Hello, C-rad!
I have walked the
Camino Frances twice in September-October, in 2010 and last year in 2011. Both years, it was a beautiful golden time of year to walk, I loved it. I started on Sept. 15th the first time and Sept. 24th the second. The weather was quite hot at the start, temperature in the 30s by afternoon (umm, so about 95-100F?). Walking up to Alto del Perdon from Cizur Menor was a very hot day, and there were a few days on the Meseta that were hot as well. Last year I left the albergues earlier in the morning than I did my first year (last year I usually started by about 7:15-7:30am). I discovered I like to get much of my walking done before the heat of the day kicks in at around 11am.
In 2010 I experienced about 4 or 5 days of rain, I think. It poured rain on the way from Orisson to Roncesvalles -- slippery on the descent through the beech woods! It was difficult to get my clothes dry between Roncesvalles and Pamplona because although it didn't rain, the sky was overcast every day -- not enough sun to dry the clothes. There was also a wild, wild wind and rainstorm the day I walked from Castrojeriz to Boadilla. (Crazy!) However, opposite to what I'd read and been told ("It will pour rain every day in Galicia!"), the last 7 days of walking were under beautiful sunny skies, not a drop of rain. Frost on the ground, yes! But nice and dry. I arrived in Santiago on October 21st.
In 2011 I again experienced rain crossing from SJPP to Roncesvalles (I did it all in one day), but the sun did peek through for a short while at the top, fun to actually be able to see some of what had been hidden by mist and fog before! It rained on the morning I left Castrojeriz, until I got to the top of the tabletop hill. It rained again on the way up to O Cebreiro (that was beautiful). And when I really got into Galicia, it POURED rain! I came to understand what people mean when they say it rains in Galicia
. But it was fun, mostly (haha). I got to Santiago on October 25th. It rained solidly from the 23rd to the 25th. I waited in Santiago for three days, where it continued to pour rain (it got a bit old after a while), then enjoyed beautiful sunny weather for the three day walk to Fisterra.
How many people is a lot? I didn't find the Camino too crowded for comfort either time, though in 2010, the Holy Year, it was wild how many more people there were after Sarria. According to statistics, supposedly there were even more people walking last year in Sept-Oct, but it seemed like less to me. There wasn't crowding after Sarria, and there was only one albergue full by the time I arrived with a friend (and that was in a small in-between place on the way to Portomarin, at about 7pm).
Any other questions, please feel free to ask! And if you want to click on the link in my signature (to my Caminoheart channel on YouTube), you can see video clips of my walks both years -- will give you an idea of what the weather and landscape was like, and what we were wearing for the temperatures. This is the video I made after last year's walk:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3jFmcyGubE
Buen Camino!
Rachel
