Starting from Ponferrada .. Advice

[micamino73]

Hi, I am hoping to start the Camino from Ponferrada early June. I think its about 210Kms to SDC. I have 7 full days walking available so would have to do 30 kms a day aprox (depending on stops) I would like to reach SDC sunday afternoon and will then have a full day there on Mon. I'm fit enough usually takes me 5 hours to run/walk 42kms so I know its do-able. Does anyone who has actually done the walk have advice to give or caution.

 

[Ioannem]

Hello,
As far as I remember I did that part in 7 days, but I won't say it was easy, since Galicia is far from being a flat land and you have to go up and down O Cebreiro. If you're used to do long walks it should be fine. I always assumed I was doing 4kms per hour, so I could know how long it would take to go to the next place, breaks included.
The beauty of the land gives you wings anyway.
Oh, and I must add that municipal albergues in Galicia don't have much stuff to cook with. Unless you're planning to go to restaurants you'll have to buy some food you don't need to prepare.

 

[viajero]

Hi,
I think I walked this in 7 days as well. My only advice is pack light & have good footwear.

 

[micamino73]

Thanks for the advice above!!

 

[dougfitz]

I can walk 50km in 7 hours, but unladen with a support crew making sure that I am fed and watered! Its hard to translate that to the Camino where the conditions are quite different.

My view would be that much depends on your preparation, and on keeping your pack weight down. I walked the section from Ponferrada to Santiago in nine days, with a heavier pack than I would take next time. I could probably have taken a day off that if I had pushed, but not two, even with a lighter pack. You might be able to.

Remember, too, that there are two pretty big climbs in this section - up to O'Cbebreiro (~700m) and then after Portomarin (~400m). The accumulated climb (based on Brierley's guide) for the section is nearly 2900m, and you would want to count on adding an adjustment of nearly 23 km to your distance calculations using Naismith's Rule. That would push your target up to an equivalent of 35km/day. That extra 5km may not sound much, but it is going to be the best part of an extra hours walking that you will need to do on average every day.

 

[micamino73]

Thanks for that, i had not considered the climb. Last year i did a walk around the monasteries of mt athos.. And there were some hard climbs, I did the 2000 meter climb in one day,

I am only aiming to carry a 6km backpack..hopefully i can get water or fluids along the way? Otherwise carrying water will be my biggest weight, its the only thing i ran short of last year.

 

[sulu]

[I am only aiming to carry a 6km backpack..hopefully i can get water or fluids along the way? Otherwise carrying water will be my biggest weight, its the only thing i ran short of last year./quote]

You will need to carry fluids. There are places where you can top up fluids but not always where you need them and in June you can expect it to be warm, especially for walking.
Buen camino
Sue