Jackets, Vests, etc...What to leave behind?

[mmmdumplings]

Hi. Quick question. I'll be walking from Le Puy to Santiago starting in September, and I want to know which article of clothing I should leave behind if necessary - fleece vest, fleece jacket, or a long-sleeve shirt.

I'm leaning towards the vest right now, but I don't want to underestimate the importance of layering...

Thanks.

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Hi mmmdumplings
I walked the Le Puy route from April, so others will be able to give you better 'seasonal' info, but the beginning of the route from Le Puy does reach up to about 1400m, and especially on the Aubrac Plateac I gather that you can get bad weather anytime.
I am not a fast walker, and it took me a good two and a half months to get to Santiago from Le Puy. Even a fast walker would need around two months, so by the time you get to the mountains like O'Cebreiro near the end of your trek, it would be late October. I know I have read other postings here that have told of cold weather then, so you probably need to be prepared for all sorts on the weather front.
Margaret

 

[jl]

Hi mmmdumplings, I walked from le Puy in August, and even then there were a couple of days when we walked with our rain jackets on just to keep the wind out (this was up on the Aubrac Plateau). Generally I don't feel the cold, so I am not the best person to answer however, this is what I took. I walked in a Long sleeved shirt (every day - to keep off the sun / and later to keep out the frost). I had a thinnish thermal type layer that was my light pullover, and then I had a thinnish fleece which was warmer than the first layer. The idea was that I could put the lot on if it got really cold, but even when walking in frost I never resorted to that. By the time I got to Santiago it was early October, and I suspect that if I were a couple of weeks later I would have needed to use those layers to the max. hope that gives you some ideas. Cheers, Janet

 

[Chev.Jerry]

Dear mmmdumplings,

My wife and I walked the Camino in September and the weather was generally wonderful. Some times wet, occasionally brisk but nice. And we had the first hurricane to hit Spain in 30 years to boot.

We layered. Tee or undershirt, Exofficio outer long sleve shirt, occasionally a packable waterproof (Goretex) windbreaker, which also doubled as a pillow for me, and a poncho which covered.

We mostly wore shorts, but each of us took one pair of those pants that zip off to become shorts, that came in handy a few days.

An outer and thin inner pair of socks helped on chilly days. We took 4 pair of socks and changed every day at noon. That and comfortable, broken in shoes and we never had any foot problems. Even when wet...

Fleece is nice, but if it's not water proof or resistant, you will need a waterproof cover of some type, one that serves more than one purpose is good.

Last, you can always buy something if you really need it.

My pack weight was 22 pounds and my wife's was 15.

Hope some of this helps.

Buen Camino,

Jerry