Rain Gear

[Roe]

Yet another question as I am getting myself ready for my first camino; I get about the layering - hi-tech shirt, fleece, rain jacket, hat, backpack cover, shorts, and pants with zip-off legs; what about the hips down when it rains? Do your legs just get wet and you get over it and keep on walking? Just trying to get myself at least mentally prepared.

[nathan]

your post does not say when you begin your adventure. Whilst rain, chilly winds and mud will be a feature of any camino in the next couple of months, it will be less likely to be ever present from late june onwards. if your date is the later i think you have got it spot on...;shorts get damp but the summer sun will dry them quickly. if it is the former then i advise over trousers. Most out door store sell lightwieght non- lined ones for approx 10-15 GBP.
in all but summer conditions i suggest a rain jacket that finishesjust below your bottom...un-lined rain trousers and of course gaiters.this summer i'm putting my trust in god and taking one fleece and a super lightwieght cycling waterproof jacket.
there are walking shorts out there that dry super quick or that are treated with DRM so water runs off them...may be worth a google?

[Roe]

Thanks; I'll look for something along that line; I'll be walking from mid-May to late June, so I'm thinking I'll run into some rain. I appreciate your help.

[Roe]

Find the thread that says one pilgrim's sure fire cure all bullet proof camino packing list - put together by Sandy (Husky Nerd); tells you everything you have to pack and what to leave behind, and most importantly, why. It's awesome and should be a great help.

[Lipka149]

... this summer i'm putting my trust in god and taking one fleece and a super lightwieght cycling waterproof jacket.

Sounds good on all counts !

Rain, rain, rain ... scary stuff, that H2O. I remember worrying more about rain than anything else in the Way. Strangely enough, my memories are of getting more wet from sweating underneath my pancho than the rain would have made me. Ha !

COLD turned out to be more of a discomfort.

Protecting against cold AND wet seems to be a good idea. Fleece with a waterproof covering is a great way to do both. Keeping the core warm and dry allows one to walk in relative comfort and enjoy the experience. Keeping the backpack dry is vital, however, as sleeping in a wet sleeping bag is not at all a good thing !

I did some "rainwalk". Not enough. I look forward to the next time, when I can thoroughly enjoy getting wet. Ha ! Well, may be I should say enjoying the wet while staying dry.

[BHinSanDiego]

I walked the same time of year as you, I started on May 22 and finished on June 23. Luckily the only time I experienced any rain was on the 2 days before Burgos, but what a rain it was! It was raining sideways! For me I do a lot of hiking in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia so I've been trained so to speak to deal with rain. On the days I actually walked in the rain I wore a rain jacket, put a rain cover over my backpack and wore a poncho on top of that, now going back to my Pacific Nthwest and BC hiking I also lined the inside of my pack with plastic bags or as they're better known, trash bags, it's become a bit of a habit so to speak. I do it all the time now, keeping items dry inside the pack is most important. Also, I bring extra bags and simply keep them folded flat at the bottom of the pack for easy access whenever the bag that I'm using becomes worn out or torn. On days that there was the threat of rain I would put the rain cover on the pack and have the jacket and poncho available for quick access. I didn't feel the need for rain pants though I have them, I initially took them but shipped them home, again with all the hiking I've done I'm pretty much comfortable with my hiking pants as the only thing on the lower part of the body, so it really comes down to personal preference, I too had gaiters and those do come in handy. A fleece jacket will come in handy too, I initially had one but for some reason I shipped it home with the rain pants, there were times once I got into Galicia I wished I'd kept it, I did have my rain jacket but the fleece would have been much more comfortable during the evening once the sun went down.