Scruffy's Countdown Checkoff List

[scruffy1]

Leaving October 9, so I'm busy, here is my Countdown Checkoff list:

Well ahead of time:
1. Dig your passport out from under all the socks and the underwear in that drawer. Check that it is valid! Here we can get an extension at the airport a-n-d pay a large fine/fee. In America they tell me it can take weeks!
2.Check your boots for excessive wear, splits, heels, laces, wax them up with that gunk against water, will soften them up but if need be, there is still time to purchase new ones and to break them in.
3. Guide Book(s) and Credencial in hand?

2 Weeks previous:
4. Visit your dentist
5.Dig out that sleeping bag - godonly knows how bad it smells so give it a good airing and/or cleaning. Do the same with your water bladder – replace if needed
6.Check out your credit cards – still valid? No scratches on the magnetic bit? No cracks?

1 Week
7. Cut you toenails! If you are too aggressive it will heal before you go - on the Camino don't even touch them - if they don't hurt don't mess with them
8.Get a hair cut or walk triumphantly into Santiago looking like the Wild Man from Borneo
9. Lay out everything you want to take on the bed in the guest room but don't pack! Once it’s in the backpack you will pull everything out three times just to check and make sure you didn't forget this or that.
10. Supermarkets here sell shampoo in 2 litre bottles and monster tubes of toothpaste very hard to find small ones so look around
11. WD 40 your trekking poles and wipe them well.
12. Prepare your shower kit – won't even pretend to recommend what goes in there, different strokes for different folks bigtime!
13. A separate bag for medicines (blood pressure here) Traumeel, Advil, Elastic bandages for strains Band-Aids all easy to find in Spain except when you really need them, maybe something for indigestion or diarrhea if that worries you. Blister preventatives and treatment if that worries you. Most important, a roll of toilet paper without that cardboard bit in the middle or the FreshOnes stuff - none of it is very good if it gets wet in your shower kit.
14. A book to read.
15. Pocketknife and holster, won't help after settling down comfortably in the bottom of your backpack.
16. For those of you who think electronics are not that weird, all the cellular phone/ipod crap you need to make it work.
PS For our Anglo-Saxon Bretheren/Sisters: Leave the Ben Gay at Home! Even light use in public areas may lead to immediate expulsion from polite society. Radian B is a French product, in all ways similar, but has little if no aroma. You have been warned!

 

[Al the optimist]

Dentist two weeks before doesn't leave much time for any work to be done. Ben Gay? What is that? As you are taking poles and pocket knife I assume this is checked baggage.

 

[Felice]

. Ben Gay? What is that?

I assume that it is what we Brits would call Deep Heat. Vile smelly stuff.

 

[C clearly]

Lay out everything you want to take on the bed in the guest room but don't pack! Once it’s in the backback you will pull everything out three times just to check and make sure you didn't forget this or that.

I disagree!! That process is the most fun of all and I try to maximize it! Also why else would you call it a "backback"?

 

[Urban Trekker]

Dentist two weeks before doesn't leave much time for any work to be done. Ben Gay? What is that? As you are taking poles and pocket knife I assume this is checked baggage.

Ben-Gay is a topical analgesic rub that creates a sensation of heat on the skin and provides a physiological feeling of well being but has no true therapeutic value. I understand that you can purchase Valtorin ointment over the counter. It's a anti-inflammatory, think Motrin, that penetrates the skin. Buen Camino

Happy Trails

 

[CaminoDebrita]

@scruffy1 , bet I'll meet you out there! if you're doing CF, that is.

 

[CaminoDebrita]

Oh, whoops no....Toulouse, I see

 

[SeaHorse]

WD 40 your trekking poles and wipe them well.

Hey! This is interesting! Please tell how, where, why, etc? My poles never saw any oil, but I want to take good care of them to make them last longer!

Cut you toenails! If you are too aggressive it will heal before you go - on the Camino don't even touch them - if they don't hurt don't mess with them

Just don't cut too aggressive any time ever and there will be no problem cutting them also on the Camino. Makes boots fit better. And generally feel younger.

A book to read.

Heavy!

 

[MTtoCamino]

Nicely done Scruffy, I didn't know they still made Bengay! Have a great walk. I look forward to your historical finds.

