"Learning to Walk" Sept10 08

[Paul2008]

Hi my name is Paul
I am planning to start the journey from, I guess from here in Boston but that actual path will be Roncesvalles to Santiago Still trying to book flights and arrange the details of life, Long walks, Learn language and less luggage seem to be some of the early sign posts.(30-40 days Iam thinking right)
I am in my early 50's in my mid life thing,.. time for a long walk and reflection.

Be well all

Paul.

 

[sillydoll]

Welcome Paul,
You are going to be in good company! In 2007 pilgrims aged 26 to 35 made up the majority of those who got a Compostela – 24 885. The next highest age group was 46 – 55 with 21 285 pilgrims getting a Compostela.
The camino will cope with your mid-life thing! Someone once said that all the stones scattered across the camino (and there are a googolplex of them) are the remains of pilgrim's worries, cares, hurts, sorrows, angst etc.
Don't forget to take a pebble from home - rub all your cares and woes into it as you walk, and leave it at the base of the Cruz de Ferro.
Buen planning,

 

[Deirdre]

HI Paul,
Welcome to the Forum! We are neighbors - at least in relation to this forum - I live in CT. I walked in July/Aug, 2007 - and expect to be back on the Camino this summer as well. You'll find this a wonderful spot for information and support. If someone here can't answer your questions, they will surely know someone who can!
Buen Camino,

 

[ksam]

Hey Deirdre and Paul, I'm a neighbor from the south...but still in the NE...New Jersey! Paul, she's right...the wealth of infor here is amazing...as well as the support and good wishes! So from one 50 something to another, Buen Camino!

Karin

 

[Deirdre]

Apparently the 1950's were very good years... we were all born then!
Buen Camino,

 

[Paul2008]

Thank you All for your support and warm welcome

Paul

Welcome Paul,
You are going to be in good company! In 2007 pilgrims aged 26 to 35 made up the majority of those who got a Compostela – 24 885. The next highest age group was 46 – 55 with 21 285 pilgrims getting a Compostela.
The camino will cope with your mid-life thing! Someone once said that all the stones scattered across the camino (and there are a googolplex of them) are the remains of pilgrim's worries, cares, hurts, sorrows, angst etc.
Don't forget to take a pebble from home - rub all your cares and woes into it as you walk, and leave it at the base of the Cruz de Ferro.
Buen planning,

 

[kubapigora]

Hi Paul! How is your preparation going. Are you ready to go? Let us know!

Safe journey!

 

[Paul2008]

Hi Paul! How is your preparation going. Are you ready to go? Let us know!


Hi All I have booked my tickets and now I am down to the final items like paper soap and where to change money for the best rate, my feet are happy with the light boots I have, I started walking in Feb when it was just above freezing now its up in the 80's Deg F and feet seem fine,
15-12miles at a time but not day after day, I get to long walk once a week, as work and life allows.
I have walking poles that I have not used but feel they will come in handy for day after day walking up and down hills. So the prep is going well but I remember a saying "if you want to make God laugh tell him your plans". or If you want to make existence laugh start making plans.
I cant believe it's going to happen as I am still working getting every thing ready for my leave of absence.

All the best Paul

 

[spursfan]

It's all relative but apart from the three main uphill sections (indeed, two if you start from Roncesvalles) and their downhill complements there is really a lot more relatively flat walking where poles are more of a hindrance than a help (but search for other threads on poles) - as part of your preparation you should have gotten the John Brierley guide and look at the daily height profiles for each stage

 

[sillydoll]

Spursfan, I think you are an experienced fell walker who is a sure-footed race-walker with a back pack!
For peregrinos like me (and many others) the camino frances presents many more challenging hills than just two - and the downhills are where many of us find sticks essential! There are many gravel, shale, river rock paths that need steady, strong legs and ankles, not to mention sandy trails that become quagmires of leathal, gooey mud in the rainy season!
Besides the path from Roncesvalles, the Alto del Perdon with its river boulder downhill is one: the detour near Maneru is another: the drop down to San Juan de Ortega: the steep track down to el Acebo after Manjarin and the slippery, shale path down to Molinasaeca.
Going up to O Cebreiro on the rocky path isn't too bad, but coming down to Triacastela can present a few ankle-twister sections, especially after the Alto San Roque.
My husband found the short section between Sarria and Santiago quite taxing - not because of the distance he walked but because of the undulating path.
I never find that my two sticks are a hindrance and wouldn't walk without them on any hike.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

One turned ankle and your Camino is instantly over. Learn to use the trekking poles; you won't regret it.

