- Time of past OR future Camino
- Enjoying the camino since 2009
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I KNOW this. However, every time, I find myself wanting to know if my new shoe-sock-whatever system is actually effective. I cannot resist testing it by not applying tape in advance of blisters. Isn't there a phrase about this failure to learn?If you know that certain areas are blister prone apply tape to those areas every day before you start walking.
Just thought I'd post a little thread of top tips and gentle reminders for pilgrims new and old, those little things that some people might not know about or have forgotten, either because they are focusing on something else, it doesn't occur to them or it simply slips their minds in all the excitement. We have all been there! Not a thread to admonish people but to kindly help them along a bit in true camino fashion.
The reason is I am three weeks away from my next and desperately needed zen top-up, so of course I am watching online videos about the camino, from the camino, about kit and packing and all things camino related (this is perfectly normal, and here's a top tip right away - search out Andrew Suzuki's videos, Beyond the Way for the sweeping beautiful stuff and Don't Stop Walking for the fun intro) and I keep seeing people who have dangling and loose load lifters, the straps connecting the back of the pack to the top of your shoulder straps.
They are there for a reason, so if you don't already, try pulling them tight while wearing the pack! In 9 out of 10 cases the pack will carry better when you pull the top of the pack closer to your back.
Top tip is to put your pack on, then tighten 1) hip belt, 2) shoulder straps, then 3) pull the load lifters to fit, and lastly, 4) fasten the sternum/chest strap. Only you can know when the fit is exactly right, so loosen or tighten all straps and try different things on walks at home before you set off with a full and badly fitting pack.
What is your favourite tip or gentle reminder that you think would make the camino a better place?
And too many have their hip belt around their waist and not cradling the hip crest.Well said...too many have their backpack on their bum instead of higher up.
Maybe you're just an eternal optimist.Isn't there a phrase about this failure to learn?
Yes!!My top tip is to have absolutely NO expectations.
Last year on the Norte I was walking with two new friends for a few day.Just thought I'd post a little thread of top tips and gentle reminders for pilgrims new and old, those little things that some people might not know about or have forgotten, either because they are focusing on something else, it doesn't occur to them or it simply slips their minds in all the excitement. We have all been there! Not a thread to admonish people but to kindly help them along a bit in true camino fashion.
The reason is I am three weeks away from my next and desperately needed zen top-up, so of course I am watching online videos about the camino, from the camino, about kit and packing and all things camino related (this is perfectly normal, and here's a top tip right away - search out Andrew Suzuki's videos, Beyond the Way for the sweeping beautiful stuff and Don't Stop Walking for the fun intro) and I keep seeing people who have dangling and loose load lifters, the straps connecting the back of the pack to the top of your shoulder straps.
View attachment 54700
They are there for a reason, so if you don't already, try pulling them tight while wearing the pack! In 9 out of 10 cases the pack will carry better when you pull the top of the pack closer to your back.
Top tip is to put your pack on, then tighten 1) hip belt, 2) shoulder straps, then 3) pull the load lifters to fit, and lastly, 4) fasten the sternum/chest strap. Only you can know when the fit is exactly right, so loosen or tighten all straps and try different things on walks at home before you set off with a full and badly fitting pack.
What is your favourite tip or gentle reminder that you think would make the camino a better place?
Dave, does your advice change for those of us without framed packs? Thanks.Thank you for posting this. You have outlined the basic steps quite well. I'd like to amplify on your instruction set just a bit.
- Loosen all of the straps on the shoulder harness and hip belt.
- Put on the pack and very slightly tighten the shoulder straps so that the hip belt is slightly below the hips.
- Shrug your shoulders up, and then fasten the waist belt as you are getting it roughly into position.
- Slightly tighten the shoulder straps to assist with the hip belt adjustment.
- Position the hip belt padding to let the padding sit half above and half below the crest of the hips. The padding of the belt should never sit entirely above the hips. The padding should sort of wrap itself over the top of the hip bone and hug the hips.
