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Wake up alarms?

Humbertico

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Plan 2018
While staying in Albuerges how do people wake up early like 5:30 or 6 am. It would seem that if people are setting their phone alarms at different times people would hear it all over the rooms and wake up others. Recommendations? Thanks Peregrinos
 
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I have a "misfit" band that vibrates on my wrist. It actually makes no sound at all unless it is left on a hard surface. It is nonetheless very effective as an alarm. Many of the sport bands will do this, so if you have one, you can try it out. I'm not sure I'd recommend it unless you are a "quantified health" kind of person. That said, the misfit series is very inexpensive.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I got a cheap watch with a vibration alarm. It was the Timex Men's T49851 Expedition.
 
While staying in Albuerges how do people wake up early like 5:30 or 6 am. It would seem that if people are setting their phone alarms at different times people would hear it all over the rooms and wake up others. Recommendations? Thanks Peregrinos
Unfortunately, too many pilgrims do set an audible alarm for 5:30, 6:00, etc. Please don't be one of them. Use the vibrate only alarm on your phone, or as suggested a vibrate alarm on a fitness tracker on your wrist.
 
Yes, or simply get up when the others do. Most of the places I've been the other peregrinos woke up early so I decided just to do the same and go with the flow. I didn't care if it was 5, 0530 or later. I just followed the flow. I mean, what's the hurry? The only one you have to catch up with is yourself...
 
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And one more thing if you want to start early: Arrange your stuff in the evening before you go to sleep, so you can find it quickly in the darkness, won't have to turn on the light and won't make noise. Especially the last thing! You will irritate everyone around you and for good reason. From I wake up till I'm out of the dorm it is maksimum five minutes. I grab my stuff and get out of the door. When I am outside I find a place to quietly arrange things, "arrange my self"(nature's call...). And I'm gone. 15 minutes to the max and I'm hopefully not bothering any one else who want to sleep in...
 
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Yes, or simply get up when the others do. Most of the places I've been the other peregrinos woke up early so I decided just to do the same and go with the flow. I didn't care if it was 5, 0530 or later. I just followed the flow. I mean, what's the hurry? The only one you have to catch up with is yourself...
When we were walking in July and August we wanted to leave as early as we thought we were capable of to avoid as much as possible walking in the hottest part of the day. In other seasons that might not matter as much.
 
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It would seem that if people are setting their phone alarms at different times people would hear it all over the rooms and wake up others.
We do. Not to worry - you will have peregrino alarms. K1 said it best:
I don't need the alarm.
There is always someone with plastic bags ;)
 
When I was a hospitalera once, I needed to get up very early, ~4:30a.m. because several guests wanted to get an early start to avoid the heat in June, and I wanted to make sure they had what they needed for breakfast and to say goodbye. After a few days, I finally realized that even though the earphones were plugged in, the alarm was not muted to the outside world. I was in the hospitalero room and no one complained, but I felt bad about that.
 
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When I was a hospitalera once, I needed to get up very early, ~4:30a.m. because several guests wanted to get an early start to avoid the heat in June, and I wanted to make sure they had what they needed for breakfast and to say goodbye. After a few days, I finally realized that even though the earphones were plugged in, the alarm was not muted to the outside world. I was in the hospitalero room and no one complained, but I felt bad about that.
I tested that out at home at realized it wouldn't work. I think that you might be able to download an app that will play the alarm through earbuds.
However if you have headphones plugged in when the phone rings, it will not be heard. I discovered this in an albergue one night when I fell asleep early. My phone is set for "do not disturb" between 10:00 and 7:00, so it won't have audible notifications or ring with an incoming call.
But I awoke just before 10:00 pm to my phone ringing. In my half asleep state I had no idea what time it was, and was horrified that I might be waking the others in the room. However, once I became fully awake I realized that I was the only one who could hear it. :)
 
While staying in Albuerges how do people wake up early like 5:30 or 6 am. It would seem that if people are setting their phone alarms at different times people would hear it all over the rooms and wake up others. Recommendations? Thanks Peregrinos
I rose at 5 a.m. to get an early start on my day. I set the alarm on my iPhone to music and had no problem or backlash from fellow pilgrims.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Or they were too polite to mention it...
Possibly but there's no perfection when you have with 20, 30 or pilgrims sleeping within feet of one another. You do the best you can to respect your fellow travelers.
 
