Check My Check-List! (Picture)

[zenb]

I'm starting the Camino Portugues in a few weeks, walking from Porto to Santiago.
I thought it would be good to do a preliminary pack to check I have everything and it all fits comfortably in my pack!

If you have any additions (or subtractions) I'd like to hear. This is my first Camino so difficult to tell what I do/don't need.



From left > right.
1st row:

-Lightweight 2-season Berghaus sleeping-bag (800g)
-35 Litre Osprey backpack with 2 litre water-pack
-Good condition Scarpa hiking-boots

2nd row:

- Toiletries bag, inc All purpose soap, toothpaste/brush, suncream, lipbalm and deodorant
- First aid, inc Blister kit, bandages & tape, paracetamol & imodium, nail scissors, sterilised needles, antiseptic wipes
- Bag inc camera film
- Lightweight anti-bacterial towel
- Petzl headtorch
- Mobile phone/charger and EU adapter
- Guidebook and pleasure reading

3rd Row:
- 3x Bridgedale hiking socks & 4x underwear
- Camera and cloth (no case)

4th Row:
- Berghaus waterproof trousers
- Rab lightweight rain-coat
- 2x walking trousers
- North Face fleece

5th Row:
- 2x lightweight long sleeve shirts
- Tshirt
- 1 Litre water bottle
- Belt back for documents and wallet

I know some may say the sleeping bag isn't necessary, but I'm staying with a friend at the end of my walk so need it for that, also I'm not a fan of hostel linen!

If you think there's something I've forgot don't hesitate to say. Otherwise do you think it's a sensible list? It all ads up to about 6.5kg (without water)

Thanks!

[HuskyNerd]

Wow, you're very thorough! What a great packing list and great job of prep. Some very minor thoughts for you to consider:

• I'm surprised you're using a a film camera and carrying a fairly heavy SLR. Digital cameras are pretty cheap and digital memory is very spacious nowadays. Unless you're doing art shots you may find the old-fashioned film and camera to be pretty clunky;
• Again, not a big point, but your EU power adapter looks like the "universal" kind, bigger (and heavier) than necessary. But not by much. You only need a simple US to EU adapter which is about 1/4 the size.
• I hear the Camino Portuguese is pretty hot, so long sleeve shirts and (long?) trousers would seem hot into at least September. I'd go with just one set of long pants plus 2 hiking shorts and one long-sleeve T and two short ones myself unless I was going in or near winter.
• I'd definitely take a waterproof bag for my passport and credencial. Believe me, if these get wet you'll regret it. It does rain frequently in Galicia!
• Other miscellaneous questions about things I'm not seeing: A backpack rain cover (or is that part of your pack)? Camp shoes for when you're not hiking? Hat? Clothes pins for laundry drying? Pen and paper? Toilet paper roll in plastic sandwich bag?

A lot of these things are personal preference and some others you can pick up along the way (or may already be in your various grab bags). Congrats! You'll have a great camino!

[zenb]

Wow, you're very thorough! What a great packing list and great job of prep. Some very minor thoughts for you to consider:

• I'm surprised you're using a a film camera and carrying a fairly heavy SLR. Digital cameras are pretty cheap and digital memory is very spacious nowadays. Unless you're doing art shots you may find the old-fashioned film and camera to be pretty clunky;
• Again, not a big point, but your EU power adapter looks like the "universal" kind, bigger (and heavier) than necessary. But not by much. You only need a simple US to EU adapter which is about 1/4 the size.
• Your Brierley guidebook is an older edition -- I think 3-4 years old. There are some changes in the route since that one was published and also many new albergues that are not listed there.
• Not sure when you're going, but long sleeve shirts and (long?) trousers would seem hot into at least September. I'd go with just one set of long pants plus 2 hiking shorts and one long-sleeve T and two short ones myself unless I was going in or near winter.
• I'd definitely take a waterproof bag for my passport and credencial. Believe me, if these get wet you'll regret it.
• Other miscellaneous questions about things I'm not seeing: A backpack rain cover (or is that part of your pack)? Camp shoes for when you're not hiking? Hat? Clothes pins for laundry drying? Pen and paper? Toilet paper roll in plastic sandwich bag?

A lot of these things are personal preference and some others you can pick up along the way (or may already be in your various grab bags). Congrats! You'll have a great camino!

Thanks for the tips!

-Yeah I thought people would be surprised about the film camera... but as a photographer my digital camera is much bigger and heavier. I don't have a digital compact, but would like to go with something simple and forget about batteries
- I didn't know my book was old, how can you tell? Mine says 3rd edition apparently published in 2011.. thought that was new :P
- Yeah I'm thinking t-shirts might be better as well actually.
- Raincover built into the pack. I'll also consider those other extras, if i have room i will try, i can see they would be handy (although not essential)

Thanks a lot!