- Tighten the belt just enough to keep it in position. At this point, nearly 100% of the packs weight is resting on the hips.
- Snug the shoulder straps to take up 5 to 15 percent of the packs weight. You will feel just a slight unloading of the weight off the hips.
- At the top of the shoulder straps and toward the pack, are smaller straps called 'load lifters'. Grasp them and pull to your front. You will feel the weight of the pack lift up slightly and pull more snugly toward your back. This helps with center of gravity and balance. You can experiment with how snug or how loose you want to pull on the straps. On many packs, but not all, a properly adjusted load lifter strap will form a sort of 45 degree angle when viewed from the side.
- On some waist/hip belts there can be a small strap connected to each side of the belt. Again, pulling forward on those straps will bring the bottom of the pack closer to your back, helping with balance as you are walking.
Thanks!@JamesVT I have a frameless Tempest pack and the main difference is that non-framed packs tend to be shorter so the 45 degree rule doesn't really work. I still like to keep my load lifters tight to pull the load closer to my back.
Most of the people I have met who pushed themselves beyond reasonable limits were 20 something. If you're young, your body has limits, too! Old and young people need to learn to listen to their bodies.Thinking you can do what you could do when you are 20 something and pushing yourself beyond reasonable limits is at best uncomfortable and at worst Camino ruining. Remember that the one of the main joys of the Camino is the experience so why rush it?
Do it your way so long as it doesn't affect how others do their Camino.Remember, it's your Camino. Do it your way, and don't judge others as they do it their way.
Dave, does your advice change for those of us without framed packs? Thanks.
This can't be said enoughnobody wants to hear your mobile trying to wake you up when they want to sleep
Cheers nidarosa - I know what you mean about stern and efficient hospitaleros! I've met some absolute award winners in this regard too! Hey - this could be a subject for another thread!@JennyH94 Good point, I never dared touch them because I assumed some stern and efficient hospitaler@ had a plan with them - it never occurred to me that I was part of the plan! How camino is that ... Thanks for the gentle reminder.
In other combined top tips/gentle reminders - for pilgrims who wear a fitbit or other activity tracker, the faint light from them might be enough to let you find your way to the toilet in the night or gather your stuff in the morning without waking everybody up with a sharp light. Many of them can also be set to a silent alarm in the morning if you need it, because nobody wants to hear your mobile trying to wake you up when they want to sleep ...
And please always have your poles pointing down, even when they are stowed on your pack.
That also goes for an emergency whistle, a lot of packs (certainly Ospreys) have a whistle built in to the sternum/chest strap clip, so that's one less thing to buy and pack!you might have them and not even know it
I’m carrying a ULA CDT pack with an expected load weight of around 12 or 13 pounds, excluding snacks and water. The CDT pack has a suggested “weight limit” of 18 pounds. It looks like my weight should end up in the sweet spot you mention. Thanks for all your help.What pack do you have ?
There's not really much difference. Many frameless packs do not have load lifters as part of the harness, so that would be the one major difference. Additionally some packs designed for 'hyperlight' loads will omit a waist belt as well.
The key to frameless packs is to stay below their stated weight carry, or load limit. There are some wonderfully comfortable frameless packs, but I have yet to gear test one that was comfortable to me at its stated carry specification. Most of the time, I find the sweet spot somewhere at about 80 to 90 percent of the stated spec.
The amount of padding in the belt and shoulder straps might be less than those with heavier load carry capabilities, and if that is a problem then there are add ons which can increase the padding to those areas. Also, if a load weight that one wants to carry is borderline comfortable in the backpack, there are modifications that can be tried so that it will push the pack into the 'comfortable' range
I’m carrying a ULA CDT pack with an expected load weight of around 12 or 13 pounds, excluding snacks and water. The CDT pack has a suggested “weight limit” of 18 pounds. It looks like my weight should end up in the sweet spot you mention. Thanks for all your help.