When I was on camino with my cousin a few years back she held/attached something to her hand which she had set to vibrate. It woke her up in the morning. I neither saw nor heard it and don’t know what it looked like.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Possibly but there's no perfection when you have with 20, 30 or pilgrims sleeping within feet of one another. You do the best you can to respect your fellow travelers.

Possibly but there's no perfection when you have with 20, 30 or pilgrims sleeping within feet of one another. You do the best you can to respect your fellow travelers.
Can you imagine if all thirty pilgrims had audible alarms going off at various times?

If you don't move around much, I've been able to learn to sleep with headphones in (also works as earplugs) then you can hear it if you can't wake up to vibrations.
 
Can you imagine if all thirty pilgrims had audible alarms going off at various times?

If you don't move around much, I've been able to learn to sleep with headphones in (also works as earplugs) then you can hear it if you can't wake up to vibrations.

Make sure that the alarm only plays through the headphone first! Or this might happen:
When I was a hospitalera once, I needed to get up very early, ~4:30a.m. because several guests wanted to get an early start to avoid the heat in June, and I wanted to make sure they had what they needed for breakfast and to say goodbye. After a few days, I finally realized that even though the earphones were plugged in, the alarm was not muted to the outside world. I was in the hospitalero room and no one complained, but I felt bad about that.
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

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I rose at 5 a.m. to get an early start on my day. I set the alarm on my iPhone to music and had no problem or backlash from fellow pilgrims.

Seriously??? That's unbelievably selfish. Your fellow sleepers were too polite. My iphone has a vibrate only alarm - and my fitbit watch device is synced to it so it vibrates on my wrist and wakes me up
 
I set my iPhone to vibrate and my husband had his watch set as well. Both were pretty low and shut off quickly. I think the earliest we set them for was 6am. We had to be walking by 6:30. 7:00 at the latest, in order to be able to stop walking by 2-3 when the heat was the worst in May. Thanks to Spain's messed up time zone we got an extra couple of hours.
No bag rustling, just throw on pants/skirt and grab the backpack and sleeping bag on the way to the bathroom. Packed up in the common areas.
 
I set my iPhone to vibrate and my husband had his watch set as well. Both were pretty low and shut off quickly. I think the earliest we set them for was 6am. We had to be walking by 6:30. 7:00 at the latest, in order to be able to stop walking by 2-3 when the heat was the worst in May. Thanks to Spain's messed up time zone we got an extra couple of hours.
No bag rustling, just throw on pants/skirt and grab the backpack and sleeping bag on the way to the bathroom. Packed up in the common areas.

Well 6am is more reasonable than 5am -given that's it not dawn until 6:30am in Pamplona for example, even on the longest day https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/spain/pamplona?month=6 - I see absolutely no reason to get up before 6am at the very earliest. I can pack and leave any hotel in 15 minutes with all my gear - with minimal stuff on the caminio it will take about 10min
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I also think, that it is selfish to set an audible alarm, everybody close to you in the dorm can hear as well or to leave the dormitory early in the morning with causing unnecessary noise, especially by those plastic bags.

Even in summer, there are only few pilgrims rising that early. I am one of them, but I do not need an alarm, I wake by the first daylight. I have prepeared everything in the evening, so I just take my sleeping-bag and my backpack and walk out of the dormitory. I dress and finally pack everything in the bathroom, because this is the only area in an public albergue where the light is not switched off during night time.

Nevertheless, you often wake before by the noise, more reckless pilgrims cause in the dorm. Usually other pilgrims do not complain, even if they are annoyed by that. Knowing that complaining would cause even more noise, but not cause this unsensible person to change it's behaviour. You learn to cope with it.

BC
Alexandra
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
And one more thing if you want to start early: Arrange your stuff in the evening before you go to sleep, so you can find it quickly in the darkness, won't have to turn on the light and won't make noise. Especially the last thing! You will irritate everyone around you and for good reason. From I wake up till I'm out of the dorm it is maksimum five minutes. I grab my stuff and get out of the door. When I am outside I find a place to quietly arrange things, "arrange my self"(nature's call...). And I'm gone. 15 minutes to the max and I'm hopefully not bothering any one else who want to sleep in...