 

[spursfan]

Sil
My main point was that he should look at the height profiles in the Brierley book - with just the minor suggestion that he would find different opinions on using poles - and I'm certainly a great advocate of travelling light and wearing trainers with good Vibram soles (I walked the Camino in April/May and encountered some muddy patches and a lot of hard roads - next time, I might choose September to reduce the chance of mud). And whilst I might walk quickly on the flat and uphill, I do take extreme care when going downhill - and I'm no Spring chicken either

PS I've never done any fell-walking (though for some years I used to go walking in the hills around Chamonix for a series of day walks that involved between 1200-1800 metres of ascent and descent) - now I've settled down to flat walking some 16-18 miles next to the River Thames in London on a handful of summer Saturdays each year (sadly none so far this year)

 

[sillydoll]

I did not mean to label you a "Wainwright Walker"!! I just have this mental picture of you striding up and down the fells! I'll change that to striding along the Thames! (I would love to walk all 294km of the Thames Path - http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/Thamespath/)

Using a Backpacker's grading system, I wouldn't grade the Camino Frances as a 'difficult' or even a 'medium' trail as trails go. The books say "you cross three mountain ranges". Well, I suppose they are mountain ranges but one never has to scramble, there is nothing above 1500m and, although the path from St Jean to Roncesvalles is a steep and tiring day's walk - it is just that - a walk. The most taxing is the last 600m downhill to Roncesvalles!
Nancy Frey rated the camino frances 'Medium' in the Lonely Planet Guide: they have five categories, easy, medium and hard plus intermediate categories of easy-medium and medium hard.

For me, the difficulty of the camino paths is not really the elevation, or the changes in elevation, but the unevenness of most of the paths - rocky trenches, torrent courses, gravel pits, river boulders, shale slopes and muddy paths after days of rain. I find these particularly difficult going downhill. Sister Anneliese got so fed up with the rocks that at one stage she said, "I'm sure God has taken all the rocks and all the pebbles in Spain and scattered them across the camino to test us!"

If Paul takes his poles and finds them a hindrance, he can leave one or both behind. For now he might feel more comfortable taking them with him.

 

[WolverineDG]

Paul, use the sticks. They saved my life, literally.

Kelly

 

[jeff001]

In my experience, for every step I took where sticks would have helped I took 1000's where they would just be excessive baggage. And when you aren't actually using them they are one more thing to keep track of.

 

[sillydoll]

Its a personal choice thing, isn't it? What works for one, doesn't necessarily work for another.

I started using two sticks whilst walking on the Via Francigena two years ago. High in the mountains, climbing up to the GR St Bernard Pass (2543m) we came upon a small croft, or shepherd's bothy, with a stack of bamboo poles and an honesty box next to it. We bought one and continued the climb. I would never had made it up to the Col Gr St Bernard Pass - or down into the Aosta Valley - without two sticks. The gradient was punishing, the paths were sometimes covered in melting glaciers and negotiating over rock-slides was downright dangerous. At times the two sticks literally kept me on my feet - like skis in the snow.

There is a camino pilgrim walking from London to Rome to Assisi at the moment. You can read about her difficult day up to the Col Gr St Bernard here - http://walk2assisi.blogspot.com/

 

[WolverineDG]

From my blog, May 2007:
Short blog. Made it to Zubiri today. If anyone says that only sissies go to Roncesvalles via Valcarlos, I´ll beat them with my now well-used & trusted walking stick within an inch of their lives. It rained almost the entire way yesterday & with all the rain they´ve had here, the way off road was very muddy, mucky, & dangerous. And cold. The other way wasn´t so good either because folks who walked over the mountain said it snowed AND hailed on them, as well as thunder & lightning. Today was a slip & slide down hills, almost bought it too if it weren´t for my stick. Stayed to the road after that & after about 2 hours on the flat top, a local took pity on me & brought me to Zubiri. I was about 2 km short when he picked me up. God bless him & all his family. Answer to my prayers & he wouldn´t take a dime from me either.

What this refers to is a slip in the mud where I lost footing with both feet. Instinctively, I reached out with both hands to grab onto something (there was nothing to grab onto, btw), and the walking stick in my right hand caught something in the side of the hill & stuck. Had it not done that, I would have done a header down the side of the hill.

Take the sticks. If anything, they will keep your hands from swelling up.

Kelly

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I have jumped out of airplanes. I have waded through Agent Orange. I have flown supersonic inverted. I am not about to do something dangerous like walk without trekking poles.

 

[Janeh]

I have jumped out of airplanes. I have waded through Agent Orange. I have flown supersonic inverted. I am not about to do something dangerous like walk without trekking poles.

I burst out laughing when I read this - I guess it says it all! My mantra as I finalise my packing is, if in doubt, take it, you can always throw it out. Cheers, Jane

 

[Alan Pearce]

Hi Jane, I walked with one walking staff and found it ideal. I also met lots of people who could not imagine walking without two poles! " You pays your money and you takes your choice." As for taking stuff and throwing it out if you don't need it, remember that there is a special postal service that allows you to post on superfluous baggage to Compostela,that you can retrieve at the end of your pilgrimage.
Buen camino Alan

 

[KiwiNomad06]

I burst out laughing when I read this - I guess it says it all! My mantra as I finalise my packing is, if in doubt, take it, you can always throw it out. Cheers, Jane

Jane.... I appreciated your various comments to me as I walked.... I look forward to reading of your progress as you walk!
Paul... I am 50 and just finished walking from Le Puy to Santiago. There are a whole bunch of us very ordinary 50-somethings who are on the trail, so you will be in good company. And if you meet, as we did, a very fit Italian couple in their 80s who are leaving everyone behind in their dust, it's all good for the humility!
Margaret - Kiwinomad
(PS I took one pole, and it was lightweight and attached to my pack easily when I never wanted to use it. But there were muddy times when I would not have been without it.)

