What to take--nuevo peregrino

[barryoglick]

Hello!

I am a first time peregrino, walking this June. I am awaiting my Brierly guide book, but wondered if I could ask the following question:

I would like to carry as little as possible. Would a light sleeping bag & a canteen be enough? If the Alberques have bedding, would I even need that? Although, then, I couldn't camp, could I? How about a "space blanket," one of those tin foil like blankets for emergencies. I think the June temperatures in Spain are fairly moderate, even at night, but in the mountains? Are there places to fill up a canteen and buy food interspersed frequently enough so that I would not have to carry food?

I know the guide book will probably cover this, but often they do not get this specific, so I thought anyone who has walked El Camino before could give me some suggestions. I want to travel very light, don't want to lug a heavy pack, but of course, I will if I have to. I don't think St. James shopped at LL Bean ;>)

Warm Regards,

Barry

 

[SabsP]

Hey Barry,

If sleeping in albergues bedding can sometimes be provided but it is not a general rule. You will at least need a liner to put something between you and the mattress.

In the Xunta albergues but by now already also in some private ones you will find the paper disposable covers to wrap around the mattress.

 

[rorerich]

Brierly book and searching this site will also bring many answers. Best thing to bring is a belief that all will be well - even when things are a bit of a challenge!

 

[C clearly]

know the guide book will probably cover this, but often they do not get this specific, so I thought anyone who has walked El Camino before could give me some suggestions.

Welcome to the forum! If you want specific answers (of all types), this is the place to be! You may not have tried the Search box in the upper right corner of the screen. If you enter "sleeping bag" or "water bottle" in the search box, and start reading the first few threads that are suggested, you will get all the opinions and information you can hope for.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

One change of clothes, a towel, a silk sleeping sack, and a water bottle would suffice. Albergues do not provide bedding.

 

[HeidiL]

I'd add some toiletries, actually. And sunscreen and a hat. Some kind of detergent or soap for washing your clothes.

I actually carry MORE now than on my first Caminos, since I've found that I like having my own pillow, a larger sleeping bag, Crocs for the evenings and around the albergue, a bit of food (not needed on Francés, definitely needed on some of the others) and a heating coil, a phone with charger. I'm still around 6 kg, depending on how much water I carry.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

It is easy to add more!

 

[nycwalking]

Take essentials: medications, bag, toiletries, and a few things you really want. You can buy any and everything else on the way.

Buen camino.

 

[Anniesantiago]

For a summer Camino, what Falcon said would be enough.

 

[Kanga]

Definitely not one of those foil space blankets however, far too noisy in an albergue - your fellow pilgrims would not appreciate the rattling they make!

If you sleep warm then a silk liner is probably enough bedding in June on the CF. Other posters have mentioned the essentials; a change of clothes, basic toiletries, a hat.

 

[Bob from L.A. !]

Make sure (Almost) everything you pack has a dual purpose. (Poncho can be a bed liner, extra shoe laces can be a clothes line, zip off hiking pants, rubber sandals to walk and shower in) Think along those lines when selecting items to pack. It really helped me the first time

 

[tpmchugh]

Hello!

I am a first time peregrino, walking this June. I am awaiting my Brierly guide book, but wondered if I could ask the following question:

I would like to carry as little as possible. Would a light sleeping bag & a canteen be enough? If the Alberques have bedding, would I even need that? Although, then, I couldn't camp, could I? How about a "space blanket," one of those tin foil like blankets for emergencies. I think the June temperatures in Spain are fairly moderate, even at night, but in the mountains? Are there places to fill up a canteen and buy food interspersed frequently enough so that I would not have to carry food?

I know the guide book will probably cover this, but often they do not get this specific, so I thought anyone who has walked El Camino before could give me some suggestions. I want to travel very light, don't want to lug a heavy pack, but of course, I will if I have to. I don't think St. James shopped at LL Bean ;>)

Warm Regards,

Barry

The clothes on your back and a change in your pack plus another pair of socks and underwear. Sleeping bag liner will be plenty in June. It will rain, almost certainly at least one day so something to keep you dry. I prefer a light (0.5 kg) rain jacket and a pair of light gaiters, others prefer a poncho. I like to have a bush hat to keep the sun off and a buff for my neck to pull up to keep flies out of my ears . There are lots of places to fill canteens and buy food. The only food I ever carry is something to nibble on like nuts and raisins and a daily banana.

 

[Sunbun]

I found a water bottle tube on Amazon called the Camelbak Unisex Eddy Hands-Free Adapter. Not the hydration pack that goes inside your pack, but a tube that attaches to a one-liter Camelbak water bottle. You can easily fill your bottle at fountains that way, and be sipping the tube while you're walking. It was a perfect solution for me. Wrap some duct tape around the base of the tube so it doesn't fall off - I had to walk 1 km back one time to find it before I figured that out.