Looking for blogs/connections from former pilgrims that walked Camino Frances in May

[Sally Forester]

Hi there,
I'll be walking the Camino Frances May 10th 2016 - mid June 2016. I'd be curious to connect with former pilgrims who walked the Frances during that time OR would love to be directed to blogs from folks who walked during that time frame. My biggest concerns are- how cold? sleeping bag needed to what rating? wet weather gear needed? how did you train in winter/snow?

Thanks so much for the connections!
Sally

 

[Sheilajg]

Hi there,
I'll be walking the Camino Frances May 10th 2016 - mid June 2016. I'd be curious to connect with former pilgrims who walked the Frances during that time OR would love to be directed to blogs from folks who walked during that time frame. My biggest concerns are- how cold? sleeping bag needed to what rating? wet weather gear needed? how did you train in winter/snow?

Thanks so much for the connections!
Sally

I walked the Camino Frances from early May to early June 2015. The weather was mostly hot and rain gear was needed only on 2 days during the whole trek. I would always take it with me, though. I used a sleeping bag liner/ sac and a small fleece blanket (that was rarely needed) for bedding. I had a light fleece jacket and a windbreaker. The fleece was needed a few times but spent most of the time in the bottom of my pack.
My winter training included lots of long walks around the roads when I could and lots of snowshoeing. The more walking you can do, the better. My blog is http://sjguenard.blogspot.ca
Enjoy

 

[dgassa]

I walked April/May here's a link to my blog. Just 3 days of rain. No problems with lodging.

www.walkingmycamino.blogspot.com

 

[GettingThere]

Hi there,
I'll be walking the Camino Frances May 10th 2016 - mid June 2016. I'd be curious to connect with former pilgrims who walked the Frances during that time OR would love to be directed to blogs from folks who walked during that time frame. My biggest concerns are- how cold? sleeping bag needed to what rating? wet weather gear needed? how did you train in winter/snow?

Thanks so much for the connections!
Sally

I walked between mid-April and early June this year. It was cool early on in that period but not really cold (some days quite hot even in April), and by May the weather was quite warm (it's really variable at this time of year though, so every year is different!) I took a Ferrino Trekker rain coat (like an Altus, covers you and your pack) and due to good luck with the weather only had it out of my pack about three times. I wouldn't have wanted to be without it or something comparable though, for those few times. Other than that I had a very light fleece jacket (merino) which was sufficient to keep me warm on the early cooler days. We stayed in private rooms (in pensions, small hotels and hostales, as well as a few albergues) so I didn't need a sleeping bag and didn't take one. As for training - coming from the southern hemisphere my training was in the heat of summer!

 

[Robo]

Www.Robscamino.com

I walked in may/June this year.

 

[nellpilgrim]

Hi I walked April May and the link to the blog Shellshock about that is on the bottom of my post.
It's a lovely time to walk.
N

 

[jburr3708]

I walked late April/May 2013. We had a lot of rain and some very cold days. Even deep snow on El Cebreiro on May 25. I wore a fleece almost every day. Be prepared for wet an cold but hope you won't find it. Better to be prepared than surprised. Every year can be different.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Sally, I walk every year in May.
Some years it has been HOT and sunny crossing the Pyrenees.
Two years ago it was blizzard conditions.
Last year it was lovely.

The same for other places along the Camino.
You can go to my blog and check alongside the right to see posts of when I'm on the Camino in May/June.
But it is my favorite time - the wildflowers - fewer people - and even the colder weather makes the walking incredible!

As for your questions.

1) How cold? Depends on where you are on the Camino and (literally) every year is different, but in general, it's not that cold. I no longer bother taking any heavy clothes. I just take a short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve silk or bamboo shirt, a fleece, and a featherweight but good windbreaker. If I layer those and still am cold, I put on my ALTUS rain poncho. I start out layered and within 20 minutes of walking I'm peeling off layers, no matter how chilly it is. I do not take gloves. I do take a featherweight wool beanie.

2) Rain Gear? Always! No matter what time of year, I've never NOT seen rain. I have an ALTUS which you can pick up in SJPP, Zubiri, and Pamplona at the sporting goods stores.

