Road walking

[elaine777]

Hi, I am walking the Camino Frances for the first time starting May 1 - i have read that one mainly walks along the side of roads with regular traffic. Is this really true? It is not what i had assumed (or hoped for) and if this is true i need to think about a different route i guess.
thank you

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Hi, I am walking the Camino Frances for the first time starting May 1 - i have read that one mainly walks along the side of roads with regular traffic. Is this really true? It is not what i had assumed (or hoped for) and if this is true i need to think about a different route i guess.
thank you

It is not true. The trail is a mix. Most of the roads next to the path are lightly traveled.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Hi, I am walking the Camino Frances for the first time starting May 1 - i have read that one mainly walks along the side of roads with regular traffic. Is this really true? It is not what i had assumed (or hoped for) and if this is true i need to think about a different route i guess.
thank you

Hi, as Falcon said. Wish you a Buen Camino, Peter.

 

[whariwharangi]

Hi, I am walking the Camino Frances for the first time starting May 1 - i have read that one mainly walks along the side of roads with regular traffic. Is this really true? It is not what i had assumed (or hoped for) and if this is true i need to think about a different route i guess.
thank you

Yes its true. However, most of the roads are tertiary roads that are lightly traveled. You have to watch out because they overdrive on the narrow roads. The entertainment starts when one wannabee motorhead meets another on a blind corner. The camino path is usually away from major roads but thats not the case near the major cities. Entering and leaving Leon is the worst section for proximity to traffic.

 

[Jo Jo]

Falcon,

I am an old school backpacker. I too was worried about the road walking. The Camino is not wilderness. But it really is wonderful, and I'm so glad I strayed outside my normal paths to experience it.

As stated above, most of the road walking is on quite roads, and I would say that a majority of the walking is actually on gravel roads. Some of it was even on old Roman roads (rough walking, but in pretty good shape given that it is 2000 years old). Dirt paths are rare. This makes a difference for footwear. I would have two pairs: hiking sandals (I had Keens) for the gravel roads and occasional dirt paths, and running shoes designed for running on concrete and asphalt (the harder surfaces just destroyed by feet. Hiking boots were too hot for a summer Camino.

I bussed into Leon (from Mules) to avoid the walk on that highway so I cannot compare, but the walk after Villafrance de Bierzo (sic?) was I thought particularly bad. The first bit to Trabelo is beside a highway, but there is a concrete safety barrier, so it is not unsafe, just hot, noisy, and unpleasant. There is a much nicer high route, but very few pilgrims took it the day we were there (just my wife and I were on the high route that day; if you go, take extra water). Then, around Trabelo, the barrier disappears and big trucks whiz by a couple of meters from you. I found that frighteningly dangerous and that section from Trabelo to Las Herrerrias (sic?) again for love or money. Instead I'd take a taxi.

So there are some bad parts and it is not the Appalachian Trial or the Pacific Crest Trail. But it is well worth seeing, for the community of walkers (your "Camino Family") if for nothing else. The diversity of people walking is truly special, and you begin to appreciate how old the Camino, and just how many feet have trod it across the ages.

Buen Camino,
Jo Jo

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The first bit to Trabelo is beside a highway, but there is a concrete safety barrier

That is the alternate route. The standard route covers that distance on the crest of the hills.

 

[Jo Jo]

Falcon,

What I saw was 50+ pilgrims walking by the road and only my wife and I on the high route (the crest route, as you describe it). That was only one day's experience, around July 25, 2014, but we noticed the locals really discouraging pilgrims from the high route, saying it is too steep. It was steep, but not unbearably so. My only real problem with the high route is that it does not go all the way to Las Herrerrias (sic?)--it ends in Trabelo, right about where the safety barrier also ends. Like I said, I highly recommend the high route, but bring extra water (that ridge gets hot).

There is also some sort of "dragon" route on the other side of the valley, but a friend with lots of backpacking experience tried it the year before and got lost halfway (apparently, it was not marked adequately) and had to walk back to the busy road. I figured that if she could not find her way, neither could I, and therefore learned from her experience.

Jo Jo

 

[CaminoCruiser]

There's certainly more roadside walking than I realised. It was a bit disconcerting. I had to bus it out of Leon this morning due to tendonitis, and when I saw what the path was like I wasn't so upset that I'd missed it! The walk into Burgos was equally unattractive.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

There is old Roman road under many of those paved roads! First animals, then Romans, then horses, then cars. In many places the yellow arrows take you off the parallel path a bit further away from the road; sometimes land ownership gets in the way of such diversions. It is not realistic to expect any pilgrimage of such length that goes through cities to be a walk in the forest (especially when there is no forest as around Leon). Tendonitis can affect one's perception of the surroundings. I have walked into and out of all the big cities, and I have taken transportation into and out of all the big cities. The beauty around me is more a matter of my attitude than the visuals around me. For example, leaving Leon one can get a cafe con leche at regular intervals. Leaving Belorado in the trees, not so much...

