List...Advice....Please!!!!

[Aryk]

Hi y'all. Longtime no typie. It's 100 days till I'm off to walk "my" Camino. I've got a calendar that I'm checking off the days. I think it may being doing more harm than good. I look at it all day everyday. It's like I'm trying to will the days to go faster. But no luck yet. Still 24 hours in a day. So 2400 hours till I leave. 144,000 minutes. 8,640,000 seconds. So what I'm askin' is, is my gear list sufficient?? Keep in mine I'm goin March 4- April 7. Apperantly it's cold with rain and snow with wind and sleet. Man I hate the winter. But ya know. God told me to be in Santiago on April 8. So who am I to argue.
1. Boots
2. Walking poles (2)
3. Ball cap
4. Gaitors
5. Fleece sweater (2)
6. Long handles (2)
7. Underwear (4)
8. Short sleeve shirt (2)
9. Long sleeve shirt (2)
10. Hoodie
11. Rain pants
12. Rain coat
13. Socks (5 pair)
14. Arctic expedition socks (2)
15. Sunglasses
16. Silk scarf
17. Hair brush
18. Razor and blades
19. Tiny wash cloth (wrings almost dry)
20. First aid kit (compeed, ear plugs, Advil, etc.)
21. Bottles for my soap (3)
22. Hair bands (shoulder length hair)
23. Journal
24. Gloves
25. Sleeping bag
26. Backpack (w/ waterproof cover)
27. Deoderant
28. And my hat!!!
So that's my list. Whattaya y'all think. To much?? Not enough. It's been in the upper 30s in the a.m. Wore my gear and was comfortable. Kinda hot when the sun came up. Thank again for all y'alls help.
Aryk

[grayland]

For starters:
Lose the long underwear, hoodie, 2 pair of socks plus the artic socks and one of the fleeces and long sleeve shirts. None of that is needed.
What is the total weight of your kit? Get it under 10kg (22 lbs).
It is not cold in March...just chilly in the early morning. I have walked twice in March. Layer the tee shirts, fleece and raincoat shell in the morning and you will be fine. You will get hot quickly walking.
Don't take too much. You can easily get by with 3 pair of socks (medium smart wool) and 3 underwear (quick dry). Buy all tech type material so that it will dry quickly including tees and shirts.

[HuskyNerd]

I totally agree with Grayland. Buen camino!

[geraldkelly]

Hi Aryk

I can only add my voice to what the others have said: that's far too much stuff and loads of stuff you don't need. That time of year you don't need winter gear, just waterproofs. The target weight I go for when I'm packing is 8kg, Grayland's suggestion of 10kg would already be too heavy for me. To the list of things to leave at home I would add: a short sleeved shirt, one of your hats, gaiters. I also notice you don't list a towel. And what are long handles? You can buy soap in Spain, why do you need three bottles of the stuff?

Ger

[grayland]

I agree that 10kg is much too heavy. I only used that number as an absolute maximum. I am aiming for a maximum of 7kg on my next camino...Le Puy to Santiago...about 1000 miles and I sure don't want anything extra hanging on my back.
Lay everything out on a bed and if you are not going to use it every day then set it aside. Go back over that stuff and ask yourself if you need it or just "might be good to have". Discard anything in this catagory
You can buy anything you need. This is important as it means you can carry only the most important items.
Weigh your sleeping bag and get as light a bag as you can afford. This is usually the heaviest item in your pack. You do not need a heavy bag in March. If you do get a cold night simply wear clothes you are wearing the next day to bed. Most people do this at some point.

The extra things you take will either end up discarded or sent home at an expense.

Buen Camino

[Aryk]

Hello all,
Here's an update. After alot of of soul searching and a long conversation with God, I've taken y'alls advice. All the toiletries are gone. See when you have pong unmanageable hair like mine, you need all the conditioner you can get. Well after the the soul searching, I got a haircut. It's the first time I've had short hair in about 2 decades. But it is only hair, right?? As for the conversation with God, it went well. I told him my concerns about being cold. Well the good Lord sent me some cold weather. Finally brought Fall to Texas. Last week the temp got down to 37 degrees. I put on all my cold weather gear with my raincoat and pants. I made it to the end of my driveway and boy was I boiling. So the winter gear is out. My question now is 10% of body weight or 10 Lbs.?? If I go with the 10% I'm cool, but the 10Lbs I'm a bit over. I know I'm taking alot of socks and underwear. But see I grew up dirt poor where we HAD to hand wash daily. If I didn't, I wouldn't have clothes to wear to school. I now have a deep aversion to hand washing. With what I'm taking I won't have to wash but every 4th day (that's the plan at least).
Thank you all for your help!!!
Aryk

[Aryk]

An update to the update.
After finding how much a kilogram is, it turns out I'm only carrying 6.4kilos. WOO-HOO
Aryk

[HuskyNerd]

Hi Aryk ~
It's fun to see how serious and intentional you are about your packing list. Many people just fill their backpack with things they think they'll need, then they either dump or mail ahead to themselves the items they realize they can do without. If your backpack's weight is in the 6 kilo range before you even start, you're doing very well. Congrats and buen camino!