 

[gigibarry]

I remember Ben Gay! We used to put that on the outside of dog's bandages when they got hurt so that they wouldn't chew the bandages off. Don't know if it was the taste for the smell that put them off! Have a great trip, Scruffy!

 

[scruffy1]

Hey! This is interesting! Please tell how, where, why, etc? My poles never saw any oil, but I want to take good care of them to make them last longer!

Just don't cut too aggressive any time ever and there will be no problem cutting them also on the Camino. Makes boots fit better. And generally feel younger.

Heavy!

My Black Diamonds are made of carbon fiber so no worry about rust. Simply open and slid shut easier after a squirt.
Some of us have been granted nails like a saber toothed tiger, easy to clip too much or hit a cuticle. I leave them alone.
A month without a book? No way! When you are done leave it in the albergue for others and choose one from there. Nothing interesting? The Camino is especially blessed with bookstores, even the tiniest of places will often have a bookstore, easy to re-boot or re-book!

 

[CaminoDebrita]

@scruffy1 ---I'm going to buy some walking poles when I get to SJPP. I don't want to have to pack mine into luggage! I am mostly just kind of nervous about having to try to find the luggage carrousel when in Spain, sigh! Also, because it's my first time I thought I'd just keep it super easy.

Book-wise, I think some people just pack i pad mini's with books downloaded!

You're the scruffiest!

Deb from the PNW

 

[CaminoDebrita]

My final countdown list has been...

1. Make several meals for the freezer, so the spoiled better half doesn't eat mixed nuts and granola bars for the next 35 days.
2. Purchase frozen and canned foods that are fairly healthful for the same.
3. Take care of the 4 cats / 2 dogs for vet visits, emergency numbers, etc.
4. Create lists for what "I" do for houseplants and yard plants.
5. Set up the man with an i phone and download whatsapp
6. Get set up with current credit cards and contact the bank
7. Undo the pedicure stuff that I usually do and prepare the feet by hiking a lot. Did shave off a few thick callouses. They come back fast.
8. Get all Camino stuff in one pile, and important stuff in china hutch--p port, credential, shell I'm carrying for Vira (Denise shell).
9. photo copy of all reservations and plane info so I not only have a copy in hand, but one in bottom of pack and one in husband's hands.
10. Get all my merino wool stuff into bedroom on guest room bed to sort through.
11. Clean house and put stuff in safe and away in case of whatever. Make things tidy.
12. Decide on whether or not to take i pad mini. I read every morning. I also love to use wifi, and that mini is the shiznit as we say.
13. Get the back in order--some physical issues for awhile. Working on stretching, loosening things up, and just resting it a bit, which is all okay. I will take a long walk today on a country road (at Silver Falls).

This is my throw down. Anyone else have a gauntlet in hand?

 

[Al the optimist]

Agree 1 and 2 (in my case for my Mom). Others either are not applicable or already in place waiting for use. Sad thing is I no longer need to keep packing/unpacking/repacking. I miss doing it! In-between Caminos time has got less exciting. BooHoo!

 

[C clearly]

I've taken some inspiration from @ scruffy and @CaminoDebrita and in no particular order:

1. Set my man up with Skype. (He might be willing to use this, but there's no need for WhatsApp since he doesn't have a cell phone or tablet!)
2. Clear "my" food out of the fridge.
3. Get haircut. Short!
4. Dentist (done a couple of weeks ago but didn't need follow-up, hooray)
5. Cut toenails a week in advance and give feet a good scrubbing.
6. Rearrange houseplants so the ones vulnerable to overwatering are in an out-of-the-way place.
7. Pay credit cards a bit in advance so I don't need to pay them for another month.
8. Update binder of info about household accounts, passwords, and where important documents can be found.
9. Clear desktop and back up computer.
10. Download maps to phone.
11. Spray stuff with permethrin.
12. Collect key travel info and documents, put copies in gmail.
13. All the other things that never end, like fall cleanup in the garden.

 

[scruffy1]

My final countdown list has been...

