June, bag, poles?

[Deleted member 17908]

Hello all! I plan to start my Camino in SJPDP in early June 2013. Weather history indicates that is a very rainy month, but I am from the Pacific Northwest USA, so can cope. Of course I am trying to take as little as possible, so I have a few questions.

Should I take an ultra-light sleeping bag? I get cold easily.

Should I bring hiking poles? I find them very annoying. I am an experienced hiker with weak ankles and bad knes, I find I don't need poles going uphill or on flat ground but I do need them going down steep, rocky terrain, my daughter who has done two Caminos says the only really bad part is just before Santiago. I don't want to carry poles and not use them for 425K, is there a place to buy them along the way?

Finally, I am looking forward to meeting people along the way, but really don't want to stay in rooms with a lot of other noisy people. On the other hand, I don't wish to be alone at night to dwell on how much I miss my husband, family, dog, etc. Are there smaller hostels where one can share rooms with fewer people and how does one find them?

I think these will be my only questions to the forum. I will experience the journey as it unfolds, but I will need a certain level of comfort to do that.

Thank you all for your replies.

 

[grayland]

The weather in June may be wet or very dry. Year to year it varies just as it does here in Seattle and the Northwest.
1. Take a light sleeping bag and a silk sleep liner. The silk liner will probably be adequate in June but there will be some chilly nights and mornings.
2. Take a good poncho...check out the threads on this forum about Altus raincoat/ponchos. There have been a lot of discussion.
3. I had been a non-believer in walking poles on my first two Caminos and then was persuaded that I should try a good pair and learn a little about using them. I would now never be without them.
I still hate carrying them....but uphill and downhill is now half of the effort that it was.
4. The steep inclines up and down start on the first day out of SJPdP. I am not sure where your daughter was referring to, but can't think of any real hills near Santiago. You will be using them most days...except perhaps on the Meseta.
5. There is a Puget Sound Camino Group (both Seattle and Portland) if you are not already aware.
Buen Camino

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Newly found friends share rooms along the way, but I am not aware of any accommodations that make the arrangements.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Certainly nearer to Santiago there are some private albergues with also private rooms (habitaciones) so you can choose between a small dormitory (maybe 10 beds) or your own room, but possibly still meet in the bar/cafe to talk or eat with others.
We joined the Francés at Palas de Rei from the Primitivo and used private albergues and hostals from there but I expect that there are others similar further back along the Way

Sticks, we prefer a single hook topped walking pole. Although there were some steep places on the Primitivo I found some of the rough paved areas of the Francés more diffficult to walk on and the hill off of Monte de Gozo isn't easy walking IMHO

 

[Tincatinker]

There is almost endless debate on this forum on all these questions. A few days intensive surfing might even provide you with enough opinion to form one of your own. :wink:

Me, I carried a lightweight sleeping bag and was frequently grateful that I did. I carried Leki poles from SJDP to Santiago and used them twice - once on the descent from the Alto del Perdon, and once to wave at a particularly persistent cattle dog somewhere near Samos. You say you find hiking poles annoying. Just imagine how annoying they'll get each day as they tangle your wrists, snag your ankles, or worse, sit comfortably strapped to your pack as you haul them all the way to Santiago and beyond. The Hostal / Albergue question is really difficult to answer - though you will find numerous threads and strongly held opinions that will contradict me. You will encounter such a range and variety of accommodation, people and circumstance. There are small Hostales - though there may also be noisy plumbing, paper thin walls and a bar that doesn't shut till the last customer leaves - and there are Albergues of every size and shape (and acoustics) (and pilgrims).

Finding the place that will really meet your needs... Well that's down to Brierley's guide, the Internet, this forums many threads - and luck.

Buen Camino

 

[nreyn12]

I am a big fan of trekking poles, due to some life-long knee problems. You might not need them at all when you hike at home, but what about when you walk 20 to 30 kms every day for a month?

If you do bring them, buy the most light weight ones you can find. That way when you're not using them and you strap them to your pack, they won't be so much of a bother. You may also consider bringing them and using them for the first few days from SJPP to say, Estella, then posting them on to where you will be in two weeks. The Spanish Correos (post office) is fantastic, and they will hold packages for up to two weeks.

If you don't bring them, you can always buy them along the way. They are available in every city on the Camino, and in some smaller towns. You just might not have the same selection and prices that you'd have at home.

Finally, if you do bring them, as said before, be sure you know how to use them correctly. They are meant to make your walk easier, not to require you to exert more energy than you would without them.

Must-have features: telescopic / adjustable / collapsible, rubber tips to go over the metal tips, and wrist straps