[HuskyNerd]

Hi ZenB --
Sorry, I didn't read the first line of your post that said you're doing the Camino Portuguese. When I saw the blue Brierley guide I assumed it was the old (blue) one for the Camino Frances. Not sure about the color of the older Camino Portuguese Brierley, but you'll want the 2009 edition, not the 2005.

Camp shoes, hat, clothes pins and toilet paper can all be pretty essential. I'd sure give serious thought to bringing each of those items. Camera-wise it's totally personal preference, but prepare to be kidded by younger pilgrims who can't believe they're seeing an actual SLR with real film in it! Buen camino!

[zenb]

Ah ok no worries.
From your advice I'll definitely take clothes pins and toilet paper (why not?), im not sure about shoes. On all my treks I've only taken boots and been quite happy. Hat wise I'll try and dig one out, although I rarely do wear hats... but good idea for hot sun.

Yeah it's quite rare to see people shooting on film SLR's, but I love shooting with it personally, I have a brilliant modern digital SLR for proper jobs but actually find myself going for my old film Canon more and more for fun. Oh by the way, I'd be considered a 'young pilgrim' so maybe it'll be even weirder!!

Thanks again, Ben

[unadara]

Ben
I love this, you are a photographer ? and you are starting your Camino by taking a pic of what you are bringing with you, way to go...that is what I will call a pictorial journal! and I hope it progresses along similar lines, that is all your posts will be photos and we will get the benefit of wondering what is the meaning behind them. I have to add here and maybe ask your advice ? I have 3++ cameras, a true amateur, had! decided to bring the lightest a small olympus muji (and bought a new adaptor that weighs nothing)...but have a really good bridge fuji, which could come along and has aa rechargeable batteries! it is not that heavy. Your film will need storage ? maybe you'll on;y take a few ?
Sorry, rambling, good kit, take only 2 of things-shirts long or short. I always have to get out of boots into light sandals/crocs.
Buen Camino

[zenb]

Ben
I love this, you are a photographer ? and you are starting your Camino by taking a pic of what you are bringing with you, way to go...that is what I will call a pictorial journal! and I hope it progresses along similar lines, that is all your posts will be photos and we will get the benefit of wondering what is the meaning behind them. I have to add here and maybe ask your advice ? I have 3++ cameras, a true amateur, had! decided to bring the lightest a small olympus muji (and bought a new adaptor that weighs nothing)...but have a really good bridge fuji, which could come along and has aa rechargeable batteries! it is not that heavy. Your film will need storage ? maybe you'll on;y take a few ?
Sorry, rambling, good kit, take only 2 of things-shirts long or short. I always have to get out of boots into light sandals/crocs.
Buen Camino

Thanks Yeah I will document start to finish my journey, but my first picture is of a roughed up piece of scrap paper I got out of the bin on which I wrote a check-list of things I needed to buy and book, so I captured it once I crossed everything off!
I'm actually setting off on my own, walking to Santiago where I will meet my father, who will have just finished the Camino Frances!

Re. Cameras, I'd take what you're most comfortable using on a trek, the Fuji might take better photos, but you might be less likely to be bothered to keep getting it out your pack, whereas the Olympus could be in your pocket.
I say this because I've taken my digital on trips (a heavy Canon EOS 7D & lenses) and although it takes great images and videos, and the storage for thousands of photo... I end up taking hardly any images, because It's such a pain to keep getting it out of my pack!

So I've cut down, 1 1970's Canon, 1 lens, 6 rolls of film. That's all I need.
I'll be sure to post pictures when I get back

[Covey]

The current edition of the Brierley Guide to the Camino Portuguese is the 3rd Edition published in 2011. ISBN: 978-1-84409-530-8.

All the photo's and maps are updated to 2011.

I am flying in to Lisbon on 2nd Sept to start, and unusually for me, will take along my copy of the Brierley Guide cos I have not walked the Camino Portuguese before!! I am walking the Lisbon to Porto "solo" and meeting up with a member of my 2009 Camino Frances "family" to walk the Porto to Santiago stage and then on to Finesterre.

Sandy's comments about keeping your passport dry is very important. I use plastic self-sealing large freezer bags from a supermarket and keep my clothes in the bags. To make life easier, I pack a pair of socks, underpants and shirt in a bag x 3 and that is what I need for a change of clothes once I have arrived at where I am going to sleep that night and have had a shower. My towel is in another bag so if it is damp for any reason, the rest of my things don't get damp!. If you pack all your clothes in plastic bags, then there is no need for a rain cover for your pack.