1. Make several meals for the freezer, so the spoiled better half doesn't eat mixed nuts and granola bars for the next 35 days.
2. Purchase frozen and canned foods that are fairly healthful for the same.
3. Take care of the 4 cats / 2 dogs for vet visits, emergency numbers, etc.
4. Create lists for what "I" do for houseplants and yard plants.
5. Set up the man with an i phone and download whatsapp
6. Get set up with current credit cards and contact the bank
7. Undo the pedicure stuff that I usually do and prepare the feet by hiking a lot. Did shave off a few thick callouses. They come back fast.
8. Get all Camino stuff in one pile, and important stuff in china hutch--p port, credential, shell I'm carrying for Vira (Denise shell).
9. photo copy of all reservations and plane info so I not only have a copy in hand, but one in bottom of pack and one in husband's hands.
10. Get all my merino wool stuff into bedroom on guest room bed to sort through.
11. Clean house and put stuff in safe and away in case of whatever. Make things tidy.
12. Decide on whether or not to take i pad mini. I read every morning. I also love to use wifi, and that mini is the shiznit as we say.
13. Get the back in order--some physical issues for awhile. Working on stretching, loosening things up, and just resting it a bit, which is all okay. I will take a long walk today on a country road (at Silver Falls).

This is my throw down. Anyone else have a gauntlet in hand?

I AM the chief cook and bottle washer around this house. The Better Half is truly the Better Half until she gets into the kitchen; her exploits next to the stove are legendary! Not really successful but truly legendary!! The Camino is also my vacation - they will somehow manage while I, with apologies to O. Wilde, while I the Jewish pilgrim, Bunbury about on the Camino. A Camino motto: "Give Me the Coffee to change the things I can change and Wine to accept the things I cannot". Both readily available from SJPP until SdC!

 

[C clearly]

"Give Me the Coffee to change the things I can change and Wine to accept the things I cannot"

Fabulous motto.

My other half and I both claim honours as the Better Half in the kitchen, but the truth is that neither of us is any good (except to our own separate taste).

 

[VNwalking]

Hard to top these lists!
One addition...Am I the only one who tries to squeeze in the things that I'd been procrastinating about to do 'later'?

 

[mountaingoat999]

scruffy1
A Camino motto: "Give Me the Coffee to change the things I can change and Wine to accept the things I cannot". Both readily available from SJPP until SdC![/QUOTE]


I love this saying......its soooooooooo true

 

[MTtoCamino]

You all bring a smile to my face!

Deb if you buy walkin sticks other than the real wood type make sure you have the lightest pair of leatherMans you can find, they were the hand tighten type & many folks had to find a pair of pliers to adjust them not so easy to find in smaller places.

C clearly your a good looking woman no need for a head of hair.

 

[Dutchwalk53]

aaahhhh SO jealous (happy for you) October 9th !!!! I'm only back 3 months and can't wait to go again. Sadly have to skip 2016 (still working and hubbby is NOT a walker but....agreed to a 1 week walk in either Scotland or Vancouver Island so can't complain ) but hope and will be back on the great Camino in 2017 again. Have a GREAT time !

 

[Albertagirl]

My last minute list is a little peculiar to me, mostly having to do with trying to make certain that I have: 1. More money than I think I will need, and 2. Less stuff in my pack than I think I will need. However, I have paused this evening to sew my camino forum badge on my backpack. If you see a senior Canadian woman (I have also stopped colouring my hair, as it will not be practical on the camino) with a bright red Gregory backpack and a camino forum badge, it just might be me. Particularly if the pack looks fuller (heavier) than it should be. For those setting out the end of September, beginning of October on the Frances, I hope to see you there.

 

[Al the optimist]

many folks had to find a pair of pliers to adjust them not so easy to find in smaller places.

Talking of pliers - I was having a quick caz limon in a small shop in the middle of nowhere (no idea where) when a young German girl arrived. She wanted me to ask if they had any pliers (alicates) as she didn't speak any Spanish. It turned out that she had a piercing between her gum and her front teeth that she wanted removing! Someone had told her that it was causing negative energy flow and affecting her Karma. Oh well! So there I was at 9 in the morning trying to open and remove the ring. One for the Camino memoirs I think.

 

[Al the optimist]

Ah Camino patch! That reminds me. I haven't one on my latest pack (I downsize almost every year). But this is the last time - I really can't get any smaller.