Sam Canada
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- First
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Spell check grr I am not America , and I am not training with mr pack but my pack, lolOkay all you professionals. I America closing in on my first Camino . Next month I will start training with mr pack . What is the recommended approach? Start with a lighter pack or full pack with shorter walks? I am walking fit but have never used a pack.
Be kind, we poor buggers working in multi languages are ahead of dumb MS and IOS. Don't be so jealous of our language skills dumb puters can't keep up with.Spell check grr I am not America , and I am not training with mr pack but my pack, lol
I train with and without my camino kit. When I train with my pack it's full kit. Buen CaminoOkay all you professionals. I America closing in on my first Camino . Next month I will start training with mr pack . What is the recommended approach? Start with a lighter pack or full pack with shorter walks? I am walking fit but have never used a pack.
I am not training with mr pack but my pack, lol
but having completed the CF last year I'm not really sure whether that was needed. The first week on the CF was harder training than I did prior to leaving, I wasn't expecting some of the ascents and decent to be as hard as they were, I certainly hadn't trained for the decent's into Roncenvalles or Zubiri.
May be the trick is not having a 15 kg pack on your back and not thinking you have to walk 30 km a day..
Spot on!!!Imagine how much more difficult the first week would've been if you hadn't trained! Would it have been a fond memory (like it is now) or would you have possibly injured yourself due to lack of training?
You'll spend a fair amount of $$$ to get to the Camino (depending on where you live of course), why risk an injury that perhaps could've been prevented with some training prior to departure?
Rlang - terribly sorry but I have to disagree -
The exception that proves the rule? : I have never yet met an ex soldier who has any physical problems with carrying heavy loads - why is this? Is it that they keep a high level of natural fitness and strength? and/or they learned long ago to listen to their bodies? Or/and they walk in a relaxed way?
Darn Dragon speak.Spell check grr I am not America , and I am not training with mr pack but my pack, lol
I just thought you had a pet name for your backpack!Spell check grr I am not America , and I am not training with mr pack but my pack, lol
Hi Sam Canada,Okay all you professionals. I America closing in on my first Camino . Next month I will start training with mr pack . What is the recommended approach? Start with a lighter pack or full pack with shorter walks? I am walking fit but have never used a pack.
Finally, I use a dietary scale that weighs in kilograms and ounces that I got in Target. I weigh literally EVERY item I plan to take. I record weights in kilograms and ounces on the worksheet and the totals go up or down as I make changes. Just watching the total causes me to revisit what I think I am taking to see what and where I can shave a few kilograms. Even things that "weigh virtually nothing (LOL)" eventually conspire to weigh a kilo or more. So, worry about every kilogram or ounce. Let the worksheet run the fluid total. Make adjustments as indicated.
I also use Excel to maintain a packing list worksheet. It has formulas to accumulate all the weight, by pocket, pouch, tote bag, organizing ziplock bags of stuff, and my externally worn bag (chest load) and rucksack. Each year, I make a copy of last year's Camino packing list and refine it. EVERYTHING that I will wear, carry, or tote in a a pack is included.
I'm certainly not a professional, since my upcoming Camino will be my first. I seem to be the odd man out here in that I started out training with a pack that's probably close to double (around 13 kilos) what I'll end up carrying on the Camino. I figured that starting with a heavier pack would toughen me up. When I finally start the real thing, 7-8 kilos should seem like a walk in the park. I hope.
I'm a gunna trainer. I'm gunna train when it is not so hot, I'm gunna train when it stops raining, I'm gunna train when I'm not so busy....
I think the only item that can only be used for a sole purpose would be hiking boots.
@C3 to Camino , only on this Forum will you find such unusal behaviour.This is what long distance thru hikers do as well e.g. (Pacific Coast Trail 4286 km, Trans Canada Trail 18000 km). I didn't expect to see that type of close weight tracking here, but on thinking about it, it surely makes sense to me (of course, I'm a list fanatic!)
Ah @Stivandrer you are ready pilgrimI´ve even taking up picking cans from the verge....
I think so,
Spell check grr I am not America , and I am not training with mr pack but my pack, lol
@C3 to Camino , only on this Forum will you find such unusal behaviour.Had never occured to me until I discovered the forum, and frankly, if you only bring what you need, including if it rains, and not other what ifs, and if it fits in a 30-40 l. backpack it is not necessary. Bit we Camino Addicts need something to think about in between strolls. Hence the fun we have when people post the list of items they itend to bring. Should soon be an Olympic Sport! But then, we have outed yourself as an addict, so welcome and enjoy!
