Why should I NOT start from SJPdP in mid to late July?

[Pilgrim9]

Why should I NOT start from SJPdP in mid to late July?

Hello everone:

To avoid spring and autumn crowds, I am now contemplating starting from SJPdP in mid to late July and am compiling a list of reasons to NOT do that, so that I can identify, evaluate, and manage the issues.

Anyone who has started at approximately that time of year is most welcome to post their reasons why I should AVOID that time period.

Looking forward to all of your comments, suggestions, and wisdom...

Edit #1:

I seem to have confused people. I am an experienced SPRINGTIME-only pilgrim, definitely want to go again (don't we all?), and need no convincing to go. What I seek to do is to compare and contrast, and then choose between different, SJPdP summer start dates.

I have recently read elsewhere on this site that this year, especially, there are huge springtime post-lockdown / Holy Year crowds. I want to avoid crowds without triggering other issues that I will not be able to manage. Never having walked across Spain in summertime I have no idea what the "other issues" might be other than the obvious furnace-like temperatures, but there might be some that I will need to know about and manage. Some examples: Do hotels, hostels, albergues and restaurants tend to close down in summer due to lack of customers or due to their own vacation periods? Are prices typically sky-high in summer? Do hoards of bedbugs overrun lodging places in summertime? Is the meseta scenery in summer typically charred and unattractive? Wildfires? Have all the songbirds gone away? Are there drunken brawls? Are there ticks or venomous snakes? Are there fierce dry headwinds or rainstorms? I do not know. So I seek to know from whoever chooses to comment, what season-specific problems I would probably encounter on a summertime CF walk. Then I will evaluate the potential problems and with your contributed wisdom I will know how to proceed.

Edit #2:

My main goal is to select a good start date.

P9

 

[Former member 95219]

Why should I NOT start from SJPdP in mid to late July?

Hello everone:

To avoid spring and autumn crowds, I am now contemplating starting from SJPdP in mid to late July and am compiling a list of reasons to NOT do that, so that I can evaluate and manage the issues.

Anyone who has started at approximately that time of year is most welcome to post their reasons why I should AVOID that time period.

Looking forward to all of your comments, suggestions, and wisdom...

P9

I started from SJPdP on 26 July 2020. It was fine though peak covid so comparisons hard! Sorry I am confused, why are you looking for reasons not to do so? Am I missing something? If you mean temperature, no issue! What issues might there be? I did no planning, or training and it was very straight forward. Just turn up and off you go. One chap was running it…wow, and another guy was doing 70km a day… I hate the thought of a bed race as am quite slow though can do long distances. That’s the only concern I ever have.

 

[Saint Mike II]

The only comment I would offer is that on the Meseta from late June onwards it can be very warm to very hot. If you are from a hot country (Australia, southern USA, Sth Africa) and are use to temps over 40'C (105 F) then you should be ok. Mind you, you might need to start walking at sun rise to beat the very hot part of the day.

 

[Former member 95219]

The only comment I would offer is that on the Meseta from late June onwards it can be very warm to very hot. If you are from a hot country (Australia, southern USA, Sth Africa) and are use to temps over 40'C (105 F) then you should be ok. Mind you, you might need to start walking at sun rise to beat the very hot part of the day.

Yes good point! I started really early and tried to get 20km in before 10am and the best was a bonus. As I walked during peak Covid and there was rumours of regional border shutdowns really upped the distance last couple of weeks to 40km a day to get a good as soon as possible which was tough as I am very slow!

 

[RJM]

There's actually no reason not to and many reasons why you should.

 

[Lexicos]

I plan to do it in June—July and I can’t think of a good reason not to do it then, number 9. As indicated above, if it’s hot, start early, you can cover a lot of distance (if you need to) in the hours before noon or 2 pm. Whether it’s heat, limited accommodation, rain, large numbers etc. etc. there will always be reasons for NOT doing the Camino. No matter when you do it, it will test you and it will reward you. There are so many good reasons to do it. These opportunities are rare in life. Grab it while you can Pilgrim9, otherwise you may spend the years ahead wondering why you were so reticent. Besides, it’s never the perfect time but it’s always the right time.
Buen Camino.

 

[Ianinam]

Excellent idea P9! Mid July would be preferable, as by the end of July the amounts of pilgrims go up again. In the albergue in Roncesvalles in July most of the time we have a reasonable 'quiet' period. Be aware of the San Fermin festivities in Pamplona, which is from 6 through 14 July this year. During San Fermin the big municipal albergue (Jesús y Maria) is closed, as many other albergues, and hotelprices are very high.

 

[Pilgrim9]

Thank you, Ianinam, that timing information is useful.

 

[PFarnsworth]

I walked the Frances in July-Aug in 2018 and got very lucky with weather. We did have some hot days, but nothing unmanageable. I remember albergues being very warm at night and having the constant differences of opinions with other pilgrims as to whether windows should be left open or closed at nights, so I tried to choose beds right next to windows to better feel any night breezes, but it wasn't a big deal. We're going again this July-Aug (2022) and look forward to it.

