madcherrylimas
New Member
I walked the camino last year from St. Jean in June, and I had a 20L backpack that weighed about 16 pounds, or 7 or so kilos. I had everything I could imagine needing (including a jar of nutella, a Spanish-English dictionary, a Spanish fan... none of which I would take again). Sometimes I thought I had too much stuff, or that I wish I had brought something else, etc., and I often wished I had come across a packing list like the one I'm about to write.
So -- it probably HAS already been written -- but I'm going to write my version of what I had, and what I would bring the next time I (hopefully) walk the camino, and hopefully someone will find this useful.
CLOTHING:
1. I brought low-top la sportiva hiking shoes that were broken in and had served me well backpacking in mountains... They were ok, definitely better than some of the heavy hiking boots I saw out there, however it was pretty unnecessary and I needlessly wore out the vibram soles on asphalt; only about 10 km of the camino actually look close to warranting hiking shoes, and even then, not really. I would have been better served with shoes with more cushion and more breathability.
The next time I go, I will either go in good running/walking shoes or in good hiking sandals, like Tevas or Merrels. I was jealous of the two people I saw in sandals. The essential thing in picking your footwear is breathability and arch, but especially breathability for avoiding blisters. (If you have arch problems, I recommend getting soles like superfeet). Many people suffer the worst pain from blisters.
2. Flipflops, of course, for showers and padding around the albergues.
3. Two shirts, one semi-niceish one and one you wouldn't mind sleeping in, and both which would be appropriate for walking in, and one or two tank tops. After each day you'll end up washing the shirt you just walked in, and it's good to have another shirt to rotate into, and a tank top to sleep in, or whatever. I brought a dress along too to wear in cities and ended up ditching it after a week.
4. One pair of shorts, one pair of long pants/convertibles, plus something for sleeping in.
5. I often wish I had brought swimwear, for all those swimming holes, the occasional albergue with a pool, and also for evening out your farmer's tan.
6. Two sets of each kind of underwear, and two pairs of light-weight wool socks. I also brought a pair of longjohns for my legs, which I used maybe once or twice for PJs.
7. A hat.
8. I had borrowed this from someone -- instead of a fleece, I had one of those warm baselayers (patagonia capilene 3 type things), and that worked beautifully and dried quicker than a fleece. When it was slightly cold (this only happened towards Galicia), I combined this with my rain jacket and it was enough.
9. A lightweight goretex rain jacket, just in case. It only rained, lightly, two days on my camino though, and only in Galicia.
FIRST AID KIT
1. Customary essentials -- a few bandaids, iodine, ibuprofin (to use sparingly at the end of the day, after walking, to reduce swelling)
Someone gave me these things my third day on the camino and I used them all throughout:
2.Needle and thread for threading your blisters to ensure they fully dry (leave in for two hours).
3. A small swissarmy type knife, but the kind that opens up into a pair of scissors (also useful for large blisters -- instead of threading them, you can cut a small triangle at the bottom of the blister, which drains it pretty well), and has a bottle opener, etc.
4. Paper bandaid --esparadrapo de papel -- but without any cotton in the middle, and about half an inch wide. It's more useful than a mole skin in preventing bandages, I found, since it lets the skin breathe -- wrap it around any at-risk areas to keep them dry and blister-less, and if you need cushioning add gauze cushioning.
5. An ace bandage
Anything else you might really need you can buy along the way, and others will have if you're in a pinch, so don't bring a huge first aid kit.
OTHERS:
1. I had a light-weight down sleeping bag, but sleeping bags don't help against bed bugs and most of the time it was so warm I just slept with my bag open. If I go again from Spring to Autumn, I would just take my silk sleeping bag liner -- the silk is woven finely enough that bed bugs can't get through. The one or two nights (I think it was) it WAS cold, the albergues I stayed in had extra blankets or sheets anyway.
2. Sarong -- which usefully doubled as a towel, a scarf, a pillow, a blanket, a skirt, whatever..
3. A rain cover for your pack.
4. A small ziplock bag for keeping your camera and chargers in, another small ziplock bag for wallet and other important things.
5. A 2L camelbak-type water bladder, and a small metal water container, for keeping extra juice or tea or whatever in.
6. A small handbag.
7. Toiletries -- normal sized stuff, plus SPF30, plus small packages of detergent that I had prepared before.
8. Journal.
(plus the other essentials, like nutella)
So -- it probably HAS already been written -- but I'm going to write my version of what I had, and what I would bring the next time I (hopefully) walk the camino, and hopefully someone will find this useful.
