Walking from Burgos to Leon in July

[cosan]

We are walking from Burgos to Leon in July and wondered how hot it will be in the afternoon. We plan to start walking early and then rest at lunch. is it practical to start walking again at 3pm or would it be too hot?

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

We are walking from Burgos to Leon in July and wondered how hot it will be in the afternoon. We plan to start walking early and then rest at lunch. is it practical to start walking again at 3pm or would it be too hot?

too hot, way too hot

 

[Bradypus]

I walked my first Camino Frances in July and August. My pattern of walking was as you suggest - walk until lunchtime (about 1pm), eat and rest for a couple of hours, then carry on walking for another couple of hours. Certainly likely to be quite hot but even as a Scot more used to low temperatures I found it manageable. Two things you might want to consider though. The sun is very intense out on the meseta with very little shade and when walking long hours you need to be careful to prevent sunburn - something I learned the hard way with bad burning on my neck. The other issue is bed availability - walking later in the day does increase the risk of finding beds in short supply at the end of the day's walking. You may wish to consider booking a bed in advance if you plan to walk on until late afternoon or evening.

Edit: If you would like some temperature statistics you can find averages for each month of the year on the Weatherspark website. Here are the figures for Burgos in July. Just type the name of other towns into the search box for their details.
https://weatherspark.com/m/37342/7/Average-Weather-in-July-in-Burgos-Spain

 

[HedaP]

For me walking the meseta in July at 3 pm would be too hot but we are all different. My advice would be to take the lightest weight collapsible umbrella with 100 UV that you can find because there is no shade and you will need to provide your own.
I love walking with an umbrella. When it’s hot there is a significant temperature difference under the umbrella. It also works beautifully for rainy days provided there is not too much wind.
Ivar stocks a handsfree umbrella that many forum members swear by.
Buen camino

 

[wisepilgrim]

It really all depends on the type of summer. 2003 had a heat wave that meant you could not safely walk between noon and 10pm; but normal summers are more comfortable. In any case, my guess is that 3pm is still a bit early.

The other bit to consider is that the longer you wait the lower the sun will be and since it is in front of you by now it can be hard on the eyes to walk.

Also, you might want to plan ahead with a reservation as by the time you arrive you will be the absolute last people. For that matter, if you do make a reservation be sure to impress upon them that you will be arriving late. Late arrival is not a problem in hotels but most albergues won't keep a bed empty.

Most evening walkers i've known have been most successful setting off closer to 5pm, and were comfortable sleeping wherever.

 

[Dorpie]

Hi Cosan,

I tend to agree with Wisepilgrim. Coming from the UK, the time in Spain always seems a bit off to me. It's actually in the same time zone as countries significantly further east like Sweden, so while the time might be 3pm this would feel more like 1 or 2pm in terms of sun intensity for most people. As such, if I were wanting to walk after the heat of the day had passed I probably wouldn't get on the road again until at least 4.

 

[jmcarp]

We are walking from Burgos to Leon in July and wondered how hot it will be in the afternoon. We plan to start walking early and then rest at lunch. is it practical to start walking again at 3pm or would it be too hot?

I try to avoid walking in the hottest part of the day; however, those that do say this makes it more bearable: /www.amazon.com/dp/B00DLTDDXI/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1Z7U8LDDR2VR8&colid=1SVMTE60XNYC3&psc=0 (it also helps in the rain).

 

[domigee]

We are walking from Burgos to Leon in July and wondered how hot it will be in the afternoon. We plan to start walking early and then rest at lunch. is it practical to start walking again at 3pm or would it be too hot?

I find it too hot after 3pm. That is when I stop for lunch.

 

[Jo Jo]

We walked that stretch in July 2014. When we are backpacking in America, we always do what you suggest--sit out the heat of the day, then start walking again in the cool evening. I can cover a lot of miles that way even in the mountains because your legs are really fresh again after a four-hour rest.

We tried to do that on the CF. It did not work. It makes finding beds tough, as mentioned by others. But for us the real problem was that it was so hot our feet began to seriously overheat, contributing in part to really bad blisters (the boots also aided and abetted that disaster). We eventually gave up, and left the alburgues in the dark, walking only until 1pm or so. That would get us 25K (even on badly blistered feet) a day, which is a quite respectable pace. Walking again in September 2016 we could walk all afternoon because it was not quite as hot. But in July, just get to an alburgue, wash your cloths (bring one set cotton long-sleeve, long pants for this section (they'll be your alburgue cloths in the wetter, colder mountain sections)--look at Kuhl Kontra Air pants and Patagonia Steersman shirts), marvel at how fast they dry, take a long nap, get up when the sun goes down, eat dinner, go back to bed, wake up at 4am to leave by 5am. YMMV.

Buen Camino,
Jo Jo

 

[jmcarp]

Besides the umbrella I mentioned in my earlier post, another trick when walking in extremely hot weather is to carry a large cotton bandana which can be dipped in water and worn around your neck, or if it's really hot, draped over your head under your hat (which, of course, should have a wide brim all around). Also, soaking your hat itself is quite cooling. If you prefer a baseball-style hat, the water-soaked bandana or kerchief can be tucked under the sides and back to shield your ears and neck. There are also available many hat styles with a snap off sunshade to shield your ears and neck, alá foreign legion.