TheVinsman

What I have learned about equipment is that it is all about personal preference. Each pilgrim needs to decide what foot ware they will use, backpack they will carry and what hydration method they will use. It’s all personal but you must own it once you decide.

As a general guideline it is widely accepted that you should try to carry no more than 10% of your body weight. That is easier for me as my weight is up there, but will be a challenge for many.

Footwear is a major decision. There are many choices, boots, shoes, or even hiking sandals. After trying several pairs of boots I settled on Lowa Renegade GTX mid boots. They just felt right and work for me. I will also bring Ecco walking sandals as my second pair of shoes.

As far as packs go I went to REI and got fitted. They were super helpful. In the end though I choose a golite pack that is 50ltrs but only weighs 1lb 14oz saving almost 2lbs over most other packs that I looked at or tried. I loved the Osprey packs but wanted less weight.

For hydration I started with a 3ltr bladder system. For me I decided that it was simply to hard to get the water I wanted out of the tube system. So I now use two 36oz water bottled one in each pouch on the side of my pack. I am able to access them without taking my pack off. This is something you want to check out.

After spending the last six months training with my full pack, waring my boots I am happy with my choices for now.

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When I first began to consider the Camino and the possibility of walking it, it seemed so unreal.  I began to do some research and read some amazing accounts of pilgrims on the Camino and became entranced.  The beauty of northern Spain, the spiritual journey that is the Camino.  The history of the Camino itself.  As I learned more I began to feel this deep sense of longing to walk my own Camino.

Once I decided that I would make my own pilgrimage the preparation began.  I have always been a walker and had walked 2 – 3 miles most days as exercise.  2-3 miles however is a simple warm up for each day on the Camino.  A typical day a pilgrim walks 10 to 20 miles.

Could I handle that type of mileage and more importantly could I do it for 30 or more consecutive days.   I began to walk longer distances and even entered a half marathon in the Oregon wine country last July.  the 13.1 miles was what I believe the Camino will be like.  Steep up hill and steep down hill.  I had four hours to complete it.  Loaded with my pack and wearing my boots I made it in 3 hours and 46 minutes.  Terrible for a marathon but awesome for a Camino.  That event gave me the confidence that I could do it.  Since then I have walked several long days in preparation for my Camino.

The next thing that I needed to decide on was how I was going to get to Spain, what I was going to take, and when I was going to go.  At first I decided to go in September or October of 2013, but as I began to do more preparation I realized that I did not want to wait that long.  As it was, I was planning almost a year before I was to leave.  I finally decided on April 1st of 2013.  That would allow me to spend Easter with my family and yet walk during what is supposed to be a cooler and less crowed time of the year.  So I purchased my tickets for the flight which solidified the commitment to the Camino.

There were a few considerations when deciding how to get to the starting point of my Camino.  I am walking the Camino Frances, which traditionally begins in Saint-Jean-Pied-Du-Port (SJPP) France.  Getting from the US to SJPP is easy but you have to make a few routing choices.  When I checked flights I found that it was substantially less expensive to fly into Madrid as opposed to fling to Paris.  It is frankly easier to get from Paris to SJPP by taking the train from the Airport directly to Bayonne and then transferring to a local train in Bayonne to SJPP.  All that being said, it was substantially more expensive to fly to Paris and I could not justify the extra expense.  From Madrid you can either take a train to Bayonne and then SJPP or go to Pamplona by either bus or train.  From Pamplona you can either take the bus if it is running or a taxi to SJPP.  For scheduling reasons I decided to take the train to Pamplona.  It saved me almost an entire day of travel.  My flight arrives in Madrid at 8:35am.  I will take the train from the Atocha train station at 11:35am and arrive in Pamplona at 2:40pm.  The bus does not run in April, it only runs June through September, so I will take a Taxi to SJPP.  I hope to arrive some time between 4pm and 5pm on April 2.