CLOTHING:
1. I brought low-top la sportiva hiking shoes that were broken in and had served me well backpacking in mountains... They were ok, definitely better than some of the heavy hiking boots I saw out there, however it was pretty unnecessary and I needlessly wore out the vibram soles on asphalt; only about 10 km of the camino actually look close to warranting hiking shoes, and even then, not really. I would have been better served with shoes with more cushion and more breathability.
The next time I go, I will either go in good running/walking shoes or in good hiking sandals, like Tevas or Merrels. I was jealous of the two people I saw in sandals. The essential thing in picking your footwear is breathability and arch, but especially breathability for avoiding blisters. (If you have arch problems, I recommend getting soles like superfeet). Many people suffer the worst pain from blisters.
2. Flipflops, of course, for showers and padding around the albergues.
3. Two shirts, one semi-niceish one and one you wouldn't mind sleeping in, and both which would be appropriate for walking in, and one or two tank tops. After each day you'll end up washing the shirt you just walked in, and it's good to have another shirt to rotate into, and a tank top to sleep in, or whatever. I brought a dress along too to wear in cities and ended up ditching it after a week.
4. One pair of shorts, one pair of long pants/convertibles, plus something for sleeping in.
5. I often wish I had brought swimwear, for all those swimming holes, the occasional albergue with a pool, and also for evening out your farmer's tan.
6. Two sets of each kind of underwear, and two pairs of light-weight wool socks. I also brought a pair of longjohns for my legs, which I used maybe once or twice for PJs.
7. A hat.
8. I had borrowed this from someone -- instead of a fleece, I had one of those warm baselayers (patagonia capilene 3 type things), and that worked beautifully and dried quicker than a fleece. When it was slightly cold (this only happened towards Galicia), I combined this with my rain jacket and it was enough.
9. A lightweight goretex rain jacket, just in case. It only rained, lightly, two days on my camino though, and only in Galicia.
FIRST AID KIT
1. Customary essentials -- a few bandaids, iodine, ibuprofin (to use sparingly at the end of the day, after walking, to reduce swelling)
Someone gave me these things my third day on the camino and I used them all throughout:
2.Needle and thread for threading your blisters to ensure they fully dry (leave in for two hours).
3. A small swissarmy type knife, but the kind that opens up into a pair of scissors (also useful for large blisters -- instead of threading them, you can cut a small triangle at the bottom of the blister, which drains it pretty well), and has a bottle opener, etc.
4. Paper bandaid --esparadrapo de papel -- but without any cotton in the middle, and about half an inch wide. It's more useful than a mole skin in preventing bandages, I found, since it lets the skin breathe -- wrap it around any at-risk areas to keep them dry and blister-less, and if you need cushioning add gauze cushioning.
5. An ace bandage
Anything else you might really need you can buy along the way, and others will have if you're in a pinch, so don't bring a huge first aid kit.
OTHERS:
1. I had a light-weight down sleeping bag, but sleeping bags don't help against bed bugs and most of the time it was so warm I just slept with my bag open. If I go again from Spring to Autumn, I would just take my silk sleeping bag liner -- the silk is woven finely enough that bed bugs can't get through. The one or two nights (I think it was) it WAS cold, the albergues I stayed in had extra blankets or sheets anyway.
2. Sarong -- which usefully doubled as a towel, a scarf, a pillow, a blanket, a skirt, whatever..
3. A rain cover for your pack.
4. A small ziplock bag for keeping your camera and chargers in, another small ziplock bag for wallet and other important things.
5. A 2L camelbak-type water bladder, and a small metal water container, for keeping extra juice or tea or whatever in.
6. A small handbag.
7. Toiletries -- normal sized stuff, plus SPF30, plus small packages of detergent that I had prepared before.
8. Journal.
(plus the other essentials, like nutella)
) and I can just about fit it into the 32 litre Mountain Marathon. It's interesting that you say only 10 kms worth actually requires hiking footwear - I'm one of those who dither over Merrell walking shoes and Teva sandals. Crocs are a dead cert as the secondary pair, they can even hang on the outside of the pack, it doesn't matter if they get wet. The only thing I would add to your list is an 