I never can figure out how to weigh the fruit and veg. in the stores where I am expected to do so. There is a number that corresponds to the product and is supposed to be written on a label, then entered into the weigh scale. This number is generally somewhere on the bin, which may also contain a price per unit number. And if I figure out how to do it, for sure the system in the next store will be different. Fortunately, the salespeople are generally very patient with pilgrims (by necessity, I suppose).Don't touch the fruit and vegetables in a shop. It is not the 'done thing' in Spain. You will get told off. You ask and they will get it for you. In bigger supermarkets you have to weigh the fruit and veg yourself before you get to the counter. I forget every time!
And in some stores they weigh it for you at the cash register. I remember spending a bit of time looking for the scale at one store before I was told that the cashier would do it.I never can figure out how to weigh the fruit and veg. in the stores where I am expected to do so.
I never can figure out how to weigh the fruit and veg. in the stores where I am expected to do so. There is a number that corresponds to the product and is supposed to be written on a label, then entered into the weigh scale. This number is generally somewhere on the bin, which may also contain a price per unit number. And if I figure out how to do it, for sure the system in the next store will be different. Fortunately, the salespeople are generally very patient with pilgrims (by necessity, I suppose).
For those of you who are walking your first camino or taking a mobile phone with you for the first time, many little shops will let you pay at the till to add more money to your phone account. It helps if you keep the bill from a previous phone account payment, as there is a number which the cashier needs to process this charge.
And in some stores they weigh it for you at the cash register. I remember spending a bit of time looking for the scale at one store before I was told that the cashier would do it.
Davey... I feel your pain. And I am not being sarcastic. There are those who consider me a skinbag of bad habits held together with caffeine/nicotine glue.
B
Sorry, Total Newbie, Do you do this daily ?Thank you for posting this. You have outlined the basic steps quite well. I'd like to amplify on your instruction set just a bit.
- Loosen all of the straps on the shoulder harness and hip belt.
- Put on the pack and very slightly tighten the shoulder straps so that the hip belt is slightly below the hips.
- Shrug your shoulders up, and then fasten the waist belt as you are getting it roughly into position.
- Slightly tighten the shoulder straps to assist with the hip belt adjustment.
- Position the hip belt padding to let the padding sit half above and half below the crest of the hips. The padding of the belt should never sit entirely above the hips. The padding should sort of wrap itself over the top of the hip bone and hug the hips.
- Tighten the belt just enough to keep it in position. At this point, nearly 100% of the packs weight is resting on the hips.
- Snug the shoulder straps to take up 5 to 15 percent of the packs weight. You will feel just a slight unloading of the weight off the hips.
- At the top of the shoulder straps and toward the pack, are smaller straps called 'load lifters'. Grasp them and pull to your front. You will feel the weight of the pack lift up slightly and pull more snugly toward your back. This helps with center of gravity and balance. You can experiment with how snug or how loose you want to pull on the straps. On many packs, but not all, a properly adjusted load lifter strap will form a sort of 45 degree angle when viewed from the side.
- On some waist/hip belts there can be a small strap connected to each side of the belt. Again, pulling forward on those straps will bring the bottom of the pack closer to your back, helping with balance as you are walking.
Ummm . . . why are you putting a banana in a bag? Bananas come with their own protective cover. May I gently suggest that you put the price sticker directly on the banana, and other fruit as well.Yes it is a bit complicated. Put the banana in a bag, remember the number written (somewhere) near that banana. Then find the scales (possibly other side of shop). Put banana on scales, press in the number remembered. Stick sticker that is produced on to bag. Go and pay at till. Then you want to buy six different veg/fruit, that is a lot of numbers to remember, though there may be a little chart near the weigh thingy with little pictograms to help you out. Of course I always forget after I have got to the till.....
Oh yes I totally agree with this tip. Means so much. Especially when I had been o. The camino for awhile. Buen camino everyone.Please get yourself and your pack completely ready to go the night before, so in the morning, you can just slip on your pants, grab your sleeping bag/bedding, grab your pack and slip quietly out of the room to an outer room, to finish getting ready to go. No turning on room lights, bright flashlights, rustling loud plastic bags or talking loudly. Please show respect to your fellow exhausted and hopefully still sleeping pilgrims. I tried to make sure everything was packed and ready to go and my clothes were left sitting on my back pack. I just slipped into my pants, grabbed my stuff and left the room.( I messed up a few times) I leave on April 25th for another round of this. I will try to follow my own advice, so I won't be the one talked about later in the day!