I'm not sure what things are like in Spring and Fall, but in July-Aug all the local gardens were producing veggies and albergues/restaurants were serving fresh locally-grown veggies!

Sorry that I can only think of reasons you SHOULD go in July-August. About the only reason I can think of to NOT go is that airline tickets in the high summer months seem to be SO MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE from the USA. Not sure this would affect you or not.

Good luck and Buen Camino!

 

[Susan Peacock]

Every season has its pros and cons. Obviously, the July/August time frame it would be the potential for extreme heat in particular seasons. In my summertime experience everyone was pretty much up and out while it was still dark (so I do recommend a headlamp for summer walking.) You are finished early in the day, but albergues do not have a/c so naps didn’t work for me and I usually was still sweating when I finished my shower. I’m from Florida where it doesn’t cool off at night in the summer, so I did think that Spain was better in this respect. However, many albergues don’t have good ventilation so it could be very hot and sweaty at night. I stayed in some of the same albergues as a spring Camino but had never noticed the lack of windows. You might want to be a little more thoughtful about where you stay and your beds location. On the plus side is that your backpack can weigh significantly less when you don’t need all the cold weather gear. I did find it exhausting and find it easier to walk longer distances in the spring. The landscape doesn’t compare to the beauty of the spring and the Meseta is dry and brown.. I would also suggest some hydration tablets.
All that being said, I love all my Camino’s…. They are different and that’s a good thing.

 

[Grahammac]

Hi. Why not start in Olorons St Marie? Cross over the Col de Somport to Jaca, then down the very UNCROWDED Aragone valley and join Camino Francais at Puenta la Reina?

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

One thing to keep in mind in the summer is that solar noon comes later in clock time than many places because Spain is in the same time zone as Berlin, not London as you would guess from a map.

For example, today solar noon at my home was at 12:42 while in León it was 2:19, about an hour and a half difference.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

The only downside to walking in summertime is the presence of big groups of children/teens who are on school break. This is mostly a headache in the final, Galician part of the camino. They are often noisy, they take up all the beds in albergues, and often they leave trails of trash in their wake. (some of them are well-mannered and decent and restore your faith in the future.)
I live on the Meseta, I love summertime here. The thunderstorms and rainbows are spectacular.
There are still plenty of songbirds. The fulsome green-to-gold waves of grain are cut by mid-June, but if you arrive before the end of July you'll likely coincide with great wide fields of sunflowers, which usually peak about halfway through the month. The fields turn to gold, then as August moves on the trails dry up and dust rises... the wind of August/early September leaves everything and everybody coated in fine brown powder.
August and September are the hottest months, but it's still plenty cool earlier in the day. I cannot see any reason to start walking at ungodly early hours, as the sun's heat does not peak until about 5 or 6 p.m. If you have a good hat, sunscreen, and lots of water, and you keep track of where you're going, you'll be fine.
Summer nights stay light til after 10 p.m., and the birds keep singing, sometimes into the wee hours. The night sky is spangled with stars you can't see any other time of year; the Milky Way is startlingly clear.
Summer is a beautiful time to be a pilgrim.

 

[Pilgrim9]

Thank you, Susan Peacock. Lots of good pointers and food for thought.

 

[Pilgrim9]

Grahammac, the Col de Somport appeals and it has been on my list for a while but I had forgotten about it. Thank you for reminding me.

 

[Pilgrim9]

Rick of Rick and Pegg, thank you for alerting me to the delayed solar noon phenomenon. I had never thought of that. Perhaps the delayed solar noon is the cause of the daily temperature spike being later in the day, as pointed out by Rebekah Scott in #13. Maybe for walkers a later heat spike is a good thing. Will bear it in mind.

 

[Pilgrim9]

Thank you, Rebekah Scott. Your words are lyrically reassuring, and reading them has me thinking about starting from SJPdP a bit earlier, perhaps the end of June.

 

[Bob91]

The only downside to walking in summertime is the presence of big groups of children/teens who are on school break.

When does the school year generally start and these groups disappear?

 

[henrythedog]

Spanish summer school holidays run through to September 10/11 or thereabouts. The quieter times on the C Frances are from mid September (at the eastern end) through to a couple of weeks before Easter.

As a free-market economy availability of accommodation - in a ‘normal’ year, if anyone can remember one of those - flexes up and down in anticipation of demand. I always walk out of season and I’ve never failed to find a good bed.

 

[Pilgrim9]

I offer a sincere thank you everyone who provided me advice on start dates.

After evaluating all the season-specific information, I have decided to start from SJPdP on 2022-June-04.

From my perspective as OP this thread has fulfilled its purpose and may now be closed or archived as appropriate.