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What kind of Pilgrim carries his pack the whole distance?

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howardd5

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It seem a lot of new pilgrim plan to minimize their experience with starting in Sarria and using a pack service. The Camino Frances is not Disney tour but neither is it the Appalachian Trail . Don’t over think it with a tight agenda . Remember the unexpected will happen . Yes it rains , yes you will lose gear ,yes you can’t get into that Albergue . Adapt , get by , go the distance. Don’t quit because others do, keep you eye on the goal which is making it work all the way to the end. Remember we don’t walk the Camino because it’s easy , we do it because it’s hard
 
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I don't think there is a 'kind of pilgrim' who carries their pack. I carry my pack because I like the sense of freedom and independence and the metaphor of paring down my belongings ... after not many days the pack becomes one with me, and I feel strong and resilient. For now, it's something I can do and enjoy and I'm grateful for that. One day I may not be able to carry everything in my pack - when that time comes I imagine I will adapt rather than stop walking caminos.
 
The title of this thread seems intended to provoke reactions of a sort that will quickly lead to the thread closure. The title tosses out a question that asks us to judge other pilgirms. Then the post says a number of things that neither address the question posed, nor provide any thoughtful or helpful advice to other pilgrims.
 
Pelerina said:
One day I may not be able to carry everything in my pack - when that time comes I imagine I will adapt rather than stop walking caminos.
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Of course that is up to you. However I think that when I become physically unable to carry the minimal load necessary to walk an albergue-based Camino then I will reluctantly look elsewhere for my physical and spiritual experiences. The freedom to walk whatever distance feels right on any particular day has been so integral a part of my Camino experience that the idea of restricting myself to predefined daily stages by using luggage transfer is deeply unappealing to me.
 
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You are probably going to get into a lot of trouble with this thread, beginning with the title: e.g. "his" - there is something you may have missed about a lot of your fellow pilgrims, some of them are "her" and some of them prefer to be neither.

Two of my personal rules are 1) don't give advice unless it is asked for and 2) don't judge until you know the full story.

Everyone does their own camino in their own way and it does not affect me in any way if other pilgrims are walking shorter distances, or having their backpacks transported, or booking ahead. That is their business.
 
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howardd5 said:
Remember we don’t walk the Camino because it’s easy, we do it because it’s hard
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Aren’t you overthinking this a little ?

Carrying a backpack is convenient for those who consider it important to them that they can stop anytime when and where they want.

And carrying a backpack is heavy for those who are not used to it or who have packed too much for what they can comfortably carry.

You can of course theorise and postulate about backpack carrying to your heart’s content but that is “you” and not “we”.
 
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We can have all sorts of questions like this
What kind of pilgrim ships away a bunch of his stuff at Pamplona?
What kind of pilgrim decides to take it easy across the meseta and
ships his bag every day?
What kind of pilgrim ships his bag whenever there is a big hill like
Cruz de Ferro or O Cebreiro?
What kind of pilgrim takes a bus out to Fisterra because his faster friends
are going to be there that night?
All of that stuff is me
 
While not a fan of graffiti on the Camino, I saw one that stuck with me:
“The Road is my job. The pack is my home. The pilgrims are my family.” I never felt like walking was a job. While i met amazing people along the way, and have stayed in touch with many, a Camino “family” had no interest for me. But the idea of having my pack with me at all times, did indeed give me a feeling of being exactly where I needed to be, wherever I was. It gave me a real sense of freedom, in that I was never trying to catch up to it or figure out where I needed to be.
 
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I'm glad someone else said this first, and much more succinctly than I could or would have.
 

The same reason the chicken crossed the road.

To get to the other side.
 
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