3) 95% of people never train at all. You train on the Camino. Start out walking slow and steady and increase stage length as you get into shape. You will never go through enough snow in May to "train." If it is snowing on the Pyrenees the day you walk, it is suggested you taxi to Roncesvalles or take the Valcarlos route. They will give you that information at the Pilgrim Office in SJPP and I suggest you listen to them. There is no other place on the Camino that you will have to worry about snow that I know of. Just one day of it.

My suggestion is that you don't overthink this. It is a nice trek, not a mountain climbing expedition.
Unless you are grossly overweight or have medical issues, I doubt you'll have any problems at all.

Here are a few links when we walked in May so you can see the photos:
http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2012_05_01_archive.html

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2013/05/changing-routes.html
If you follow this thread, you'll see that I'm ALL bundled up in JUNE in Santo Domingo del Calzada.
The weather was just unpredictable in 2013.

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2014/05/to-st-jean-pied-de-port.html
This year, the walk to Orisson was sunny but windy:
The very next day, my group walked into Roncesvalles in blizzard conditions.

Here are a few photos of 2015. I didn't walk this year because of an ankle injury:
http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2015/05/update-we-have-photos.html

 

[DowtyCamino]

We started May 26 2014. The day we left SJPP it was a beautiful cool morning (wore fleece). Thirty min later with the climb we were down to shorts and short sleeves of course. The entire week before we left and the 4 days after we left they had torrential downpours and even snow over the route to Roncevalles. We really were blessed to have such a nice day.
We were surprised by the morning coolness through most of our 4 weeks to Santiago and Finsterra. My wife is cold natured and even wore fleece gloves some mornings. It never lasted long however.
We wished we'd brought sleeping bags for the first 3 nights only. After that our sleep sacks were more than adequate.
Day 2 was a full day of rain - other than that, we went the entire time with nothing more than a few hours of misting. Rather unbelievable that we didn't even get hit by a storm or something.
That said, we used our rain gear for the windbreaking effect on several occasions and we were glad we'd brought it.

Our Blog:
dowtycamino.tumblr.com/tagged/dowtycamino/chrono

or watch our documentary at

Youtube.com (search for "dowtycamino")....skip past the beginning that tells the history of Camino if you wish.

 

[Buz Radican]

I walked the Camino Frances 1 May - 6 June of this year. (Remember, the weather is always an unknown, varying from year to year). It rained the first day, sprinkled several times the first week, but no real rain. I carried a poncho but only used my rain jacket and trousers twice. It was very cool in the mornings, mid to high thirties, low forties, for the major of the walk (I would leave the albergue about 6, before sun rise) and wore a light fleece over a lightweight base layer. A couple of times I needed my rain jacket also, at least for the first couple of hours. Most mornings I used my buff for earmuffs. While I had a pair of lightweight gloves, in Leon I purchased a pair of heavier ones because my hands got very cold the first couple of hours of each day. By 10 AM I was, more often than not, down to a wool tee shirt. For sleeping I used my lightweight sleeping bag with silk liner, especially the first three weeks. I saw lot of pilgrims using the blanket as a sheet, and had no desire to use the blanket without something between me and thee. The silk liner did a great job, and was all I needed for the last couple of weeks. Leaving early in the mornings allowed me to finish my day's walk before the true heat of the day, which was nice, and also allowed me to have ample time to relax and rest my 70 year old body. As for pre-Camino training, I did a minimal amount. For several weeks prior I would do an hour or so each day with my pack (30 pounds) on the treadmill, and took a couple of local 6 mile hikes. On the Camino I averaged 20 km a day without too much effort. No zero days and no blisters. I hope, in some small way this helps you in your pre-Camino planning. If you have any questions, please drop me a note. Buen Camino.

 

[Sally Forester]

Thanks everyone for your help and it's been fun looking at your blogs. If I have questions I'll make sure to reach out!

 

[Robo]

I walked the Camino Frances 1 May - 6 June of this year. .

It was good to meet you briefly on the Trail Buzz. Just the other side of Zubiri as I recall...........

 

[Buz Radican]

Thanks. I met a lot of very nice pilgrims along the way.