Wilfull stupidity maybe?I KNOW this. However, every time, I find myself wanting to know if my new shoe-sock-whatever system is actually effective. I cannot resist testing it by not applying tape in advance of blisters. Isn't there a phrase about this failure to learn?
In regard to you first paragraph, I would like to suggest to leave some room for your own discovery....TMI has a way of creating unrealistic expectations....just a thought. Buen CaminoJust thought I'd post a little thread of top tips and gentle reminders for pilgrims new and old, those little things that some people might not know about or have forgotten, either because they are focusing on something else, it doesn't occur to them or it simply slips their minds in all the excitement. We have all been there! Not a thread to admonish people but to kindly help them along a bit in true camino fashion.
The reason is I am three weeks away from my next and desperately needed zen top-up, so of course I am watching online videos about the camino, from the camino, about kit and packing and all things camino related (this is perfectly normal, and here's a top tip right away - search out Andrew Suzuki's videos, Beyond the Way for the sweeping beautiful stuff and Don't Stop Walking for the fun intro) and I keep seeing people who have dangling and loose load lifters, the straps connecting the back of the pack to the top of your shoulder straps.
View attachment 54700
They are there for a reason, so if you don't already, try pulling them tight while wearing the pack! In 9 out of 10 cases the pack will carry better when you pull the top of the pack closer to your back.
Top tip is to put your pack on, then tighten 1) hip belt, 2) shoulder straps, then 3) pull the load lifters to fit, and lastly, 4) fasten the sternum/chest strap. Only you can know when the fit is exactly right, so loosen or tighten all straps and try different things on walks at home before you set off with a full and badly fitting pack.
What is your favourite tip or gentle reminder that you think would make the camino a better place?
Ummm . . . why are you putting a banana in a bag? Bananas come with their own protective cover. May I gently suggest that you put the price sticker directly on the banana, and other fruit as well.
Sorry, Total Newbie, Do you do this daily ?
Book more time then you think it will take to walk your Camino. Then you are ready if things take longer than expected, if you have to rest a few days with tendonitis or something, and you wont find yourself needing to race to Santiago. There is plenty to see in Santiago and Spain with any leftover days if nothing goes wrong and it took as long as you thought it would.
BRILLIANT!1. On your locked phone screen make the wallpaper a screen shot your email contact and emergency contact details ie email.
I just added 5 days to my trip so that I won't feel pressured. And I'm sure that if I have extra time that I can find something to do in Spain or Portugal.Book more time then you think it will take to walk your Camino. Then you are ready if things take longer than expected, if you have to rest a few days with tendonitis or something, and you wont find yourself needing to race to Santiago. There is plenty to see in Santiago and Spain with any leftover days if nothing goes wrong and it took as long as you thought it would.
I leave my rubber tips on all the time.When you come to the quiet villages, either put rubber booties on your clacking pole tips,
Totally second this - had heat stroke when I pushed too far one leg and the crazy, new to the Camino (around Sarria) peregrine family that was leaving early the next morning were completely unorganized and disruptive! The guy above me woke very early and I only heard him get down from the bunk grab his pack and leave! Get organized the night before please and be respectful of others - you never know what issues they are having !Please get yourself and your pack completely ready to go the night before, so in the morning, you can just slip on your pants, grab your sleeping bag/bedding, grab your pack and slip quietly out of the room to an outer room, to finish getting ready to go. No turning on room lights, bright flashlights, rustling loud plastic bags or talking loudly. Please show respect to your fellow exhausted and hopefully still sleeping pilgrims. I tried to make sure everything was packed and ready to go and my clothes were left sitting on my back pack. I just slipped into my pants, grabbed my stuff and left the room.( I messed up a few times) I leave on April 25th for another round of this. I will try to follow my own advice, so I won't be the one talked about later in the day!
