[Gocamino] [saintjames] Re: July 25th, 2009

[Robert Spenger]

Hi Lydia,

On another forum I recently got into the discussion of using the  
available transport services. My first thought was that it was a great  
idea and I felt that it was foolish of me to not have done that - at  
least on the last couple of trips. But then I thought it through a  
little further and realized that it would not be at all practical for  
me. I ended up sending the message below explaining why (in far too  
many words - for which I apologize):

In a recent message, I was extolling the virtues of having your  
luggage transported from stop to stop and wishing that I had taken  
advantage of that sort of service. Later I realized that I was  
forgetting a few important items. The term "daypack" rolls off the  
tongue easily and gives the picture of this light and airy thing that  
you hardly know is back there. "Hey! Wait a minute!" my inner voice  
calls out. "You carry more on your back on just short walks from your  
house than a lot of pilgrims with full packs carry on the camino. Your  
so-called daypack can be around 15 pounds and some of the folks who go  
superlight are claiming 10-12 pounds."

What should be in a day pack?
Well, the pack itself for one. Mine is about 2 pounds, but I suppose  
that I could go the route recommended by Grant and just use a fanny  
pack.
Food? I would want enough for a trail breakfast and lunch and some  
emergency supplies. It depends on the frequency of bars, tiendas and  
such along any particular stretch, but it would be from 3-5 pounds.
Water? I often started with 3.5 pounds (1.5 liters plus the  
containers), but that is a maximum. I wouldn't want to go with less  
than 2 pounds.
Then there are walking aids - poles/sticks/canes/whatever. They are  
not on your back, but your legs and feet carry the weight.
Camera, rain gear, windbreaker, towel and clothes washing equipment  
for when you get there well before your bags show up.
Paper items like passport, cash, credencial, guide book and/or map,  
dictionary, notebook, etc. None of them heavy, but they add up and  
most people would want to have these things with them on the trail.

Now that I am thinking about the details, I would be hard put to  
figure out just what items from my pack could be sent on ahead. Most  
of the things I carried, I would want to have with me at trail stops,  
not just at the end of the day. I am not presently at home, so I don't  
have a copy of my pack list with me. However, the only things that  
come to mind that I would be willing to be without for the day would  
be my extra clothes: one shirt, two sets of underwear, one pair of  
outer socks, several pairs of practically weightless inner socks, and  
possibly my crocs. There was also a very lightweight down vest that I  
would need only for the nighttime cold. I couldn't send my towel,  
laundry supplies, and extra pants ahead because, if I got to the stop  
before the other baggage arrived, I would probably want to shower and  
wash clothes without waiting for its arrival. For that I would need my  
towel, my laundry supplies, and, if my regular pants needed washing,  
the spare pants (shorts in this case) to wear while washing the pants  
that I wore on the trail. For hotel stops I could get by without  
those, since I would have a towel from the hotel and would not have to  
be dressed to do my laundry, but I would not want to be without them  
at an albergue. Whoops - I just realized that I would also need one of  
the sets of underwear and a pair of inner socks to wear after  
showering and, every other day I would need the spare shirt and the  
extra pair of outer socks. I doubt that I would be cutting my pack  
weight down by more than 2 pounds and I would need an extra container  
to use for storing those items for transport - some sort of light bag,  
I suppose.

Some of the day pack hikers had voluminous luggage with changes of  
clothes to wear for going to dinner in something nicer that the trail  
clothes, but I was going strictly carryon-on only, so there were no  
frills.

Well, by original comment still stands. There is no requirement to  
carry anything on the trail that you are not going to need until  
evening. For me unfortunately, there is so little that I would be  
willing to do without until evening that I would be kidding myself to  
think that I would have any advantage in having my luggage sent ahead.

Obviously, it is my own problem that I want to have too much of my  
stuff with me all the time and not just for the night, but that is the  
way it is. I did see some pilgrims with just a jacket or raincoat, but  
that was mostly on the last 100 km, where there are plenty of places  
to get food and water along the way.

Regards,

Bob S.


On Aug 1, 2009, at 6:17 PM, Lydia Banales wrote:

Dear Rosina,

As usual, you have hit the nail on the head. I would like to return to  
the
camino, but age and bad knees have forced me to reconsider because of  
the
weight of the pack. Using alternate routes and alternate ways of
transporting my pack could be my answer. When we did our parts of the
camino, we did stay in small hotels sometimes. They were very  
adequate, very
clean, and reasonable. Thanks for your encouragement. Lydia