Gear...One Person's Solution can be Another Person's Grief!

An obvious part of the preparation is to gear up. Pretty easy...just buy a pack, shoes, pull some clothes together, add a tooth brush and presto...done! Essentially that's it, but honestly I had no idea that there was such a process involved for distance walking. I've enjoyed reading the various on-line forms and learning from others who have gone before, however there appear to be a great many opinions on each topic. I guess this should come as no surprise, but it really makes it a challenge to sort through. In essence it comes down to what works for one person may not work for another...what a concept:) In a nut shell, what follows are the issues and choices to be made.

Let's start with the pack...so many types, designs and sizes. Internal or external frame? Lots of pockets or just one main compartment? An internal hydration system or do you carry water bottles in outside pockets? How big should the pack be...30, 40, 50 liters? How much should the pack weigh...empty and loaded? How big should the hydration system be? More importantly, what color should our packs be?

Boots: Low rise, mid-rise or full on boots? Do you get a shoe a half size bigger or a full size bigger? You have to allow for foot swelling when you walk for 6-8 hours each day so this is a big decision. Do you purchase waterproof boots (which are hotter) or standard boots and risk wet feet? While on this subject, do you wear only wool socks or add liner socks too? Do you used the liner socks with individual toes? Does one invest a further $30+ for better boot liners? Then there are the sandals to give your boots a rest/dry-out at the end of the day...sandals stable enough to hike in or just good enough for going out to dinner? Flip-flops or crocks? But again, what color should they be??

Poles: Yes or no? Aluminum or carbon fiber? Molded ergonomic handles or straight on handles with straps? Lever or screw tighteners for each of the three pole sections? The general consensus in the literature is that using poles provides better support for your leg joints by helping to redistribute up to 30% of the weight over 4 'legs' instead of just two...sort of like all-wheel drive! Black or silver poles?

Rain Gear: This is a toughie! Wet pants and a rain coat with a pack cover? Or, a poncho and gaiters? The issue with the former is that water can get into your pack as it runs down your back and it can get inside your rain gear too. Also, with a pack on your back, so called breathable coats (even the best Gortex) stop breathing as the pack and straps are pulled tight to the body. Therefore little air flow to wick away the moisture and you can end up swimming in the gear. The typical ponchos available in North America leave your arms fully exposed and there are similar problems with moisture flow not to speak of aerodynamics when the wind is blowing...(think The Flying Nun). Should you color co-ordinate the wet gear and even more confusing, color co-ordinate with each other?

Electronics: This comes down to a function of just how connected you want to be and how much of the trip you want to bring home (photos). Do you take a small digital camera, a full on SLR or a hybrid? Ipod or no Ipod? Cell phone? Ipad, iPad-Mini or iPod-Touch? This one is a tough one as you want to try to disappear out there and live in the moment as much as possible. However, things happen at home so you need to have some level of connection. Then there are all the chargers, cables and adapters! By the way...what color should your IPad be on the Camino...black or silver?

Clothing: Synthetics or natural fibers? Regular pants or zip-off convertibles? How many shirts? What type of underwear...6" or 9" boxer legs?...don't want chafing or riding up happenings! Do you take gloves? And what about a fleece? Should things be color matched or will any one actually notice all your planning and coordination efforts when they're falling asleep in their beer after walking hard all day?

Hats: Baseball hat, cricket cap (if you are from Oz) or wide brim hat? Waterproof or a cooler, lighter hat? Do you take a toque for the dark, early October mornings and the high altitude passes? Should these go well with your pack or with your coat? Tell me, what's in style on the Camino this year?

Sleeping Gear: Sleeping bag or silk liner? Pajama type clothes or do you sleep in your walking clothes (many do)? Sheet to mitigate possible bedbug situations? Pillow case to cover oft-used pillows? Should all these be a really outrageous shade of orange so you don't forget them in the morning?

Other Stuff: Guides/maps...pdf these and put them on your IPad (assuming you take one??) or carry the weight of the original publications? Take a Swiss knife or buy a knife there? Shave or don't shave?...hmmm...no shaving for 6 weeks...less to carry. Deodorant or not...some don't carry this to help shed weight. Nope...bring...Annemarie will make me sleep outside in my orange bedding if I don't..that's fair. How much Ibeprofin do we bring...lots, or even more than that? How many safety pins is it 'safe' to take...to hang your 'fast drying' underwear that somehow didn't dry over-night off the back of your pack? How much emergency food should we carry...probably just one...chocolate! But what color chocolate...white, light brown or dark brown?