I totally agree with all of that. The days journey begins the previous evening. Mornings are difficult enough too. Why increase that difficulty by having to pack. And....dry bags. Not plastic bags. The people who are rustling around with plastic bags are the same people who are unwrapping boiled sweets at the cinema!
 
Well 6am is more reasonable than 5am -given that's it not dawn until 6:30am in Pamplona for example, even on the longest day https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/spain/pamplona?month=6 - I see absolutely no reason to get up before 6am at the very earliest. I can pack and leave any hotel in 15 minutes with all my gear - with minimal stuff on the caminio it will take about 10min
Some people walk slower and don’t want to get caught in the heat of the afternoon. Not for us to dictate when people should get up. As long they do it quietly.
 
The times I did need an alarm to wake me up, I always just used the alarm on my watch. The normal audible "beep beep beep" that watch alarms do. Worked fine for me. Did other pilgrims in the dorm hear it? Possibly, but what else could I do. If I want to get up at a certain hour, I need the alarm. I do not sleep with headphones on, and my smartphone is always off at night anyway, and stored deep in my pack. After waking up I always quickly gathered up all my gear (prepacked and staged the night before) and went to the common area inside if they had one, or I went outside. There I could prep for the day's walk without fear of disturbing other pilgrims.
Quite often I was awoken by other pilgrims, with their alarms, and sometimes rude talking or rustling. Honestly I never let it put me off. So 15-30 minutes of a wonderful day walking the Camino was temporarily disturbed by some other pilgrims early in the morning. So what. Besides, even at its worst, the dorm living on the Camino pales in comparison to when I was in the army in a squad bay. Let's say it could get quite colorful at reveille. Grumbling, profanity, flatulence and cigarette smoke.
Yes, an albergue dormitory is veritable monastic silence compared to that.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I simply woke up when I was no longer sleepy....
 
For some, a great attraction of the Camino experience is escaping the normal routines and patterns of everyday life back home. Shedding the everyday worries and electronic leashes can be liberating. But I'm convinced that for some, they provide some type of comfort.

So why not get up when you wake up? The noise and light around you starts at about 5:30am and slowly crescendos to full volume by 7:30. At this time, ear plugs and eye shades can no longer do their jobs effectively and you are awake. If you manage to stay in bed any longer, a hospitalero will be shaking you awake or will have already called an ambulance to pick up the dead body. So does waking up and then getting up out of bed really make that big a difference in this two hour window of time? You don't need to strategize to avoid rush hour, you don't have a "can't miss" meeting with the boss, or an appointment in the next town for a "?". So just relax and go with the flow, when else can you do this?

Along these same lines of "preparation" for the day, I was always amused by the number of peregrinos who needed to check the weather the night before and first thing when they got up. Why? There is nothing you can do about it. Do you need to psychologically prepare yourself for rain or sun shine, hot or cold? It is what it is. If it starts raining, you put on your poncho/rain jacket, if stops raining you take it off and if you are living in the present, you generally don't need to consult your weather app to find out if it is raining now or if the rain has stopped. 99.9999% of the time, you wake up, get dressed, step out of the Albergue and start walking no matter what the weather condition is so why all the worry about it?

Same thing with route elevations for the day. I noticed a fair number of people checking out this information the night before, the morning of and during the hike with comments like, "it gets really step in the next few kilometers, or we are almost at the highest point of the trail today. I understand this from the small talk perspective but it seemed like it was usually brought up with the intention of a warning or getting prepared for it and like the weather or if I get up at 5:30, 6:30 or 7:30, it's really not important and it doesn't make any sense to me to introduce something to worry about or think about that is of no consequence.

I can understand that someone who is struggling physically needs to have a minimum amount of sleep and maybe needs to minimize the hours they are in the hot sun so an alarm to get up at 5am is necessary and to prepare psychologically for the wet mud or the hot sun and each steep section of the trail but those were not the people I saw that were so focused on these distractions. I'm not criticizing any of this behavior I'm just curious about it.

