trying to work out what my budget would be once my friend has gone home and the cost of accommodation for one person. I tend to sleep really bady or not at all in dorm type rooms so I know I will want to book into single / twin size rooms when I can along the way.

 

[Deleted member 12253]

Take a sleeping bag,

 

[Kitsambler]

Is the 35 euro a night demi-pension in a shared dorm style room or a 'single' room.

It varies. Even the shared rooms in France are only sleeping 4 (on average). Most gites have single rooms that can be requested/reserved (so one would book well in advance, the meals are still shared, and the bath may be shared also). Some gites have a "dorm" room that sleeps 6-8, plus several smaller and/or single rooms. All for varying prices. You can spend some time looking at the details offered in Miam Miam Dodo and/or the individual websites of lodgings.

 

[irishgurrrl]

It varies. Even the shared rooms in France are only sleeping 4 (on average). Most gites have single rooms that can be requested/reserved (so one would book well in advance, the meals are still shared, and the bath may be shared also). Some gites have a "dorm" room that sleeps 6-8, plus several smaller and/or single rooms. All for varying prices. You can spend some time looking at the details offered in Miam Miam Dodo and/or the individual websites of lodgings.

Thanks Kitsambler - I will have a proper look at the Miam Miam Dodo this weekend

 

[JabbaPapa]

A friend of mine whose father did the Camino from Arles has reminded me of another reason to pack a sleeping bag -- bed bug avoidance.

 

[Reineclaude]

A friend of mine whose father did the Camino from Arles has reminded me of another reason to pack a sleeping bag -- bed bug avoidance.

A sleeping bag is the perfect way to bring the bedbugs with you

 

[JabbaPapa]

A sleeping bag is the perfect way to bring the bedbugs with you

I wouldn't know -- I've never personally had bedbug problems on the Camino