Evidently there are a great many decisions in front of us. I often find myself debating many of the options while in bed in the middle of the night...hey, it helps to pass the time. I blame my parents for providing me with an analytical mind:)

My goal is to have my 'carried' dry weight (before chocolate and water) under 14.5 lbs (6.6 kgs) and Annemarie plans to be under 13 lbs. To arrive at these challenging figures will take some shrewd planning and research, but more likely many mugs of tea while visiting with Mr. Google. Fortunately I was able to procure a small digital scale for weighing each item and spreadsheets are now in place to track everything as we add to our virtual packs...what did we ever do before computers? We have already made some progress on many fronts, but this entry is already too long, so we will report on our selection successes (and failures) in future entries.  I would like to have most of this wrapped up by early June when we begin to regularly train with our packs, but no doubt some decisions will drift on to be endlessly debated on our many walks:) Its all about the process...

Some Camino Statistics:

Yesterday I referenced the increasing interest in the Camino. We have wondered more than once about what sort of numbers will walk in 2013. There are many routes that arrive at Santiago originating from different areas of Spain and also from France and Portugal...following many of the old Roman roads. In 2000 only 55,000 pilgrims arrived in Santiago from all routes after having completed at minimum the last 100kms thus allowing them to collect their Latin Compostela document which confirms completion. You have to appreciate that this is considered a very important accomplishment in Spain with almost 50% of all pilgrims being Spanish. Its so important that many Spaniards include this in their CV! I understand that many Spanish pilgrims only walk the last 100kms making this part of the route fairly commercial and a bit of a zoo…a less enjoyable portion of the walk for those who choose to start from further afield. 

By 2006 the number of finishing pilgrims almost doubled to 100.377 over the 6 years, and this ballooned to 272,412 in 2010, the last Holy Year. A Holy Year occurs only when St. James’s Day falls on a Sunday, which happens to be on July 25^th also my birthdayJ. Fortunately for us, the next Holy Year doesn’t occur until 2021.

Last year in 2012 192,488 pilgrims collected their Compostela in Santiago of which 134,979 walked the Camino Frances (the route we will walk).  22.214 started from St Jean Pied de Port (SJPDP) where we will begin our own Camino, 8,468 started from Roncesvalles, the first village in Spain after crossing the Pyrenees and 4,172 started in Pamplona where we hope to arrive about 4 days into our Camino. Approximately 60,000 started at various points west of O’Cebreiro (three quarters of the way to Santiago) presumably so that they didn’t have to make the tortuous climb up to O’Cebreiro!! This is the highest point on the Camino.

Last night I happened to check the numbers that had arrived in Santiago so far in 2013 and was astounded to see that 7,229 completed in March alone! To put this into perspective, during the extremely busy 2010 Holy Year 5,882 completed in the same month and only about 3,000 finished in each of 2011 and 2012. I puzzled about this for a couple of hours before the light bulb finally flashed and I realized that this was because Easter occurred in March this year. I reviewed Easter dates over the past 10 years (I need to get a life!) and confirmed that with the exception of 2004, 2005 and 2008 Easter had been celebrated in April in every other year. Whew! The numbers have likely not exploded this year, but I will follow to see how things shake out.

May through September are the busiest months with 77% of all pilgrims (148k of 192k) finishing during this period in 2012. We have selected mid-September through October in part for this reason, not to mention it will be harvest time in the vineyards…also for the historically good fall weather (we hope). Last October 18k pilgrims or 9% completed the various Caminos in Santiago, presumably more finishing in the first half of the month. By September most students have returned to school, and summer vacations have come to a happy conclusion. That’s why you get more middle-agers and silver hairs walking during the shoulder seasons...also its too darn hot to walk in the summer! 

This spring those starting from SJPDP and Roncesvalles are having a hard go of it due to record snow falls this winter and spring. Reports have the main route over the Pyrenees closed after a fellow Canadian tragically became lost and fell 70 meters to his death, sadly very close to the end of the first stage. Spanish authorities have also had to rescue 10 Koreans this winter who apparently ignored official warnings and got into major trouble. I have read other accounts of recent rescues in the Spanish press making it a poor start to the season. Mary and Les have indicated that they may change their plans and start in Pamplona if the pass doesn't clear in time. Stay safe you two.

Ok…enough already with the statistics!