It's good to be relaxed but most of us need some kind of a plan for the day. And yes, weather, elevation and starting time are relevant factors one needs to take into consideration. My preference was not to worry about any of this until lunch time. After some good food, wine and/or beer, a lot of laughs, people watching and just feeling so good to be alive and to be where I was at that moment, I pulled out my guide book and based on current time, trail conditions, elevations ahead and weather conditions I did calculate my options for where I might stay that night. If I was with a group a reservation was usually made at this time, if traveling alone sometimes a reservation was made.

The Camino experience for me was a very relaxing, laid back experience and from my observations, it's that way for the majority of the pilgrims. Everybody go to bed at 10pm and then get up when you wake up without alarms, you can't be late when you don't have to be anywhere on time.
 
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€46,-
Triple like especially about the waking up.

But would add that 30km with zero elevation is much easier than 20 with 800mts elevation gain (depends on steepness of course). Add the rain and puddles and mud and there you have a good reason for small talk ;)

It's more or less just being prepared but I agree some extend that to unimaginable proportions...
 
Some people walk slower and don’t want to get caught in the heat of the afternoon. Not for us to dictate when people should get up. As long they do it quietly.
That will be me, but I’m certainly not risk getting lost or hurting myself to walk in the dark that’s nuts, surely even starting at 7am gives you 7hrs until 2 pm - who walks longer than that?.
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
That will be me, but I’m certainly not risk getting lost or hurting myself to walk in the dark that’s nuts, surely even starting at 7am gives you 7hrs until 2 pm - who walks longer than that?.

Lots of pilgrims..especially when it is not high season and therefore no reason to reach an albergue early.
 
That will be me, but I’m certainly not risk getting lost or hurting myself to walk in the dark that’s nuts, surely even starting at 7am gives you 7hrs until 2 pm - who walks longer than that?.
Me :D
"Camino rápido pero descanso lentamente." ;)
(It can be done on less walked Caminos even in high season.)
 
That will be me, but I’m certainly not risk getting lost or hurting myself to walk in the dark that’s nuts, surely even starting at 7am gives you 7hrs until 2 pm - who walks longer than that?.
Whatever is within your abilities and skills. Nobody is going to make you walk more than you can.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
For some, a great attraction of the Camino experience is escaping the normal routines and patterns of everyday life back home. Shedding the everyday worries and electronic leashes can be liberating. But I'm convinced that for some, they provide some type of comfort.

So why not get up when you wake up? The noise and light around you starts at about 5:30am and slowly crescendos to full volume by 7:30. At this time, ear plugs and eye shades can no longer do their jobs effectively and you are awake. If you manage to stay in bed any longer, a hospitalero will be shaking you awake or will have already called an ambulance to pick up the dead body. So does waking up and then getting up out of bed really make that big a difference in this two hour window of time? You don't need to strategize to avoid rush hour, you don't have a "can't miss" meeting with the boss, or an appointment in the next town for a "?". So just relax and go with the flow, when else can you do this?

Along these same lines of "preparation" for the day, I was always amused by the number of peregrinos who needed to check the weather the night before and first thing when they got up. Why? There is nothing you can do about it. Do you need to psychologically prepare yourself for rain or sun shine, hot or cold? It is what it is. If it starts raining, you put on your poncho/rain jacket, if stops raining you take it off and if you are living in the present, you generally don't need to consult your weather app to find out if it is raining now or if the rain has stopped. 99.9999% of the time, you wake up, get dressed, step out of the Albergue and start walking no matter what the weather condition is so why all the worry about it?

Same thing with route elevations for the day. I noticed a fair number of people checking out this information the night before, the morning of and during the hike with comments like, "it gets really step in the next few kilometers, or we are almost at the highest point of the trail today. I understand this from the small talk perspective but it seemed like it was usually brought up with the intention of a warning or getting prepared for it and like the weather or if I get up at 5:30, 6:30 or 7:30, it's really not important and it doesn't make any sense to me to introduce something to worry about or think about that is of no consequence.

I can understand that someone who is struggling physically needs to have a minimum amount of sleep and maybe needs to minimize the hours they are in the hot sun so an alarm to get up at 5am is necessary and to prepare psychologically for the wet mud or the hot sun and each steep section of the trail but those were not the people I saw that were so focused on these distractions. I'm not criticizing any of this behavior I'm just curious about it.

