Water everywhere?!

[neutra]

Has anyone documented the stretches where there is no water available for longer periods? Is there a average amount of water to load up with every morning (1L, 2L)? Thanks.

 

[camino-david]

This depends on the time of year and the climate. In Sept and Oct I had 2 x 600ml water bottles which was adequate. From memory, the longest stretches without available water was 12 km on the Meseta. Personally if I asked for a fill of water in a bar, I bought somethink small (a Coke, chocolate bar, Madelaine (small cake) etc) as a way of thanking the bar owner

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I have been told (urban myth?) that it is illegal to refuse water to someone who requests it, bar or otherwise. It is supposed to be a Franco holdover like the menu del dia. If you are thirsty, don't be shy!

 

[dougfitz]

The question on how much water to take has been addressed recently. My views are here -->> http://www.caminodesantiago.me/board/el-camino-frances/topic15041.html#p104385

 

[steinhoj]

I started off carrying 2.5 litres each day in June/July. I quickly found that to be excessive and pared it down to about 1.5. A Swedish man I met along the way maintained that carrying more than 1 litre was pointless.

 

[dougfitz]

A Swedish man I met along the way maintained that carrying more than 1 litre was pointless.

This is so devoid of specifics as to be meaningless. What time of the year are we talking about? Were the fonts operating? What was his build? Was he simply justifying that he was only carrying a litre of water himself? Was this working for him, and he was well hydrated?

Is the fact that he was Swedish important? Walking in Sweden, even in summer, is unlikely to be the same as walking in Spain at the same time of year. I recently walked in Norway, and could have collected water every half hour or so, should I have wanted to do that, for most of St Olav's Way. I certainly could not have done that on the Camino Frances. Leave aside that when I walked in Norway, daytime temperatures didn't reach 20 deg C, compared to days above 30 deg C when I was on the CF.

In Spain the towns and villages were closer together, along with the opportunity to use a font, visit a bar, or just ask at a house if that were required. If all these things work, you might be able to obtain water every hour or so, but it relies on everything working. Carrying as little as one litre might be okay, but I would personally prefer to have a buffer against something untoward happening.

All that said, one is unlikely to reach the point where lack of water is life-threatening on the CF. What is at risk is that without regular and sufficient water consumption, you will become increasingly dehydrated over the course of the day and begin to experience some of the less pleasant signs and symptoms of that. If it is hot, and you continue to exert yourself, you might also begin to suffer from a heat illness - although I understand older people tend to stop short of actually suffering from heat stroke.

 

[Tia Valeria]

On his own Terry carried 2lts maximum, we carried approx 3lts between us in bottles (Terry's 2x 1lt, mine 2x ½lt). If it was hot we had sufficient, if it was cold we drank it on arrival/overnight and then refilled the bottles. We used bottled water, buying the biggest size available. Most days we had some left but on occasion we had just a mouthful or two each before being able to top up. (This has been April/May each time.) The plastic bottles were put out for recycling.

If the water makes your pack feel heavy you can always drink some and lighten the load. Having insufficient leads to dehydration as has already been said.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I carried ONE 1 litre bottle of water and filled up at fountains along the way.
I have walked in May/June and in September/October/November.
I've never had a problem finding water..

 

[LGin]

I walked this past June/July. Water was plentiful. I started out carrying two 1ltr bottles, but quickly found that much was unnecessary, at least for me. I ended up carrying only a single 1 ltr bottle (which I didn't even always fill completely), but others I walked with preferred to carry more. The Bryerly guide was pretty good at warning about longer waterless stretches, and of course you'll need to take into account the temperature. But I think on average people on the Camino around the time I was there were carrying 1 to 3 ltrs.

 

[SVLotus]

Thank you for this question! I live in the semi-arid Rocky Mountains and water is a critical issue when hiking. It will be quite strange for me to leave my filter and 5 liter camelback gear behind, and rely on consistent clean sources--but it sounds like that's the best plan.

 

[WalkingItOff]

Seems to me, the question left begging, is about the quality of the water available from the fountains, etc.... we read that this has been a year (2012) of extreme drought in Spain. I know of friends who have experienced various degrees of dysentery along the CF, some suggesting a bad water stop. Any suggestions... bottled water, iodine, filters, or faith???

 

[Thornley]

Not sure about your mail on extreme drought walking off as we have just returned and they have informed us of the terrible weather that existed in may, june and july.

Camino -David had the best answer mate and its very simple.
When you have your coffee, and you will have very often , fill your plastic water bottle .
Don't worry about the quality of the water , its fine and don't tempt the gods with rain in Galicia.
We never filled our water from fountains as there was NO need.
Safe trip,
David

 

[LGin]

The water from the fountains is generally very good. BUT you do have to be careful that the fountain you choose is labeled potable (or the locals tell you it is safe). There are some fountains that are labeled non-potable. But you can trust the signs and the locals. No need for iodine or filters.

 

[Chacharm]

Before we left I read many times that there was plenty of water and that I shouldn't worry about finding it along the way. But I am from Texas and am in the habit of drinking a LOT of water. I also know that higher elevations call for drinking more water than usual - particularly when your exerting yourself physically. We had bladders in our packs, and we filled them every day and drained them completely every day. (I am a 49 year old woman of medium build and my son is a 26 year old of medium build... for those who need specifics.) Particularly in the first 10 days out of SJPP we encountered MANY fountains where the water had no guarantee of purity. We learned to simply fill our bladders every time we found a fountain with potable water. There were more than a few days where I was begging my son to give me sips from his bladder once I'd run out.
And bartenders routinely offered to fill our bladders without our needing to ask - that was never a problem.

 

[lbpierce]

Chacharm,

What was the capacity of your bladders in terms of liters?

 

[fraluchi]

Particularly in the first 10 days out of SJPP we encountered MANY fountains where the water had no guarantee of purity.

There are two aspects to the water from fountains.
Firstly, if water has not been specifically treated for consumption, public fountains must carry advice of "agua no potable", or "not fit for drinking" in Spanish;
Secondly, many village fountains have perfectly safe water for drinking, even if not specified as such. Often the local bar dispenses water from the same source :!: The locals can elaborate on that, but it has to be considered that they have acquired the necessary antibodies. :mrgreen: :|

 

[unadara]

"What was the capacity of your bladders in terms of liters?"

Ha Ha....my bladder holds a fair amount, but I don't really want to measure the output!

On 2 caminos I have run out of water, due to my own lack of awareness, now will carry a "spare" 500ml bottle in the pack, and drink as much as you can when you are at the fountain, I found carrying a very light plastic cup (chinese market) worked well last time.

 

[na2than]

my experience this summer was that the signage on foutains was excellant.
i carried a 500ml water bottle filled the night before,i topped up at every fountain(great excuse for a 2 minute breather). most days i brought an isotonic drink(aquarius)...i would drink half then add the rest to a second 500ml bottle and top this up with water.
between burgos and leon up grade to carrying 2 x litre bottles

 

[dfitzg773]

One more question about water availability. When walking from SJPP to Roncevalles, what is the availability of water? I can't imagaine only 500 ml of water over 8 hours.

I leave for Paris in three days...am so excited, but getting a little nervous as well!

Dan
Chicago

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Two bars/albergues plus four fountains. Two of the fountains are early in the walk, so be sure to stop at the bars. I don't 500 ml is sufficient; that is about 45 minutes of sweat for me!!