backpack45scb
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2001 CF, 04-6 LP, 07 Port, 08-10 Arles, 11 Mozá,12-13 Gen-LP. 00-10 PCT, 15 Norte, 16 Primi
We just got back from 17 days on the Arles route. Had to stop just short of Toulouse to get our plane home.
Summary - Starts flat, long days and not too interesting, but after Montpellier, some true mountain trails, great views, and quite a bit more rugged than the Le Puy route. Most days no facilities between start of day and end of day, so need to carry lunch supplies. Our plan followed the normal stages, and km per day were typically in the 22 to 27 km range. After three days of dragging in tired each night, and having to start early the next day without seeing the village, we modified our plan and stuck in some short days of 13 km or so. That meant we didn't reach Toulouse, but had a
more enjoyable trip. Usually reserved the next night's accommodation, and regretted it the few times we didn't. We saw few pilgrims, but pilgrim level accommodations have few beds, so best to call ahead. This trip was in Sept. and weather was good. Only wore raingear a few hours. It was quite windy in some spots and I wore my wind jacket daily, and wind pants for about 3 days. We used trail runners with no problems. Having French at a sufficient level to carry on basic conversations with French pilgrims would greatly improve the experience.
I put all our planning info and post trip thoughts into an Arles web page that is more informative than anything else I've seen in English:
http://www.backpack45.com/camino2p4.html
Ralph Alcorn
Summary - Starts flat, long days and not too interesting, but after Montpellier, some true mountain trails, great views, and quite a bit more rugged than the Le Puy route. Most days no facilities between start of day and end of day, so need to carry lunch supplies. Our plan followed the normal stages, and km per day were typically in the 22 to 27 km range. After three days of dragging in tired each night, and having to start early the next day without seeing the village, we modified our plan and stuck in some short days of 13 km or so. That meant we didn't reach Toulouse, but had a
more enjoyable trip. Usually reserved the next night's accommodation, and regretted it the few times we didn't. We saw few pilgrims, but pilgrim level accommodations have few beds, so best to call ahead. This trip was in Sept. and weather was good. Only wore raingear a few hours. It was quite windy in some spots and I wore my wind jacket daily, and wind pants for about 3 days. We used trail runners with no problems. Having French at a sufficient level to carry on basic conversations with French pilgrims would greatly improve the experience.
I put all our planning info and post trip thoughts into an Arles web page that is more informative than anything else I've seen in English:
http://www.backpack45.com/camino2p4.html
Ralph Alcorn