[joe]

Is that 6.4kg with your backpack?! I had less than what you had and my backpack weighed 1.1kg (which is pretty light), and all my stuff came to about 8kgs, you should pack it all and weigh it, cause that's how it's gonna weigh in the airport and more importantly, on your back. Ah, i just remembered, you haven't added the weight of water or food yet, but still mine was about 8.5-9kgs with water and food... if your pack is that light then I envy but congratulate you at the same time :P

Shame you cut your hair, I don't think that was a necessary decision to make right now, you could have made it while on the camino! lol

Regarding your pack list, i agree with the socks and underwear, take quite a few, they dont take up much space or weight, and they can be pegged on to your backpack to dry as you walk... which reminds me, get some pegs!! or baby nappie (diaper) pins to attach your socks, small towel, maybe even t-shirt to your pack as you walk... saves a lot of time and you can wash them in the morning then just clip them to your pack. you'll only need one hat, a widebrim one, everyone has them, you wont look odd :P
You didn't mention a towel... and I hope you aren't planning on using the "tiny wash cloth" to dry your whole body with lol.

Final thing, I think i'm walking from Burgos around March time, not sure of the dates, spending two weeks with a fellow pilgrim to learn the skills of being a hospitalero, and then walking to santiago afterwards, so anywhere from 14th-20th March i should be walking, also spending 2 weeks in santiago when i get there so if i'm a little ahead you may meet me at the end as well
It will be my 3rd pilgrimage in less than a year, making it 4 pilgrimages within a year in July ... that's like one every 3 months!! lol

[Aryk]

Hi y'all,
So Joe 4 times this year, huh?? I'm going to be lucky to get through this one. I am no hiker. I'm going on this trip on a wing and a prayer. To answer your question. Yes, my packed backpack weighs 6.2 kilos. I'm rounding up. A little over 13 1/2 pounds. Albeit without food or water, with room left in my pack.
geraldkelly...... as for a towel. I read somewhere a tip to use a silk scarf. I've got one 2 1/2 ft.x 5 ft. It can do a lot. Wrap around your neck or your head. Dry yourself and it dries in a flash. And weighs nuthin.
Hey HuskyNerd...... Thanks for the vote of confidence. You comment makes me feel like I'm going down the right path with what I'm taking.
In a more perfect world, I would be able to pack my Chihuahua, Bob.
Aryk

[joe]

Well my first pilgrimage in May was on a wing and a prayer! The prayer must have been answered because I now have a job that requires me to walk the Camino 3 times a year, I don't have to pay for it so I feel really privileged for being given this opportunity! The Camino opens many doors to happier future, it all comes down to whether you are prepared to open them, or avoiding them for fear of what you may find.

[Leslie]

Joe, great to hear of job. It is wonderful to hear and see the changes during the last year or so.

Can you share what your new job is?

[Aryk]

Hey y'all
Got a question. How hard is it to get from London to the start?? And what about the way back?? Is it possible to get from Santiago to London in 1 day?? Is there a plane mabey?? For some reason I'm not able to figure anything out. Ryanairs website is almost useless for me as is easyjet. Guess my Texan brain caint figure out those European websites. To advanced for my laid back brain. And suggestions would help.
Thanks
Aryk

[HuskyNerd]

Hi Aryk ~
This can be difficult even if you're not from Texas. From London the options are generally easiest either to Bordeaux or Biarritz. From Bordeaux you can catch a train to Bayonne and then to St. Jean PdP. From Biarritz you can catch a bus to the Bayonne train or a van directly to SJPP (Google "express bourricot"). If you're flying into Heathrow note that your departing flight to France may leave from another London airport, requiring a ground transfer to get to it.

Returning from Santiago is easy during the high season when there's a direct RyanAir flight, but a little harder in April. You can either fly via Madrid to London or take the train to Madrid and fly from Madrid to London. Personally, I love taking the train and I do it whenever I can. Hope this helps.

[BAPA4]

When I completed the Camino in autumn I flew back to London Stansted direct from Santiago with Ryanair.

[Aryk]

Hey y'all,
Everything finally started working right. I managed to fly outta Santiago into London. I'm sorry HuskyNerd, the idea of the train was not appealing. Now it's just waiting. March 1st. Seems like such a long time. But Christmas is next Sunday. New Years Day the following week then a month till my b-day Feb. 1st. Hopefully it'll all just fly by. I did find out that I'm going to miss the Primaries. I'm even going to miss early voting. There is a big hullabaloo here in Texas and the Federal judges poked their big noses in and pushed back our primary day back. Oh well. Hey and The Dallas Cowboys are doing well. Half a game ahead of the giants in the NFC East. So I'm hoping with all the holidays, my birthday and the NFL play-offs these next two and a half months go by QUICKLY.
Aryk
I even went out and bought a new hat for my camino. Wide brim white straw. Lookin pretty good.