Equipment

[Howard Mendes]

1.Half liter plastic water bottle that you can buy at Sports Authority or elsewhere that you can carry in an outside holder in your backpack.  If you want more water, you can buy another half liter refillable bottle in Spain.
2.Medium to small backpak.  The less you carry, the better it is.  Try to limit yourself to 10 -15 pounds including the backpack.  Take only one change of clothing and be prepared to wash every night by hand altho some refugios have washing machines & dryers,
3.One small Swiss type knife with a corkscrew if you want to drink wine.  Most refugios have knives and other people will let you use theirs.
4.Medium height boots, not necessarily waterproof, but water resistant and you can spray with a waterproofing compound.  Waterproof boots don't always "breathe" enough for comfort.  I wore Asolo boots (Italy) that I bought at EMS (they have a website as do all the other major camping stores.  North Face and even Timberland have good boots.  Don't worry about looks or style, just make sure you wear them ahead of time to break them in.  Bring a small amount of Vaseline (my podiatrists recommendation) to put on your feet each morning to prevent friction burns that can produce blisters.  Hiking socks are very important.  They are expensive but as important as boots to cushion your feet.
I don't know about Chaco, but Teva makes good hiking sandals.  They are pricey if you get the more sturdy ones for hiking.
I know that not everyone will agree with me (for a change), but these are my recommendations from my Camino trip in May/June 2001.  Also, it will depend on what time of year you plan to go.  Also remember that you can always buy things along the way.  There many places along the Camino to fill in on essentials and the pharmacies are excellent in helping you with foot remedies, medecines, etc. so you don't have to pack a drug store.  Other pilgrims were very generous in sharing things with me.  Five wonderful strangers even gave me leg massages plus inflammatory creams and pills when I developed tendonitis.  And that was without my even asking, but they knew I was suffering.  Don't be too apprehensive.  Just have a great experience!

Howard Mendes NYC, stranded in London and returning to the U.S. Thursday to join my fellow New Yorkers in rebuilding our lives.