Walking April/May 2006, God willing

[emillar128]

I'm planning to walk the Camino as soon as tax season here in the US is over mid April. I'll be walking solo and look forward to meeting fellow pilgrims.

 

[sillydoll]

Take the right gar for an April Camino

Walking too early in April could mean snow and rain with resultant mud and freezing weather! Make sure that you have the correct boots and clothing.
Here is a story from a pilgrim who walked in April this year:

Forced to my knees on the Camino
by Merle Fannin
After all my reading and research nothing could have prepared me for the realities of a bitterly cold start to my Camino. I was so determined to avoid the summer heat that I ended up walking in a snow blizzard. I started from Pamplona in the early hours of April 8th 2005. Snow was already beginning to fall as I left town and in my ignorance of what lay ahead I thought ‘This is great, I have never walked in the snow’.

It snowed all day and by the time I reached the foothills of Sierra del Perdón I was trudging knee deep in snow. Prepared for much warmer weather I wore a T-shirt, long sleeved and short sleeved fleece and a short raincoat and running shoes – nothing else except a plastic poncho covering my backpack and myself! There were few walkers on the road that day and being on my own I tried to stay in the middle of a group, two ahead of me and four Italians behind me. At times I was terrified of getting lost – with snow falling fast, the path repeatedly disappeared and all the yellow signs were covered. At the top the wind was blowing so hard that the wind turbines were spinning like the propellers of a Harvard aeroplane. This is when my first disaster struck! With the force of the wind my rain poncho split clean down the middle so I had to struggle to keep myself and my backpack dry. Utterly miserable I trudged on to the Uterga where I immediately booked into a Refugio. Fortunately it was not full, just an elderly couple who had stayed over from the previous night. They had pushed through over the same mountain in pouring rain and were too exhausted to continue. Little did they know what lay ahead!

Next day I started at daylight, trusting that the path could get no worse. I even remember enjoying the scenery and being thankful that the path, although stony, was more negotiable. At Punta la Reina I crossed the famous bridge over river Arga and plodded on. Soon after leaving town the path became a nightmare. The mud was so sticky it kept on sucking my shoes off my feet and I was repeatedly and unceremoniously, forced to my knees. To make matters worse my high-tech Leiki walking stick came apart when it got stuck in the mud. Picture this, me standing in a muddy field, broken stick in muddy hands, mud thickly caked onto my shoes and my pants up to my knees and topped by a red face creased with anger, perspiration and frustration! Hardly the ideal chocolate cake with a cherry on the top!

I struggled up the path - predominantly on my hands and knees - gripping onto any bush that leant kindly out towards me. Fortunately there was a public fountain in the next village where I tried to remove most of the accumulated mud. Feeling absolutely miserable, dirty and cold I pushed on through silent villages barricaded for siesta, and reached Lorca exhausted, and decided to call it a day.

Alas, they would not let me in the door of the Refugio! So there I was at the freezing fountain watching my loyal Asics, socks and part of my pants floating around, colouring the water like something between café con leche and weak tea. With the Refugio to myself I hung washing on every available radiator and all was dry by the time they were switched off at ten. By two o’clock in the morning I was so cold I put all my clothes on, crawled into my sleeping bag and waited for dawn when I left the Refugio hoping to warm up as I walked in the bitterly cold morning air.

The day started with the promise of sunshine but the path again became muddy and almost impossible with huge puddles blocking the way. Closer to Estella I walked along the N111 in preference to the mud. Rain began to pelt down and with the huge transport trucks thundering by, I began to wonder if I would survive this journey. After contemplating a memorial to a woman who was killed while crossing the road on the Camino path I decided I had had enough of the whole situation, headed to the bus station in Estella and caught a bus for Logrono.

Between Logrono and Belorado both weather and path improved considerably and I started to enjoy my Camino, managing between 22 and 30 km a day. My last night on the Camino was spent at a Refugio in Tasantos. With a forecast of more snow and rain on the way I decided to make an early start to get ahead of the weather. I felt really good and positive that I had my Camino under control. As I came over the hill to Villamayor de Monjardin there was a blast of bitterly cold wind and again I began to suffer from being inadequately dressed, getting colder and colder. By the time I reached the village I was so cold I could hardly walk. Then I did something I have NEVER done in my life! I hitched a ride. A charming Spanish man bundled me into his car. When I looked at my reflection in the car mirror I saw that my mouth had gone blue and I had a purple shadow around my lips. My nails were also blue. Well my friends that was the end of my Camino. I was taken to hospital in Burgos where I was told that I must stop - or risk hyperthermia.

The best part of the journey was the seven hour train journey from Burgos to Santiago from where I flew back to London. I had time to see and appreciate the country side without worrying about what lay ahead of the physical endurance test. The changing panorama is unbelievable and I remember wondering if those who endure the hardships of the walk ever manage to take in the beauty around them. Will I do the Camino again? Yes, after I have checked the weather reports and chosen a better time of the year weather wise. Did I gain anything from my experience? Yes, that no matter how advanced and technical your equipment, no matter how much you read up and converse with other seasoned pilgrims, the walking of the Camino is your personal experience and you must give and take from it as you choose.

 

[emillar128]

The Camino in April

Although I'll be starting later in April, I can see that I need to check the weather reports. What a nightmare "brought to my knees" endured! Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Deleted member 397]

have you thought of the via de la plata from seville? I'm starting in early may so the weather should be pleasant in the south and gradually improve as i get further north arriving in sdc in late june. this route is much less travelled, more of a challenge, longer-i get the impression that the camino frances is now one long line of people.
kevin