It's good to be relaxed but most of us need some kind of a plan for the day. And yes, weather, elevation and starting time are relevant factors one needs to take into consideration. My preference was not to worry about any of this until lunch time. After some good food, wine and/or beer, a lot of laughs, people watching and just feeling so good to be alive and to be where I was at that moment, I pulled out my guide book and based on current time, trail conditions, elevations ahead and weather conditions I did calculate my options for where I might stay that night. If I was with a group a reservation was usually made at this time, if traveling alone sometimes a reservation was made.

The Camino experience for me was a very relaxing, laid back experience and from my observations, it's that way for the majority of the pilgrims. Everybody go to bed at 10pm and then get up when you wake up without alarms, you can't be late when you don't have to be anywhere on time.
No. I will go to bed earlier and get up when I desire. You have completely missed the reason why some pilgrims choose to wake up early. This provides a relaxing experience for many. Good for you if your style works, but please don’t dictate to others.
 
No. I will go to bed earlier and get up when I desire. You have completely missed the reason why some pilgrims choose to wake up early. This provides a relaxing experience for many. Good for you if your style works, but please don’t dictate to others.

That's fine so - long as you don't wake up other people as well. That was kinda the point of @twh's post. I've done other long distance walks and tramps - never evr used an alarm except to catch a bus or place and the start/end - you normally just wake and sleep by the sun surely?
 
I can't use alarms of any kind on camino. I sleep like the dead. So, I need to have several go off every ten minutes or so. However, that's one way to gain popularity. After a bit everybody would know my name.
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
I can't use alarms of any kind on camino. I sleep like the dead. So, I need to have several go off every ten minutes or so. However, that's one way to gain popularity. After a bit everybody would know my name.
It has his advantage , after a while nobody will sleep in the same room as you and not to worry about a place to sleep. ;)
 
No. I will go to bed earlier and get up when I desire. You have completely missed the reason why some pilgrims choose to wake up early. This provides a relaxing experience for many. Good for you if your style works, but please don’t dictate to others.
I agree. I wake up early. Always have, always will. It's me. I enjoy waking up early. I do it on the Camino. Especially on the Camino. After going to sleep at 10:00 on the night before and including the siesta the afternoon before, around 6:00 the next morning I'm wide awake and ready to go. It also allows me the opportunity to avoid that morning pilgrim traffic jam at the toilets and sinks.
 
We seem to be in a post-camino-blues kind of slump, because there have been a lot of recent posts bordering on rude, in this thread and others. (I confess, I deleted one of my own comments on re-reading it ;))

I really don’t see how there can be any disagreement about whether it is polite to use an alarm that others can hear. Nor do I understand how people can be judgmental about someone else’s decision to tip toe out of the room with no bag rustling in order to start walking early. And, if you don’t want to walk long distances, that’s fine, but no need to browbeat those who do; I have never understood why walking for more than 25 kms means that in some people’s minds I am not smelling the roses. As an aside, for those of you who have never done it, there are few things more energizing and awesome than starting a long walk just as dawn is breaking and being there to experience the sunrise in solitude and quiet.
 
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I don't like to walk in the dark (I fall over stuff) - but I do love leaving just as the dawn is breaking. Magical.

I am also surprised that there is disagreement about deliberately making noise when others can be expected to be asleep. Regardless if it is loud late night revellers, or early morning alarms.
 
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Just curious - sleeping through all the snoring, no problem. One little plastic bag rustling and the whole dorm is woken up?
 
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It really is kind of pointless to debate about noise in the morning (and during the night...snoring) in a dormitory of several (sometimes 30+) strangers. It is just going to happen. Nothing anyone can do about it. It is life in a communal setting. I suppose one should just deal with it. Get over it. You knew what you were getting into when you embarked on a long walk done by hundreds of thousands of people a year.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
AMEN to RJM above.
We have become a society with such a low tolerance for physical inconvenience.
I can't even imagine the deafening laughter going on (in heaven...maybe?) by those Peregrinos who walked just 50 or 100 years ago.

It's really very basic:
Be considerate and polite...lead by example
Don't make any unnecessary noise
Bring head lamp, wear earplugs and eye mask if needed
And roll with it when it all breaks down...because it will
 
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