superleggera
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- CF [StJean-F'rre] (March 2017)
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Thanks for your reply, I see you're a moderator so thanks if you moved my question to it's own thread. Since it'll be my first Camino, I'm doing the Frances because as far as I can tell, that's what first timers are advised to do. All the maps I've seen, including the one on the Gronze site you linked show the Bordeaux route running into St Jean de PP. I would never take a tent, but would consider a bivvy, some cord, a tarp etc.
At the risk of inciting a lot of tutting and head shaking from people reading this, I'm deliberately trying to avoid planning and organising it too much. I want to enter into it with the spirit of the pilgrim from earlier years and keeping as much of the sense of adventure and perhaps surprise as possible and take each day as it comes once I'm out there. I'm not booking anything in advance and I'll read up about my next stop as I leave the one I just slept in. I just want to make sure I'm not entering into something that I've made much more difficult for the sake of not waiting a few weeks.
I'm aware of the climate charts etc but obviously nothing beats someone's direct experience, for example someone might have found that although it's wet, heavy duty stiff soled gore-tex lined leather boots weren't great in the mud and lighter semi-fabric trail boots were better and dried out quicker at night in the hostel etc.... things like that you see.
A lot of albergues do not open until Easter week or April, whichever comes first. Look at gronze.com for a pretty good list of the places that will be open. Note that many that are open all year are only open if you call in advance! Buen camino.whether enough of the hostels/albergues will be open at that time of the year
I don't think you'll find any objections to your approach. Generally on the forum, we recognize that different approaches work for different people. Although a bit of "preparation" does seem wise, there is no need to plan all the day-by-day details.At the risk of inciting a lot of tutting and head shaking from people reading this, I'm deliberately trying to avoid planning and organising it too much.
I wear Salomon Ultra Mid GTX boots. However, if a lower shoe were more comfortable, I would use it. No footwear will be perfect for all the conditions you might encounter, so compromises will be necessary. You just can't know in advance which compromises you will have to make! By far the #1 criteria is comfort and roominess which must not be compromised! Then I would say weight and preference for ankle protection. Whether to use waterproof footwear (or not) is somewhat a personal preference. For me, the most comfortable boot available is waterproof (in theory) so I use it. Others find that their feet are too hot, or they like the fact that non-waterproof boots might dry a bit faster.Someone might have found that although it's wet, heavy duty stiff soled gore-tex lined leather boots weren't great in the mud and lighter semi-fabric trail boots were better and dried out quicker at night at the hostel
I agree with the above statement, but if you look at the statistics here, you will see that 40,000 people got compostelas in September 2016, while only 15,000 did in April. In other words, only 1/3 of the accommodation is needed in March-April, compared with peak season. Certainly if you are counting on an albergue in a small village, you should check in advance, but there is no reason to postpone your camino due to insufficient accommodation in March-April!A lot of albergues do not open until Easter week or April
Good Luck, but I'd say that 4 season crampon compatible Scarva boots would leave you seriously "over booted", excellent boots though Scarva are. I'd look at something lighter and flexible to give you a rolling walking gait. There are plenty of good gear shops about where you can see and try on various manufacturers products and get good advice.
Ultreïa.
Am starting in Burgos on March 23.My wife and I walked March and April 2016 and found sleeping very easy.
Thanks JF Gregory.That was in Roncesvalles. When we got down the mountain we walked in cloudy rainy weather. The weather is unpredictable in March and April. We walking on trail in rain and sleet. About a week in it started snowing again for about 2 days. We were prepared, we live in Northwest Washington state where we regularly hike in all kinds of weather in the Cascade and the Olympic Mountains. Actually we had about 6 days of sunshine in 33 days.
A good tip to avoid blisters is zinc oxide tape, you get it off the internet. You strap up every tiny warm spot, I have never had blisters on long treks (yet). The zinc heals. For everyday walking I use sudercrem but the tape is better, lighter and more effective on a long trek. I am starting late Feb and wearing substantial waterproof leather boots, and a big cheap cape to cover a lot in the rain. I did a week in Nov as a test run. I am an older lady, walking alone and am very relaxed about just walking into an Albergue as I when I want. Loads of beds in off season. A lady friend did it from France to Santiago with 5kilos, I am aiming for carrying no more than 6k, a small bag on the front to help disperse the weight and two poles. If I have a very bad day with rain I wont go far and will stop in bars longer for food and drink. I think getting your bag as light as possible is the most difficult thing in preparing. Buen Camino!I will probably end up learning to walk before I run, keep it simple and get a flight to Biarritz like everyone else from this part of the world does and start from St J PdP. There certainly is a lot of stuff about footwear on here, just blown 2 hours on it. I think the 4 season Scarpa boots I have will be too much and the spectre of blisters not far away. Some new boots may be my only big spend on this before I leave. Thanks for your replies on thisBC!
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