Thank you. I haven't bought my pack yet. Much for me to learn and tryI can imagine not being familiar with a backpack and reading the description of putting it on and adjusting it for comfort and function. It LOOKS like a long process as you read the text. But, it not only becomes second nature with a bit of practice, it only takes less than 15 seconds to do EVERYTHING, and then to make sure it still feels good.
Like everything else that makes up a system that one needs to learn, practice putting on and taking off a backpack will make it a piece of cake to do quickly and efficiently. Keep in mind that if you've never worn a backpack, you are also getting used to just wearing one. It takes time to make things feel 'normal'.
The first thing to remember is that adjusting a pack is not a 'set and forget' static adjustment. It is a dynamic process that is done periodically -- and is almost second nature -- as you are walking during the day.
As you walk, the backpack will settle and shift a bit on your body. It does this because you and it are both moving and swaying and bouncing along at the same time, and sometimes in different directions. The contents inside the pack will also be slightly in motion. Now these are not huge movements, nor is the movement of the backpack even noticeable. But it is constantly happening.
This means, in effect, that how the pack sits on your shoulders and hips when you first put on your pack and adjusted it, will change as you walk. It isn't a matter of how tightly one loads the pack to reduce movement, or how much compression one applies to cinch down the contents of the body of the pack bag.
So you will find yourself periodically adjusting the tension on the shoulder harness and hipbelt throughout the day to compensate for shifting loads and wanting to take a bit of pressure off of shoulders or hips.
Why do the entire adjustment the first time you put your pack in the morning?
At the end of a day when you are no longer walking with the backpack it is a good idea to loosen all of the straps a bit. Of course loosening the shoulder harness and waist belt make it easier to remove the pack, and then later make it easy to put back on and get the best adjustment for the new day.
But loosening the load lifters should be done, too. You will be emptying your backpack at night, and then repacking and reorganizing by next morning. This might affect the adjustment of the load lifters.
Once on the trail or road, the main focus is on the shoulder straps and hip belt, and even the connecting strap (you might want to adjust it a bit to have the width of the shoulder straps lie on different places on your shoulder girdle). During rest breaks or meals when you stop and remove your pack, just loosen the shoulder and hipbelt straps. And then adjust them when you put the pack on again.
Why do that? Technically you don't have to, but it is much easier in the long run.
Imagine a pair of pants with a belt. Once the pants are on, you then tension the belt to where it will hold your pants as you need to. How difficult would it be to then remove your pants once the belt is tight? How difficult would it be to put them back on with your belt already fastened? Even if you managed to get your pants back on with the tightened belt, would the belt be in exactly the best place for comfort and performance, or would it be keeping the pants in a less than ideal spot for comfort and performance?
During the day there is not much need to deal with the load lifters, although I find myself sometimes making small adjustments in order to better center the gravity of the pack to my body. The primary focus will be just on the shoulder straps and waist belt.
WOW, you did a better explanation than my local REI professionalThank you for posting this. You have outlined the basic steps quite well. I'd like to amplify on your instruction set just a bit.
- Loosen all of the straps on the shoulder harness and hip belt.
- Put on the pack and very slightly tighten the shoulder straps so that the hip belt is slightly below the hips.
- Shrug your shoulders up, and then fasten the waist belt as you are getting it roughly into position.
- Slightly tighten the shoulder straps to assist with the hip belt adjustment.
- Position the hip belt padding to let the padding sit half above and half below the crest of the hips. The padding of the belt should never sit entirely above the hips. The padding should sort of wrap itself over the top of the hip bone and hug the hips.
- Tighten the belt just enough to keep it in position. At this point, nearly 100% of the packs weight is resting on the hips.
- Snug the shoulder straps to take up 5 to 15 percent of the packs weight. You will feel just a slight unloading of the weight off the hips.