My national passport and Pilgrim passport live in a plastic bag in one map pocket and my wallet in another bag in the other map pocket. If it rains, I don't bother with rain gear as it is tedious to keep putting it on and off all day. In summer the rain is warm and you will be dry again in 30 minutes once the rain stops.

[HuskyNerd]

Oops. Thanks for the correction about the 2011 Brierley, Covey. If I forget to say it, have a great Camino Portuguese!

[Lipka149]

If you pack all your clothes in plastic bags, then there is no need for a rain cover for your pack.

Great idea, Covey ! Surprised it has not come up earlier.

[unadara]

BUT Sep 13th to mid oct you would advise rain coat ?

[Welsh Jon]

Hi,

I would take a silk sleeping bag liner, I probably used my sleeping bag around 4 times during the Camino Frances. I mainly used my liner because it was warm at night, it's also good for bed bugs as well since they supposedly don't like silk...

To keep my clothes and documents dry I bought a 40 litre exped dry bag for my stuff and a 1 litre for my paperwork. I realise that zip lock bags are much cheaper but I found the other bags so much easier.

Have a great trip

Jon

[Covey]

Always done it that way since I wuz a soldier. The Army did not believe in waterproof packs so plastic bags were needed!! There are those who will complain about the rustling noise of plastic bags at dawn, but I always pack up the night before and all I have to do when I get up is pop my sleeping bag liner in its bag, put my Crocs in the bag and I am ready for coffee and Tosta!! if there is any!

Many of those with pack covers find that the rain gets in to the bag anyhow. You see some who use a single large waterproof stuff sack which acts as a liner for the rucksack and that also is effective, but a box of the large self seal freezer bags are very cheap and when you pack your clothing in them, expel the air before sealing and you will greatly reduce the volume taken up!

[Welsh Jon]

Hi,
I meant the waterproof stuff sack, it also came in handy for putting my rucksack in the hold of the plane without damaging the straps. I managed to get my rucksack in the dry bag just about...

I think the 40 litre sack cost me about £14 although i did get a small tear in it on the flight home so need to buy another one for kayaking...

[mic]

I agree with Covey using bags.

I've been on backpacking trips for as long as 4 week, through all sorts of foul weather. The system I've followed is lining the pack with a garbage bag or something similar (not the cheap thin bags; usually the contractor bag ones; as it wont' tear). I cut off any excess, if the bag is taller than the pack. Electronics, wallets, maps, anything else that's important I'll take extra precautions and bag these items in zip lock bags, then during a day of rain, place them inside the main bag.

The last time I used a cover, it was an inexpensive one and it almost gone blown off the mountain. I also live in an area, where the trails aren't as open and covers can snag on brush and tear. Ziplocks and garbage bags are less expensive.

[HuskyNerd]

Everyone has their own favorites. For me a rain cover works just fine and I've never had a problem with mine. The idea of packing all my clothes and gear into individual plastic bags seems too much like work, especially since in three caminos I've only ever had 5 days of rain (four of them this year). And on the days it did rain, when I set out for each day's walk I had no idea I'd be walking in rain later that day. So the whole bag thing would be overkill most of the time. To me the easiest thing is simply to throw on my pack cover out in the field whenever I sense the possibility of rain. No mess, no fuss. The drawstring keeps it tight against the pack and water doesn't penetrate inside.

To me the bigger problem of rain is not what's in my pack getting wet, but getting my boots wet on the inside. Walking toward Calzadilla de la Cueza in June I was in a 45-minute downpour and the water washed down from my hiking shorts along my legs straight into my boots, which were then wet for the next two days. The next rainstorm (the day we left Leon) I made a special effort to bend forward and keep my body over my feet so that water would miss my legs and boots. It helped some, but by the time we got to Hospital de Orbigo our boots were wet inside again. Gaitors might have helped some, but no plastic bags of any shape or size and no pack cover yet invented will keep boots from getting wet.

[zenb]

That's why I'm taking my waterproof trousers. Walking with a wet shirt or having to dry out other clothes over-night you can deal with, but wet boots is miserable, and difficult to dry unless you've got a whole day to leave them out.

[Lipka149]

To me the bigger problem of rain is not what's in my pack getting wet, but getting my boots wet on the inside. ... which were then wet for the next two days.

Hmmm ... what kind of boots do you have, Sandy ?

I left my Scarpa Infinitys out one night and of course it rained ... both were full of water when I went to put them on. I feared the worst, but after pouring out the H2O and blotting the inside dry as best I could, they dried out in a few hours. I changed socks a couple of times to help matters out, of course, but was very pleased with the way the Gortex lining worked to move the water out of the boot.

