Gear and More Gear

There are endless blogs and videos about what you need to have with you on your Camino and how to carry as little weight as possible, no more than 10% of your body weight.


I now have my Hokas and my backpack.  I'll pick up walking sticks in France to avoid having TSA confiscate them on the plane. Now I need to figure out what to pack

 Unlike other vacations, looking good is not so important.  Conventional wisdom is to take only 2 changes of clothes-  one you are wearing and the other for tomorrow  or, "one to wash, one to wear, one for spare."

When you arrive at your albergue, you take a shower, change into your clean clothes for the evening, wash your dirty clothes and hang them to dry. Then,  in the morning, you wear the clothes from the night before and start your daily walk.  Rinse, Repeat.

But what clothes?  Made of what?

Turns out Merino wool is a fabric of choice. Its both warm and cool, wicks moisture away from the skin, is breathable, does not retain odors, dries quickly- its perfect.  Other suggestions:

  • Long sleeved shirts with hoods and sun protection are also recommended.
  • Sock liners and toe socks and merino wool socks.
  • Rain jacket, ponchos, buffs, hats, gloves
  • Sleeping bags or sleep liners
  • Fleece or down vests 
  • And then, because we cannot be not connected, chargers and power packs for our devices.
  •  And for my age group, meds- RX and pain meds, 
  • Stuff to prevent blisters 
  • Water containers- do I wear a water bladder or carry bottles? How much will I need. Where can I get water.
  • What about snacks?
  • And toiletries? 

 

It is somehow great fun to see what others have packed, what they wished they had brought along andwhat they did not need.
 

Popular posts from this blog

2019 How it began

Image
My journey to the Camino began many years ago. In the fall of 2011, we had just moved from Philadelphia to Chapel Hill.   We got settled in and then headed off for a barging trip on the Canal de Midi in the south of France. Our barging route took us past Moissac on the Canal de Garonne.   We stopped at the old church and learned that it was a pilgrim church for the Camino de Santiago.  (I now know it is a stop on the French Way- the Le Puy Camino.) We even received a credential (pilgrim passport) and had it stamped with a sello  or a stamp saying we had travelled as a pilgrim to this spot.  Along the canal route,we'd sometimes see pilgrims walking with their big backpacks.   Thus a seed was planted. Fast forward to 2019. Two friends asked me to join them in an Ollie class about the Camino de Santiago, offered by John Saxon, an inveterate pilgrim.  I went and we all were hooked.       We began planning a trip for 2020 and ...
Read more

2023 Rescheduling our Camino...to the Cotswolds

Image
As the world began to open up in 2021 and 2022, our group of 7 kept discussing  whether not to try going on the Camino.Alas, some folks had illness and injuries that make doing the Camino more daunting than before. We all agreed that being together was more important than the route and so ended up planning a 10-day walk in the Cotswolds  for the fall of 2023. We had a marvelous time on that walk which I'll write about separately.  Alas, even after this Cotswold walk, my friends were unable to join me in walking the Camino in 2024. But the Camino kept calling to me.  I loved our Cotswold trip.  I loved getting up every morning, putting on my boots and a day pack and heading out to the next town, walking with friends in the beautiful countryside.  I kept thinking, could I do this alone?   I decided yes.   For our Cotswolds trip, we had booked via Contours, a company that will arrange your lodging, luggage transport and provide maps. We qui...
Read more