"When the Camino calls, you'll find that extraordinary things begin to happen. Lucky? Nope.  Be ready because more of this will happen.  Be resolute because stuff that gets in the way happens as well. You just have to work to overcome it, and it adds to the life changing experience that is the Camino."

Preparation Update

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Its been nearly 2 months since my first entry and we have been busy sorting things out and of course training. Just five months away from departure and it is amazing just how quickly the time is slipping away. We have made great strides forward having attended an evening presentation about the Camino and a wonderful daylong seminar hosted by the Canadian Company of Pilgrims. Both events were over subscribed with some 350 participants for the two evening sessions and 200+ folks registered for the seminar. We have had a few thoughts about the increasing interest in the Camino and were somewhat relieved to find that many attendees were there for general interest or just ‘kicking the tires’ to determine their own level of interest for a possible future walk. I spoke with a woman who had attended the seminar the past 4 years, but had not yet committed to walking. We are learning that the level of commitment required to simply prepare is considerable, but enjoyable.

The seminar was extremely helpful with presentations from various authors and others who have walked one or more of the various Camino routes on numerous occasions. One after another the presenters spoke at length about their personal experiences in an effort to help us to understand both the outer and inner preparation required. I appreciate this sounds a bit touchy, feely…however, I'll explain further. The outer preparation involves getting oneself in adequate physical condition to actually walk the 800kms. One presenter who has walked the route 5 times helped put the physicality of the experience into perspective. His point was that most any reasonably fit person can manage 20-30kms on a given day, but that it’s a completely different matter to get up in the dark each morning for 30-38 consecutive days and walk from 5-7hours. Each morning pulling your pack on and heading out the door into just about any condition imaginable from hot sun to heavy rain...not to mention the related glue-like mud conditions on the trail and the many ups and downs of the North Spanish terrain. While his audience was absorbing this with widening eyes, he went on to explain about the challenges of walking with nasty blisters and injuries to the knees, ankles and hips. No wonder the lady I spoke of earlier hadn’t committed after 4 years...she must have heard this same presentation 4 times before!!

However, we also heard over and over from each speaker about what a wonderful experience the Camino is.  I’ve been reading a blog written by a 74 year old woman who has managed to successful complete 7 of her last 8 Caminos over the past 8 years. She typically walks during the late fall and winter, solo. Clearly she is an exceptional person, and I’m hopeful that we can live up to her standard...most humbling. 

The other side of the outer preparation involves the gear…backpack, walking shoes, clothing, etc., with the focus on minimalist planning. I’ll write another entry about this at a future date as its pretty interesting.

The inner preparation bit involves the mental, and if you like, the spiritual element of the experience. This is different for everyone and I’ll admit that I’m still working this aspect through. Perhaps it would be better if Annemarie took a stab at this topic in an up-coming entry as she has a better handle on this element. My strength lies in the physical preparation, but I’m working on the inner preparation thing too. However as I’m a guy I think that perhaps this comes a bit slower. I’ve walked a few kilometers since making the decision to tackle the Camino…enough to burn through one very good pair of hiking shoes...and I’m still trying to figure out the spiritual side of things. The good news is I’ll have loads of time in Spain to mull this over with other confused guy-types hopefully over a glass or two of vino tinto!

We recently had the pleasure of a training walk with Mary and Les who we have met during this process. I’ll digress for a moment…during the volunteer activities that I have enjoyed over the years, I've learned that there is always a core of people who drive and nurture the process, and without those people nothing ever happens. The Camino experience is no different as we discovered while meeting members of the Canadian Company of Pilgrims at the seminar.  To carry on, prior to the seminar and through Annemarie’s connections we met Mary and Les. Mary is one of those core volunteers, being one of only two people in Canada qualified to train hospiteleros to work in the aubergues (pilgrim hostels). Mary has walked and also cycled the Camino, and she and Les are preparing to depart for their next Camino in about a week. When we contacted them they immediately invited us on a training walk where they patiently answered our endless questions. They were completely open with information, so much so that within seconds of being introduced Mary was explaining to me in extreme detail about a device which allows women to urinate standing up. Talk about breaking the ice! We are excited to follow their progress and plan to get together on their return. We really appreciated learning from them.  

Next entry will cover a few statistics about the Camino...bet you can hardly wait!

"for some people the experience may be greater than the pain,

for others the continuing in spite of pain might be part of what they need to experience,

pain and suffering is a fundamental part of life,

if one was to stop once things get painful one might never get anywhere..."