I reiterate my recommendation that a pilgrim skip parts as a response to what he needs that day, not by a plan. I was walking into Leon one Holy Week, and the parades were assembling for the processions in capirotes. What a shame it would have been to have been on a bus!

 

[MechEngr69]

John Brierley's guide lists the number of km each on paths, secondary roads, and main roads. Out of 33 stages, there are only two areas that have more than 5 km along a main road: 1) 8.9 km from Larrasoana to Cizur Menor in stage 3 at Pamplona, 2) 4.7 km entering Leon in stage 20, and 8.5 km leaving Leon in stage 21. There are 8 other stages with 1.5 km to 4.9 km along main roads. The remaining 22 stages have none or practically no adjacent main roads. Note that the Camino is generally not on the shoulder of the main road, but on the far side of the guardrail or further away.

 

[CaminoCruiser]

There is old Roman road under many of those paved roads! First animals, then Romans, then horses, then cars. In many places the yellow arrows take you off the parallel path a bit further away from the road; sometimes land ownership gets in the way of such diversions. It is not realistic to expect any pilgrimage of such length that goes through cities to be a walk in the forest (especially when there is no forest as around Leon). Tendonitis can affect one's perception of the surroundings. I have walked into and out of all the big cities, and I have taken transportation into and out of all the big cities. The beauty around me is more a matter of my attitude than the visuals around me. For example, leaving Leon one can get a cafe con leche at regular intervals. Leaving Belorado in the trees, not so much...

I reiterate my recommendation that a pilgrim skip parts as a response to what he needs that day, not by a plan. I was walking into Leon one Holy Week, and the parades were assembling for the processions in capirotes. What a shame it would have been to have been on a bus!

I knew about the Roman roads being paved over. That is inevitable over time. I just didn't find walking within earshot of noisy trucks and cars in between certain towns all that appealing. Not everybody is going to enjoy the same things, it would be a pretty boring world if we did.

I didn't miss out on Holy Week. I got to witness two different celebrations in two different cities (Logrono and Santo Domingo). What a marvellous experience.

 

[CaminoCruiser]

LOL, don't get me started on John Brierley's "guide"...

 

[Kanga]

The Camino France's is not a walk in the wilderness. It pretty much follows the most direct route from France to SDC - because that is the path taken by the medieval pilgrims. So obviously that is also the route used by modern road planners. But generally the Camino skirts around the roads. Looking through the photo galleries tells the story.

In France the GR routes take extraordinary steps to avoid roads and sometimes it drives me nuts! You find you have been walking up and down and around through admittedly lovely country - but without sign of a coffee shop anywhere - when a small local road would have got you from point to point in half the time.

 

[Pattii]

Falcon,

I am an old school backpacker. I too was worried about the road walking. The Camino is not wilderness. But it really is wonderful, and I'm so glad I strayed outside my normal paths to experience it.

As stated above, most of the road walking is on quite roads, and I would say that a majority of the walking is actually on gravel roads. Some of it was even on old Roman roads (rough walking, but in pretty good shape given that it is 2000 years old). Dirt paths are rare. This makes a difference for footwear. I would have two pairs: hiking sandals (I had Keens) for the gravel roads and occasional dirt paths, and running shoes designed for running on concrete and asphalt (the harder surfaces just destroyed by feet. Hiking boots were too hot for a summer Camino.

I bussed into Leon (from Mules) to avoid the walk on that highway so I cannot compare, but the walk after Villafrance de Bierzo (sic?) was I thought particularly bad. The first bit to Trabelo is beside a highway, but there is a concrete safety barrier, so it is not unsafe, just hot, noisy, and unpleasant. There is a much nicer high route, but very few pilgrims took it the day we were there (just my wife and I were on the high route that day; if you go, take extra water). Then, around Trabelo, the barrier disappears and big trucks whiz by a couple of meters from you. I found that frighteningly dangerous and that section from Trabelo to Las Herrerrias (sic?) again for love or money. Instead I'd take a taxi.

So there are some bad parts and it is not the Appalachian Trial or the Pacific Crest Trail. But it is well worth seeing, for the community of walkers (your "Camino Family") if for nothing else. The diversity of people walking is truly special, and you begin to appreciate how old the Camino, and just how many feet have trod it across the ages.