- At the top of the shoulder straps and toward the pack, are smaller straps called 'load lifters'. Grasp them and pull to your front. You will feel the weight of the pack lift up slightly and pull more snugly toward your back. This helps with center of gravity and balance. You can experiment with how snug or how loose you want to pull on the straps. On many packs, but not all, a properly adjusted load lifter strap will form a sort of 45 degree angle when viewed from the side.
- On some waist/hip belts there can be a small strap connected to each side of the belt. Again, pulling forward on those straps will bring the bottom of the pack closer to your back, helping with balance as you are walking.
Brilliant idea! I usually put a photo of myself - in case I leave it behind somewhere and a pilgrim finds it, they will see my picture and hopefully recognise me or show the picture to others walking. I have also put an ICE number and my email on the screen and anyone who finds it can call that number without unlocking the phone.make the wallpaper a screen shot your email contact and emergency contact
And too many have their hip belt around their waist and not cradling the hip crest.
Well, I wear my pack around my waist due to a pinched sciatic nerve. The belt placed on my hips hits the trigger spot in my back. Works for me. Play around with pack placement until it is comfortable. If you can't ever get it comfortable it may not be the right pack for you.
Great ideaBring you little bags of ketchup or hot pet salt and so on for a little pep on this sandwiches.
Yes!! One thing I really missed was regular black pepper. Never once did I see it in Spain except in a high-end restaurant where they had a pepper grinder.Bring you little bags of ketchup or hot pet salt and so on for a little pep on this sandwiches.
And, most importantly, the plastic bag in which to carry your used tissues to the next available rubbish (trash) bin.Always make sure you have a handy supply of paper tissues. Sometimes a change in diet and finding yourself many kilometers from next Albergue or Bar can lead to situations were nature demands attention. Paper tissues can have a very civilizing influence after nature has been attended to.
Agree, 1000% but to play Devil's Advocate - this sharply contrasts with "Remember - its YOUR Camino". Because that is precisely when the flashlights and cell phones and alarms come into the play@JennyH94 In other combined top tips/gentle reminders - for pilgrims who wear a fitbit or other activity tracker, the faint light from them might be enough to let you find your way to the toilet in the night or gather your stuff in the morning without waking everybody up with a sharp light. Many of them can also be set to a silent alarm in the morning if you need it, because nobody wants to hear your mobile trying to wake you up when they want to sleep ...
Sopa y ensaladeHaving your fill of patatas fritas that come with your menús del día? Thinking you could use a few more veges? We try to remember to ask for ensalada instead of the fried potatoes. Restaurants/bars always seem happy to do that (at least here on the Norte where we are walking now). The salads are simple lettuce, tomatoes, and onions with oil and vinegar, but usually fresh good lettuce. Often good tomatoes as well.
I'm sorry to argue but as a very old backpacker who carried all my gear including food, water and tent item 2 is very wrong. It should be arms through straps pull down and out fully to tighten and pull pack up then fasten belt around middle and finally loosen straps to lower the pack onto the hips to optimum comfort position.Thank you for posting this. You have outlined the basic steps quite well. I'd like to amplify on your instruction set just a bit.
- Loosen all of the straps on the shoulder harness and hip belt.
- Put on the pack and very slightly tighten the shoulder straps so that the hip belt is slightly below the hips.
- Shrug your shoulders up, and then fasten the waist belt as you are getting it roughly into position.
- Slightly tighten the shoulder straps to assist with the hip belt adjustment.
- Position the hip belt padding to let the padding sit half above and half below the crest of the hips. The padding of the belt should never sit entirely above the hips. The padding should sort of wrap itself over the top of the hip bone and hug the hips.
- Tighten the belt just enough to keep it in position. At this point, nearly 100% of the packs weight is resting on the hips.
- Snug the shoulder straps to take up 5 to 15 percent of the packs weight. You will feel just a slight unloading of the weight off the hips.
