Walking in april and may

[sharon1]

Hi, I am starting to plan for a walk in April and May next year. As I need to buy a new sleeping bag can anyone tell me how cold does it get in the alberques at night. What rating sleeping bag do I need? thanks for any help
sharon

 

[skilsaw]

The rating of a sleeping bag that you need will be influenced by you being a cold or a warm sleeper. If you are usually cold at night, as I am, I chose a bag good to +3 or +5 C. If you are warm at night you can be comfortable in a bag good to +5 or +7 C. But remember that there are lots of options...
Most albergues have extra blankets so if you think you will be cold, grab a blanket. Or, you can sleep with your socks on, or in your extra clothes.

I have walked the Via de la Plata and the Camino Frances in April / May and found that the temperature in the albergues varies with the elevation as well as the weather. Roncesvalles, O'Cebreiro and San Juan de Ortega are at quite high elevation and were the coolest. Other nights, it was so warm that I slept with my sleeping bag half unzipped.

Enjoy your year of preparation,
And try not to fuss about the details.
everything will work out fine.

David, Victoria, Canada

 

[gittiharre]

HI Sharon, I think skilsaws comments are very good. I walked the Camino Frances from early May in 2006 and had a lightweight down sleeping bag which weighed 800 grams. I think I am average in my heat requirements at night and I found it more than adequate, sometimes/often even too warm and I slept with it open and my legs hanging out. People are obsessed with closing windows in the albergues at night, even when very hot. It was stifling at times. I would get up and open a window slightly and minutes later somebody closed it again. This time for my September walk on the Le Puy route I am taking an even lighter bag, a Roman Palm 1, which weighs 500 grams and does for temps down to 8 degrees. Regards, Gitti

 

[sharon1]

Actually I was looking at the Roman Palm 1 bag. Do you think that would be suitable. I am quite a warm person (don't use electric blanket, etc).

 

[johnBCCanada]

Hi

Just a suggestion. Rather than taking a sleeping bag adequate for any low temperature you might encounter remember you can always wear clothes like your fleece or thermal underwear to bed as necessary to help you keep warm.

John

 

[JaneofNorwich]

I walked from Le Puy in late April and took the lightest down bag I could find (Xero 250: 25degree to 0 degrees and weighing 600g) and would have been better off with just a silk or cotton liner as most of the hostels have blankets and in Spain it was too hot to ever zip up the bag so I just lay on top of it.