refugios

[Diane Grust]

I do not suggest "planning" too far in advance.  And 20 kilometers up the
Pyrenees is not the same as 20 km on a flat surface so distances cannot be
planned for by numbers in my mind at least.  Everyone I know who walked did
fewer kilometers in the beginning and more as the days went on and their
condition improved.  I walked in may and there was not a full day of rain
(although it did rain on the overnights a few time and I mean pour which
means mud the next day which is often difficult to navigate and well quite
simply takes more time) in addition to that I ran into a heat wave in the
middle with temperature well over 100 and found that even more debilitating
than the rain.

Last spring it was my understanding from my friend in Portugal that last
April was very wet indeed ... and there was flooding in a lot of Spain and
Portugal where it generally does not occur.  That said I used www.weather.com
to check the weather up until my departure.  However, you have touched on my
sore spot as no one can predict the weather.  When I was in Pamplona I read
the weather in the newspaper and it stated that tomorrow would be variable.
And it was... misty low lying clouds in the morning, patches of sun, then no
sun then cold winds, some very light misty rain all in one day so the best
advice is to bring clothes that can get you through a wide range in
temperatures as you will most certainly experience that at that time of the
year.

As for your fear of ending up in the middle of nowhere I generally think that
is ungrounded.  There are a few stretches where there is nothing for 20 kms
or so but they are few and far between.  There are at other times refugios
within 4 or 5 kilometers of each other so you will be passing one or more a
day.  Again the csj clearly states the distances and a quick perusal of it
should put your mind at ease.    I generally had a "goal" in mind for the day
but I also walked either more or less depending upon circumstances which
included the how I felt, visiting sites I wanted to see, a too good to pass
up lunch invitation, the desire for a nap under a big shady tree.... in other
words just see where it goes.

Diane