- At the top of the shoulder straps and toward the pack, are smaller straps called 'load lifters'. Grasp them and pull to your front. You will feel the weight of the pack lift up slightly and pull more snugly toward your back. This helps with center of gravity and balance. You can experiment with how snug or how loose you want to pull on the straps. On many packs, but not all, a properly adjusted load lifter strap will form a sort of 45 degree angle when viewed from the side.
- On some waist/hip belts there can be a small strap connected to each side of the belt. Again, pulling forward on those straps will bring the bottom of the pack closer to your back, helping with balance as you are walking.
I'm sorry to argue but as a very old backpacker who carried all my gear including food, water and tent item 2 is very wrong. It should be arms through straps pull down and out fully to tighten and pull pack up then fasten belt around middle and finally loosen straps to lower the pack onto the hips to optimum comfort position.
I don't think your confrontational at all old chap, but I still say that my method lowers the pack into just the right place which is just as you say not on top but actually over and around the hips Snugly. Actually my best ever fitting pack was bought in the USA. I was amazed at the care given to making sure I got the right one, it was amazing. The whole process took a good hour starting with being told the more expensive pack I wanted was not right for me! Then the final move was to heat mould the waist belt around my hips. I still use it although at 80 odd sadly backpacking's out. Cheers
--sigh-- Now, I will be Devil's Advocate...Agree, 1000% but to play Devil's Advocate - this sharply contrasts with "Remember - its YOUR Camino".
In fact, when I was preparing my response, I thought about that and even googled "devil's advocate" to understand its meaning better. See how educational the forum is!(Devil's Advocate 2 - your's does not count since your PoV is more 'angelic' than 'devilish' mimes notwithstanding - and I mean it SINCERELY!)
Oh yes, I agree, and do not understand why so many people of all ages can be so oblivious to their effects on othersI only hope that you can see mine where, as I said, it only take a small minute minority to mess things up for a lot of other people, that these moments do exist and those "I do not care for anyone but me" people exist as well (else this tread and lots of posts in it...and many other similar topics would be here).
Sad thing for sure. I guess we should Rejoice in the fact that it (C) clearlyI do not accept the use of "it's my camino" as an excuse for bad behaviour. Now the phrase has become tainted.
True. Love this forumForum newbie here, so if this isn't appropriate please me know and I will edit/delete, but I've read through this thread and wanted to express my thanks for
A) The wisdom and help everyone has so generously shared, and
B) The grace with which forum members disagree over and discuss topics. It's so rare to find an online space that so intentionally fosters respect and willingness to understand, and I think that speaks deeply of the transformative nature of the Camino.
Ok, sappy post over!Back to your regularly scheduled tips and advice!
If I am hijacking then please forgive me. I just saw this image today, and am posting it as a reminder to us all, please let us be aware that anything we discard can hurt another creature...Just thought I'd start a little thread of top tips and gentle reminders for pilgrims new and old, those little things that some people might not know about or have forgotten, either because they are focusing on something else, it doesn't occur to them or it simply slips their minds in all the excitement. We have all been there! Not a thread to admonish people but to kindly help them along a bit in true camino fashion.
The reason is I am three weeks away from my next and desperately needed zen top-up, so of course I am watching online videos about the camino, from the camino, about kit and packing and all things camino related (this is perfectly normal, and here's a top tip right away - search out Andrew Suzuki's videos, Beyond the Way for the sweeping beautiful stuff and Don't Stop Walking for the fun intro) and I keep seeing people who have dangling and loose load lifters, the straps connecting the back of the pack to the top of your shoulder straps.
View attachment 54700
They are there for a reason, so if you don't already, try pulling them tight while wearing the pack! In 9 out of 10 cases the pack will carry better when you pull the top of the pack closer to your back.
Top tip is to put your pack on, then tighten 1) hip belt, 2) shoulder straps, then 3) pull the load lifters to fit, and lastly, 4) fasten the sternum/chest strap. Only you can know when the fit is exactly right, so loosen or tighten all straps and try different things on walks at home before you set off with a full and badly fitting pack.
What is your favourite tip or gentle reminder that you think would make the camino a better place?
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