 

[Janeh]

remember that there is a special postal service that allows you to post on superfluous baggage to Compostela

I posted this info elsewhere, but a friend has just returned from the camino and tells me that the post office in Santiago only keeps your gear now for TWO WEEKS ONLY!!
She has sent ahead some nice clothes to wear and extra toiletries, only to find the PO had sent them onto her home address 2 weeks later. So I'll send excess to Burgos and Leon , then Santiago if needed. cheers, Jane

 

[vjpulver]

I am interested in learning more about hiking sticks. Since I hope to take a military HOP (I am retired Air Force) to Europe as a prelude to my Camino pilgrimage, I really want to travel light. I do not want problems with carry-on stuff. So I am wondering about purchasing a walking stick in the USA or finding something suitable in Spain. Any advice on acquiring a stick?

Jane - I laughed at Janeh's remarks too. Interestingly, I take the opposite tack when I travel. I usually say "When in doubt, do without!" I like the freedom of going very light. In most situations I can survive (not always happily of course) and can freaquently find suitable substitutes if necessary. But, to each his/her own!

Life is good...
Ginn - or "Pergregrina Pulver"


_________________________EXCERPTS FOLLOW____________________

I have jumped out of airplanes. I have waded through Agent Orange. I have flown supersonic inverted. I am not about to do something dangerous like walk without trekking poles.

I burst out laughing when I read this - I guess it says it all! My mantra as I finalise my packing is, if in doubt, take it, you can always throw it out. Cheers, Jane

 

[ElRicardoL]

Hi Paul,
My wife and I are in our early sixties and walked the Camino just about a year ago. For us, we often gave thanks that we had decided to carry two poles each. Whether uphill or down hill, they were of tremendous help. They almost certainly saved our knees on the many downhill stretches.
We found that so many Pilgrims who started the Camino stickless, very soon obtained a stick of some sort.
One early morning in a deserted village, a local man exposed himself to my wife while I had stopped to view some interesting antiquity. After catching-up and confronting this man, he grabbed a very sharp and dangerous looking pitchfork and started coming toward me in a threatening manner. I held my trekking poles points forward and advanced somewhat fearfully toward him. Fortunately, he backed-off and rapidly disappeared into a farm yard - I'm not sure what I would have done if he hadn't backed-down! Trekking poles. Essential!
Buen Camino.
Richard

 

[Paul2008]

Well today I , we a lot of us made it to Logrono the poles were a real essential part of my gear, I did send some stuff back via post 33Euro I suspect I sent it express mail due to my lack of Spanish, the Garmin boots/low cut shoes are coming apart I have glued them together until I find a shop that has somthing other than fashoin shoes the weather has been great dry apart from the first 2 days last week, coming out of Pampalona was more that I had expected, today is day 6 and my legs are forming under me, take it slow in the start and let it build. there are a few folks thinking about righting a book about what not to do on La Camino, blisters and all. The Red Cross did some magic on a few feet a days rest and away they went slower than before but back on the path some folks do drop out due to body issues, Los Arcos Pilgim mass at 7.30/8pm was great the Priest spoke 4 laguages and we had fun.
I dont think I will come by the time to get to the computer for awhile so dont ask me any Q´s as I dont have the experiance to advise and I will not be able to reply. The forum has and is a good source of good info I would suggest a soap box area where hot topics could get moved to for things like snoring , bikes and left trash and other things that come up from time to time.(grin)



THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP

Buen camino Paulo

 

[WolverineDG]

If you're shipping stuff home to the US, 33Euro is not express delivery. I know this from experience.

Take your time, there is no prize for finishing the Camino in first place.

Sounds like you're having a great time!

Buen Camino!
Kelly

 

[KiwiNomad06]

take it slow in the start and let it build. there are a few folks thinking about righting a book about what not to do on La Camino, blisters and all. The Red Cross did some magic on a few feet a days rest and away they went slower than before but back on the path
Buen camino Paulo

Hi Paul, I think you really said something important here about 'a days rest'. I had one of those after ten days. It rained heavily from about day 7 on the Le Puy route - my feet got saturated and I got a real dose of blisters, and was very tender on the soles of my feet. I decided it was wiser for me to take a day off in Estaing. As everyone else left the gite that morning, I had tears slipping down my cheeks, and felt like I was a 'failure' who wouldn't be walking for long..... However, I spent the day mostly relaxing by the river, talking to passersby, and tended my feet with compeed etc.
After just that one day's rest my feet already felt so much better, and I took off along the route next day with new vigour and renewed enthusiasm. And walked on, at my own pace, to eventually reach Santiago.....
Margaret