[HuskyNerd]

Alan, oh my -- full of water! My boots are new Salomons, also with GoreTex lining, part leather uppers and part synthetic. They repel water nicely from the outside, but once the water's inside they have the same problem as any boot. After I got to Calzadilla de la Cueza that first and rainiest day I immediately took them off, emptied the water out, and filled the boots with crinkled up newspaper. I repeated this about three times. Unfortunately the night was very cool (this was early June) and the boot room was not well-ventilated and was damp with other people's boots. In the morning the boots were about 50% dry, with the leather portions still holding onto the moisture. I wore my camp shoes to walk that day and left my boots on my pack to continue drying. The next day they were still wet looking on the outside, but had dried inside enough that I could wear them.

Ben, yes, that's the advantage of waterproof pants. Personally I just was never able to justify carrying waterproof pants on an entire camino when there might only be a day or two of rain. Plus most waterproof pants don't have great ventilation, which means they're hot as a jungle inside, even in moderate weather. But, they would definitely help in the purpose of keeping the insides of boots dry.

[Lipka149]

Alan, oh my -- full of water!

Yup. And I never really felt uncomfortable wearing them wet. Something to be said for the breath-ability of the Scarpa design.

... most waterproof pants don't have great ventilation, which means they're hot as a jungle inside, even in moderate weather.

Man, I gotta agree with you ! I was hit with rain twice and my poncho was so hot inside that I was as wet as I would have been without it. I would consider no rain gear at all next time, as long as it was high summer. Being wet and COLD ... now that's a different story.

[Covey]

A lot of pilgrims spend lots of money buying Gortex rain gear but the breathing capabilities of Gortex is fine for tourists walking around town, but when you are hiking across country with a pack on your back the Gortex cannot cope with the perspiration and you just get wet on the inside.

A fleece is a very good thing to carry. Often the early mornings are chilly even in summer in Northern Spain and you wear your fleece for the first 30 minutes when you set off until your body temperature has warmed up, then take off the fleece and just walk in a shirt. The walking will keep you warm!!. When you stop for a break, wait 5 -10 minutes for your body to cool down a little, then put your fleece on to conserve body warmth. When you are ready to set off again, take off your fleece and hit the trail. The aim should be to try and keep your body at an even temperature all day, and you do that by putting on or taking off clothes. I have a sleeveless fleece which is ideal for early morning starts.

The other point worth bearing in mind is that on the Meseta between Burgos and Leon, it can get very hot during the day (35C) and the temperature drops to 20C in the evenings. Because we are not acclimatised to the temperature variations, 20C can feel quite cold and you will see all the Pilgrims wandering around in wearing every bit of warm clothing they have, whilst the Spanish locals wander around in shirt sleeves!!

[Vanessa]

If not Gortex then what would be better? Where did you fly from to do the Camino and where did you return from? Much appreciate a reply. thanks Vanessa x

[Covey]

If it rains then I keep walking and get wet, but when (if) the rain stops then you dry out pretty quickly. I walk the Camino Frances in July to Sept so it is generally warm to hot. If you are walking in April (ish) then walking in the rain is not much fun and a poncho is a better bet. The Camino Frances is the most popular route and starts for most pilgrims at St Jean Pied du Port which is a small town on the French side of the Pyrenees. You get there usually by flying in to Bairritz, catch the bus to Bayonne and take the local train to St Jean. You can also catch the TGV high speed train from Paris to Bayonne.

In reality your Camino starts from where ever you want. You just turn up at a convenient point and start walking!

[Vanessa]

Thanks Covey. What route did you take to get home? I have to return to Devon but don't seem to find any one way flights to England .

Maybe bus to Santander.. 9-10 hours and then one way ferry. What did you do?

[Covey]

Ryanair were doing Santiago to Stansted last time I traveled that way, but last year I went home via Düsseldorf and the year before went from Madrid to Gatwick.

The bus service around Spain is always interesting and it might be easier to do the Santander route. Try ALSA coaches website. They have an English version and you can book on line and reserve seats on-line. If the pennies stretch to it try their Supra coach service. Very comfortable.

[zenb]

Just returned from the Camino Portuges. An amazing trip, saw amazing places and met great people. It's just left me desperate to jump back and do the French Camino! Anyway I'll probably dedicate a thread to the trip with pictures and some of my experiences.

I just thought I'd reply to this discussion also to mention the ferry option. I got the ALSA bus from Santiago to Santander (which runs daily) and it cost me about 40 EUR's. It's handy, but it takes 10 hours! Still, was a comfortable journey and nice scenery.
The bus arrives about an hour and a half before you board the Brittany Ferries boat, leaving time for food/shopping. Then at 9pm the boat left, I got some food, then slept through to mid morning. Relaxed in the cafe or deck, and arrived at Plymouth for 4pm exactly. It's a lovely way to travel, there's something much more natural about the slower pace. Walking for weeks then getting on a jet would feel rather disorientating!