Sorry, I meant that regarding the Camino only on this forum do we act like throughhikers and weigh stuff.Oh no, my friend. You should read the thru hikers' advice. They cut the handles off their toothbrush to lighten their loads. Every single mg is counted! Of course, they are hiking a much longer hike in wilderness, but still... seems a little excessive to me (who has never done such a hike).
I did the same with an Excel spreadsheet. I still know the weights of the items I took and those I left behind.Most everything written above is very good indeed. Here is my "two cents worth"
1. It is a good idea to get used to having a loaded rucksack on your back. I use sealed plastic bags of crystal kitty litter, which my cat will ultimately use anyway. Start with one small bag. Add bags as you get used to it. I currently use one 8 pound and one 15 pound bag in my 35 liter rucksack. This is an all-in weight, including the rucksack, of 25 pounds / or 11.4 Kg. THAT is 10 percent of my naked weight.
Adding weight gets you used to having the rucksack on your back, helps you to properly adjust it, and as you add weight, you get a better idea of the strain.
2. Ultimately, you might consider actually packing your rucksack with the exact items you plan on taking on Camino. That will tell you fairly quick if you have too much crap.
I likely hold the record for mailing excess stuff to Ivar from down the road when I realize I am carrying too much. On each of my three Caminos I have sent him increasing amounts. Last year, coming off a 10-day Camino from Porto, I actually mailed him FOUR boxes. One was tourist stuff from the beginning. But THREE boxes were excess I did not need. We had a good chuckle over that. But, each year I think I learned my lesson.
Actually, I am following Albert Einstein's definition of insanity: I am repeating the same experiment year after year, in the hopes of a different outcome...
There is a ton of useful advice and suggested packing lists here on the Forum for you to use for comparison. Some of our veteran colleagues maintain blogs separately. They also post their experience-laden packing lists there for your consideration. Use them.
Finally, I use a dietary scale that weighs in kilograms and ounces that I got in Target. I weigh literally EVERY item I plan to take. I record weights in kilograms and ounces on the worksheet and the totals go up or down as I make changes. Just watching the total causes me to revisit what I think I am taking to see what and where I can shave a few kilograms. Even things that "weigh virtually nothing (LOL)" eventually conspire to weigh a kilo or more. So, worry about every kilogram or ounce. Let the worksheet run the fluid total. Make adjustments as indicated.
I also use Excel to maintain a packing list worksheet. It has formulas to accumulate all the weight, by pocket, pouch, tote bag, organizing ziplock bags of stuff, and my externally worn bag (chest load) and rucksack. Each year, I make a copy of last year's Camino packing list and refine it. EVERYTHING that I will wear, carry, or tote in a a pack is included.
This year, I am actually down to 11.8 kg, not including what I am wearing, and what goes in my cargo pockets. For me, that is a new low record. But my departure is still nearly two months away...
But planning ahead focuses me and makes me evaluate alternative choices.
I hope this helps.
Why do you need a big towel to walk to and from the shower? Get dressed in the shower!I choose towels based on: their ability to wrap around me coming to and from a shower
Why do you need a big towel to walk to and from the shower? Get dressed in the shower!
True. I've only walked in the slow season so it's not so bad. Also it's a bit simpler matter for men.On occasion, there are people waiting for the limited number of showers.
So if you leave the shower stall in your boxers, why the extra wrapping?
This is interesting. It seems you've walked in the spring and summer months. I walked in the fall. I never felt as if someone was waiting for my shower. Well, that is with the exception of that pilgrim factory, Roncesvalles. Other than that first night, I never encountered someone waiting outside my shower.I leave the shower in ONLY the towel, as there is frequently no place to hang the boxers AND keep them dry, even if I supply the hook. I have on occasion tired to bring my clothes along in a large ziplock bag. But again, if others are waiting, the more time I spend in the shower stall proper, the ruder it is to others.
When I get to the bunk area, where the rucksack is hanging on the nylon Nite-Ize Carabiner I bring for such a purpose, I retrieve the dry boxers and put them on under the towel... Once done, I remove the towel to use rolling and stomping my hand wash...
Hence, with all private bits covered, I can finish dressing...
I am aware that many of my European friends are nonplussed with nudity. I am not personally bothered either, and I fully understand the cultural differences. But, I was raised to not display myself to others... Okay, so I am an American... We are just wired a little differently...
I hope this clarifies matters.
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