Camino Frances Part 11 – ‘Camino – What To Pack’

Fisterre (Finisterre)

With my Camino just completed I thought it would be a good time to share my thoughts on gear selection with future pilgrims. The most important advice I have is pack light. The less you carry the more enjoyable the walking will be and the less likely you will suffer an injury that may end your walk long before you reach Santiago.

Sadly some pilgrims discovered they had filled their packs to the point they couldn’t carry them and reluctantly hired taxis to drive their packs to the next alburgue. They paid seven Euros a day for the service. They could have saved themselves a lot of guilt, misery and money if they had packed lighter.

About to present my passport to church officials in Santiago de Compostella – Spain

My Camino started August 15th but I have been living out of my little 22 liter Osprey Talon pack since leaving America May 28th and I can’t imagine needing anything larger. The Camino is not a wilderness experience so it doesn’t require a large pack. Everyday you will pass through towns where you can find food, drink, etc. A half liter of water and some red licorice or the uneaten half of a ridiculously large queso bocadillo was all the sustenance I carried.

The extra gear I needed for my non-Camino travels I mailed ahead to Iver Rakve in Santiago. He held it for about six weeks and charged me twenty Euros. (http://www.caminodesantiago.me/luggage-storage-in-santiago-de-compostela/). Iver is the founder of the Camino Forum. I mailed it from Pamplona because it was cheaper than mailing it from France. Once I did that my pack had 20% more space available but I never needed it.

Visiting with Iver Rakve, founder of the Camino Forum, Santiago de Compostella – Spain

On the Camino you will be walking on sidewalks, roads and relatively smooth dirt and stone trails so heavy hiking boots are overkill. That means you can hike in more forgiving and quicker drying light weight boots. My feet are happy in Merrell Moab Ventilators. I have worn out at least three pair over a few thousand miles of hiking and have never had a blister problem. But if I wanted something lighter or cheaper I would walk the Camino in a good pair of running or trail shoes. You may want to add a pair of “Super Feet” insoles to stiffen them up a bit. A pair of light weight flip-flops are also good to have since many alburgues require you to leave your boots at the door. Although I like using hiking poles the Camino was smooth and gentle enough that I never felt I needed them and was glad I left mine at home.

When it comes to lodging most pilgrims will sleep each night in an alburgue, in a bunk, on a mattress, so unless you are planning on camping I don’t see a sleeping bag, pad or tent as a necessity. In place of carrying a ponderous sleeping bag I carried a Reactor Thermolite bag liner that weighed 8 ounces and compressed down to 3x3x5 inches. Despite being a “cold sleeper” I only used the blankets provided by the alburgues once or twice.

The other thing to keep in mind is that every alburgue has a place for you to hand wash and hang dry your clothes so you don’t need to pack much. Washing my gear took about ten minutes and by morning everything was dry enough to wear again. The exception was my thick wool socks so I wore them to bed and by morning they were bone dry. Wearing them to bed worked much better than hanging them off my pack all day. While my clothes were drying I wore a T-shirt and a pair of running shorts. New Balance running shorts with a built-in liner have never caused me chafing unlike some “hiking shorts” I’ve tried. I also carried but seldom used a lightweight pair of North Face pants and a third pair of socks.

For outer wear I had an old Golite wind shirt, a relatively light “Red Ledge” rain jacket and a Tilly hat. That’s all the clothing I needed for my mid-August to end of September hike.

As for towels I have gotten by happily for decades with just a bandana for a travel towel. I have found nothing rolls up smaller, has as many uses or dries quicker. My wife used a microfiber travel towel about the same size as a bandana and was happy with that. Incidentally she also carried a 22 liter Osprey and had room to spare so packing light is not just a guy thing.

In a small Altus waist pack I carried an iPad mini that doubled as a camera and wifi device. I would not recommend using an iPad if you want to take quality photographs but my DSLR broke just before the hike and the iPad was all I had. My wife used her iPod Touch as a camera and wifi device and was happy with that. Neither of us carried a phone.

The gear I hiked the Camino

Of course I also carried a passport, notebook, headlamp, etc. All my gear was placed in one of three waterproof stuff sacks. I don’t use pack covers. A fourth sack was my shave kit. Just before going to sleep two of the sacks were placed in my pack and the third one along with the shave kit were clipped to the outside so it made packing in the morning easy and forgetting something almost impossible. A carabiner and loop of light line attached to the top of my pack allowed me to hang it from my bunk which made for easier access and kept it off the floor.

Those are my thoughts on packing for the Camino and a gear list is attached for those interested in more detail. I don’t know what all my gear weighed but my pack looked to be about half the size of the average Camino pack. If you don’t like my hiking style don’t get your panties in a twist. It’s your Camino, do it your way and have a great hike.

 

Updated Gear List covering what I carried on the my 2016 Portuguese Camino is HERE

Gear List

Osprey Talon 22 liter pack, Altus Waist Pack, Caribiners-2,

Moab Ventilators Boots, Flip-Flops, Socks-3,

T-shirt, Collared Short Sleeve Shirt, Tilley Hat,

New Balance Running Shorts-2, Light weight pants,

Red Ledges Raincoat, Golite Wind Shirt, Bandannas-2,

Shave Kit – bar soap, deodorant, Contacts/solution, tweezers, nail clippers, razor, comb, tooth brush/paste,

First Aid Kit – Motrin, Tylenol, Imodium, Tums, Antibiotics, Sun Screen,

Neosporin ointment/Hydrocortisone Cream stored in contact lens case,

Ear plugs, Sunglasses, Bifocals, Reading glasses, Needle/Thread,

Sleeping-bag liner,

iPad/cables, plug adapter, Ear Buds, Headlamp,

Passport, Drivers license, Credit cards, documents,

Notebooks (2), pencil, pen, guidebook

Ziplock bags, plastic knife, fork, spoon

<a href=”http://

“> A video of my Camino Experience

 

 

 

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‹ Camino Frances Part 10 – Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

They Speak My Language ›

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Categories: Hiking, Travel

Tags: adventure travel, Backpacking, Blogging, Camino, Camino de Santiago, Hiking, Hosteling, Photography, travel, Trekking