Buen Camino,
Jo Jo

This is a good post. I am about to buy my shoes but now I am rethinking. I will be (God willing) travelling in late spring and summer or in late summer and fall so I am thinking that the boots thing is definitely out..but so are, perhaps the hiking shoes? Anyone else have anything to add to this ...maybe there is a thread about shoes...gonna go take a look...

 

[Suzanne S.]

Hi, I am walking the Camino Frances for the first time starting May 1 - i have read that one mainly walks along the side of roads with regular traffic. Is this really true? It is not what i had assumed (or hoped for) and if this is true i need to think about a different route i guess.
thank you

Buen Camino, Elaine! I begin my first Camino on May 1 as well. Perhaps our paths will cross.

 

[Mysticl]

This is a good post. I am about to buy my shoes but now I am rethinking. I will be (God willing) travelling in late spring and summer or in late summer and fall so I am thinking that the boots thing is definitely out..but so are, perhaps the hiking shoes? Anyone else have anything to add to this ...maybe there is a thread about shoes...gonna go take a look...

I have no idea what type of shoe is better but I decided to go with Keen Mid height boots ... altho some folks on here say trail runner are usually more than enough for the Camino. Mid height boots give a bit more support to my ankle when carrying a pack on rough ground and support to prevent accidental twisting of the ankle on uneven ground etc ... and not "quite"as heavy as a full blown boot. It may not be necessary most of the time to have such support as I know the Camino is not a bushwhack through the woods but I think I personally need it as I have several issues with my feet that I would rather not flare up while on the Camino and walking in anything except my hiking boots or NB walkers absolutely RUINS my feet in very short order. That said, I am going somewhat overboard and also taking my NB walking shoes ... as an alternative to the boot if needed as well as a decent evening shoe. After that I waffled (a lot) about taking anything else but I am leaning toward my slip on (heeled) sandals (also a mainstay in the foot dept for me) they are heavier than flip flops but I loath flip flops and I'm afraid my feet need something more substantial and supporting than a super lightweight shoe/sandal/flipflop could give for shuffling around the alburges in the dead of night ... and I have decided I definitely need something with open toes and breathability ... I know taking 2 pair of footwear for the trail and an evening alternative, along with a pair of sandals is not something anyone on here would recommend but my foot issues are significantly serious that I feel it is a necessity ... your case is most likely different. For me support is more important than weight either in my pack or on my back ... if I need to shave off pack weight it will have to come from somewhere else ... if my feet fail me, my Camino is over but I can live without an extra pair of pants.

PS: My husband is taking Merrel Mids but they look more like lightweight train runners to me ... he says thay are the most comfortable pair of hiking shoes he has ever owned ... I think his alternative is a pair of flip flops and I am not sure if he is taking anything else ... I guess if he needs something more he can buy it in Spain.

 

[naplesdon]

The path of least resistance. First it was animals walking along the side of stream, then it was the local tribes and later the armies of Charlemagne and Napoleon following those same paths. During the past two century the railroads followed the same path and in the 21th century so did the road builders. The same thing is true in America.

 

[Pelgrimpaul]

Just a few percentages from Brierley's guide for a few random stages:
path/quiet road/main road
49-51-0
91-4-5
76-16-8
69-28-3
70-30-0
55-20-25
51-42-7
95-5-0
44-56-0

Last year an international forum proposed some guidelines for the future of the camino. One of their suggestions was to stop pavement of any part of the camino.
More information on this manifesto on weblog Pilgrimage and Place.

Oh, I like to add:
I walked with my friend Ian saying "You almost always hear the sound of motorcars somewhere.". "Just listen to the birds", he replied!

 

[NoQ]

There are only 2 sections at the side of the road that I found to be particularly uncomfortable. These are the sections between Mansilla and Villarente while it passes through Villamoros and the section after Triacastela on the Samos route. Neither section is long though.

The other sections in and out of cities are at least on paths by the road and even the section that so many people appear to dislike (the now alternative route into Burgos from Villafria via Gamonal) is not totally without charm as there are plenty of benches to rest on while admiring modern industrial suburbs as well as a lovely church at Gamonal.

 

[jmcarp]

When walking on the few sections where there is no parallel footpath, remember to walk on the side of the road facing the oncoming traffic. In Spain, that is the left side. You will see many pilgrims walking on the right side of the road, and one can only assume that they may be from one of the countries where the traffic lanes are reversed (UK, for instance).

 

[Lynda t]

Didn't I read somewhere that if you walk alone walk facing the oncoming traffic. If you are part of a group go with the traffic. I may have miss heard.

