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shoes for winter walk sarria to santiago

S

samu

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Sarria to Santiago
Hello pilgrims and greetings from Italy

My name is Samuele and I'm planning to do the camino from Sarria to Santiago during the beginning of January.
I was wondering about what shoes to use. Knowing that the surface is asphalt and woodland paths, will a pair of goretex running shoes be enough?
I already have these ones: https://www.newbalance.it/en/pd/fresh-foam-880v11-gtx/M880V11-36356.html

Reading other threads, it seems like that a pair of approach shoes or trail running are much more recommendable. Is it right?
What about these pairs below?

Ultra Raptor Gtx

GORE-TEX model created for winter use off-road and over long distances, for ultra marathon competitions and endurance training sessions.
www.lasportiva.com

Thank you very much!
 
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At other times of the year, yes. In January ( ?) some of the paths could be covered with snow and ice! Then you might consider road walking.
 
Boots would indeed be safer.
Walking late autumn/winter I carried simple sandals for relaxing and wore Decathlon Gore-tex lined hiking boots. Each pair easily lasted 2 caminos walking from SJPdP to Santiago plus either out to Finisterre/Muxia or down to the Portuguese border at Valenca do Mino. Thus the boots easily covered 2000 km before the sole showed wear. They probably would be ok for 3000 km but for safety sake new boots were purchased every 2 years.
 
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I am always looking for the next superlight BOOT to walk my next Camino. Last week the La Sportiva Raptor that you list (2.1 lbs/pair) caught my eye at our local REI so now I am waiting for the March sale. For walking in Galicia in fall and winter I strongly suggest also wearing lightweight waterproof gaiters to keep the rain outside your boots. I use Zpacks gaiters. Using gaiters may make your current running shoes adequate. Whatever you do, you will have a lot of moisture by evening. Be sure to pack your shoes with newspaper each evening. Buen Camino
 

Hello Samuele and welcome to the Forum!

For walking Sarria to Santiago in January, I'd recommend you wear something that you don't mind getting muddy, wet, and possibly snowy. I don't think there will be much snow at all on the trail, however it's rainy season and some of the trails can get very, very muddy. It may also be cold and windy. So running shoes may not have the uppers/tread/ soles that you need. Trekking shoes like Merrells or trekking boots may serve you better just because it's winter. And they would be warmer. I checked the links you posted and they're intriguing as they're Gore-tex...but I'm wondering if they would still be too thin? Dunno

Buen Camino!
 
Doubtful that you will encounter snow, but rain and mud are definitely possibilities! Still, “waterproof” shoes just make my feet sweaty and I ha e successfully walked multiple Caminos in rain and snow wearing very good wool socks and cross trainer shoes. Lightweight shoes will dry overnight (especially if you can remove the insert and employ newspaper to absorb water overnight) and good wool socks will keep your feet warm no matter how wet they get
 
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I always wear Nike running shoes on Camino. Always.

February 2014, my first winter camino, I wore them.

I slipped and slid four days, finally twisting my ankle on downside of Alto de Perdón.

Finally, switched to boots to accommodate icy paths, muddy paths, and a heavily taped ankle.

Also, my feet were always cold in trusty Nikes.

Buen camino.
 
We walked SJPDP-SDC December/January 2020 and walked the Sarria leg from around Jan 14th-20th. We had sun every single day and the paths were fine - not muddy, not wet. I wore a Merell MOAB2 light weight boots and love I this shoe! We did not take gaitors. We had good water repellant trousers and rain pants if needed (they were not)

We walked the same path in April 2018 and the path was like a river!!!! So much rain - the winter melt, probably. I had merrel MOAB shoes. We also wear merino socks so our feet never got wet. The shoes did though. A handy trick is to stuff the wet shoes with news paper at night, changing the news paper as it gets soggy.

Enjoy your winter walk - such a lovely time of year
 
Thank you all for the precious answers!

Bottom line, I can't go with those running shoes...
I think I'll go for something like "La Sportiva" above or something like this:

Ultra Flex 2 Mid GORE-TEX® Scarpa Uomo

Suole performanti La Ultra Flex 2 Mid unisce la protezione e l'affidabilità su terreni misti di montagna degli scarponi da trekking con l'agilità di una scarpa da speed hiking. È realizzata intorno alle sue suole...
www.salewa.com

But all depends on what the closest mountain shop has available...

I was also thinking that a pair of shoes that has the little arch on the sole, that is useful for gaiters, is a detail to consider
 
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