20 days too crazy?

[toddj]

I'm tight for time but I'm motivated. Is it nuts to think I could do the whole trek (SJPP start) in 20 days? I know I wouldn't have time to stop look around, but I think I might like to "accomplish" the journey rather than take my time and check things out on the way. Am I crazy?

[Stella]

to be honest I think you are over-ambitious. It could ruin the whole experince. Why nok start off closer to Santiago de Compostella?

[Bem48]

I can only agree with Stella ! The camino is NO race, why spoiling the whole experience.
I walked in 2008 from StJPdP to SdC in 30 days and still think I missed out on many experiences and places , where I should have stayed longer.
The destination is the journey itself.
Take your time......that's why I'll be walking again and again
Buen Camino Bem

[Covey]

I met a girl from Slovakia in 2008 who was trying to keep up an average of 40kms a day so she could complete the Camino Frances in the time she had available.

At Burgos she looked totally done in and I cannot think for the life of me that she was actually enjoying herself.

I always take a day off in Burgos and last year had 2 days off in Leon, 2 days off in Santiago, and another 2 days off at Finesterre waiting for the clouds to clear and a nice sunset to appear. Some days if the weather is nice and I come across a decent looking albergue I will stop early, do my laundry and have a beer or two. If you are not running against the clock, then you have the time to enjoy what is all around you!

[Stella]

I believe it is important to enjoy the hiking, to take the time to stay an extra day in a town or so. It's also important to know that you cannot keep a distance of e.g. 30-40 km a day. Some days you might just be in the mood for 15 - other days 40 is fine. And you can get injured and need af few days with "your leg up".

[Covey]

Stella's point about injury is very important.

Apart from blisters, most of the injuries you see on the Camino are stress induced because the person is walking too far and too fast. None of the injuries you pick up on the Camino get better the more you walk!! If you end up with bad ligament or cartilage problems, you go home and try again another year. No matter how strong your will power or courage, if your ankles and knees are not up to the distances you are trying to achieve, you go home, because to continue will cause lasting and possibly permanent damage.

If you run marathons for a hobby, then you might be able to average 30kms+ per day, but remember, this is not just one day or a weekend, but every day, rain, hail or shine, feeling good or feeling lousy and the faster you have to walk, the greater the risk that you will lose your footing on some of the steep downhill slopes where the surface is loose screed and large stones. Sprain your ankle, and you go home because you will not be able to walk with a pack on your back.

Start at Burgos, look up, and enjoy the scenery and your fellow travellers, and look forward to arriving in Santiago

[kml]

Darling Toddj,

I keep thinking of you as being the perfect fit for the dictionary definition of incorrigible because you have this dogged determination. Imagine looking through Webster's and beside the word incorrigible lies a picture of you hiking the camino - exhausted, miserable, but undefeated. So if you're asking if its crazy to hike the whole thing in 20 days, you will only find one answer: it's CRAZY! In fact, I'd even call it crazy-crazy.

I hate to be cliche, but what would Jesus do? If you really want to DO the camino, don't simply go through the motions, don't simply walk every step, don't think of it as a purely physical experience. Instead, try to capture the heart of the pilgrimage. You may be able to say that you walked every step of the journey, but at the risk of missing the peace and grace that comes with allowing your heart to be molded and transformed, try not to fly through it too quickly.

Is there any way of extending your trip so that you could complete it in a less hostile manner?

Thoughtfully yours,
K

[windswept]

It's not crazy. I'm 64 years of age and I did it in 22 days this September. See

http://www.blurb.com/books/2635092

[geraldkelly]

Hi Todd

If you want to do the Camino in 20 days then go and do it and don't listen to the people who tell you you're crazy! I've met loads of people walking 40km a day and that was their choice and they liked it that way. Personally I wouldn't even be capable of those distances, but that's me.

Buen Camino! And come back and tell us how you got on!
Ger