 

[StuartM]

The route is simply a means of getting from the French border to Santiago as quickly as possible with enough resources en route to make it doable. I suspect in mediaeval times, as today, there was a lot of effort to get pilgrims to pass through towns rather than skirt around them. Don't forget that pilgrimage was as much about making money for local businesses as it was about spiritual reward for the pilgrims, plenty of places just invented relics in order to encourage wealthy pilgrims. I don't know how closely the Frances mirrors the original route but it was a means to an end rather than a scenic wilderness trail.

I never walked the whole Frances but what I recall was about 50% senda (the roadside dirt tracks), 25% rural road, 25% other. Even on the sendas you are often separated by hedges or trees from the road and you wouldn't know it was there sometimes. You can't pass through major cities without accepting the downside of traffic. I'm sure with a bit of map-work that a by-pass route could be found round busy towns, there are no rules to say that you have to stick to the marked route. In fact, with a bit of research you might avoid the marked route entirely and stick to walking trails.

The Salvador route is supposedly one of the quietest but even that goes through some very busy territory. The first day and the last day go through some of the ugliest industrial/urban landscape you'll find and I'd happily have bussed both those parts if I'd known. The rest of it is probably mostly offroad dirt tracks. Very nice but very tiring, 800km of that would easy add 50% or more on to the time to do the Frances if it followed similar routes. Road walking came as a relief sometimes.

 

[Mark Lee]

This is a good post. I am about to buy my shoes but now I am rethinking. I will be (God willing) travelling in late spring and summer or in late summer and fall so I am thinking that the boots thing is definitely out..but so are, perhaps the hiking shoes? Anyone else have anything to add to this ...maybe there is a thread about shoes...gonna go take a look...

ha....yeah, there's a few of those on here
trail runners or trail shoes....non-insulated and a 1/2 size large
cold soak your feet when you can while on the Camino and massage and stretch them
cheers

 

[Julio Gone Camino]

Hi, I am walking the Camino Frances for the first time starting May 1 - i have read that one mainly walks along the side of roads with regular traffic. Is this really true? It is not what i had assumed (or hoped for) and if this is true i need to think about a different route i guess.
thank you

A mixed set of replies, it seems, so obviously a range of perceptions!

I guess the first thing to remember is that the Camino is not a wilderness walk. Far from it: in fact you could argue that it is almost precisely the opposite of that, having come into existance to link towns, villages and monasteries so that pilgrims could find food, shelter and safety each night.

Nowadays, the route offers a range of walking experiences, from hills and countryside to town centres and industrial city outskirts. It's not all beautiful: in fact, quite a lot of it is far from pretty. And it follows a mix of path types - paths, tracks, roads, etc - but predominantly gravel tracks and roadside "pistes" (tracks beside the road), with an amount of quiet lanes as well. Occasionally, there is no option but follow busy major roads, although this is now kept to a minimum.

So you get a real mixed bag, which you might expect with a walk of 800k! But that is one of the beauties of the route, and part of it's special allure: as I mentioned in my blog it is Spain "warts and all" - you get to experience the huge diversity of terrain the path passes through. Don't be reticent - give it a go! The experience is all the more special for the "ups and downs" The Way presents.

 

[Julio Gone Camino]

The camino path is usually away from major roads but thats not the case near the major cities. Entering and leaving Leon is the worst section for proximity to traffic.

Others may have commented already, but if not the route into Leon (when we did it Sept 2014) appears to have been re-routed away from the side of the main road when entering Leon. We followed a clearly Camino-waymarked route that never had us actually walking on the busy road side, although much of the last 3k was on pavement (sidewalk).

Another notorious area is the route into Burgos. Again, we found an "official" waymarked route from Orbaneja to Castanares alongside the airport - not pretty, but not on main roads - then from Castanares all the way into Burgos centre on a beautifully quiet, shady tree-lined riverside path.

 

[Julio Gone Camino]

Falcon,
As stated above, most of the road walking is on quite roads, and I would say that a majority of the walking is actually on gravel roads. Dirt paths are rare.

This makes a difference for footwear.

This is definitely the case, and choice of footwear is important. Boots may or may not be too hot - it depends what you are used to - but what is definite is that it is easy to underestimate the pounding your feet will take with the heat, a heavy backpack and the miles and miles of hard gravel tracks or metalled surfaces you will travel (see my avatar picture for a typical gravel track - there are hundreds of miles of this).

Whatever footwear you choose, please make sure you have walked longer distances on tarmac to check for comfort - dirt paths will not be the same - even if it is a few laps round the block. Ideally, a mix of supprt and cushioning would work best - after previous trips I am going for Merrell Moab mids this time, for me a nice blend of support and "trainer-like" comfort - and I am aiming to do about 100 miles in them on roads beforehand by way of preparation - both to "break-in" my boots and toughen my feet!