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<BLOCKQUOTE>Dear Elyssa,<BR>
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My daughter and I carried eighteen pounds and twenty pounds respectively -<BR>
- a change of walking clothes and a long pants (skirt for her), real shirt not walking outfit, - sandals to wear at the end of the day,<BR>
- a very light but full rain poncho<BR>
- a summer weight sleep sack that rolled up smaller than a loaf of bread<BR>
- very basic first aid kit with emphasis on foot care<BR>
- a journal (to write in)<BR>
- Swiss Army knife<BR>
- one light camera between us<BR>
- one meal that needed no preparation (dried fruit, cheese, bread, nuts, a small box of juice)<BR>
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When I started out I was carrying twenty-two pounds - I found two pounds to mail home from Leon including two other shirts, a very good book that I wasn't reading (washing clothes, cooking and eating, and writing in the journal covered our end-of-day pretty completely). <BR>
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To my pilgrim eye, friends who are regular California Sierra backpackers carry a startling amount of weight, carrying all their food, a tent, a sleeping bag adequate for real cold, and a tent, but they're typically walking for four or five days, I found that lightening up two or three pounds made a surprising difference to feet and hip joints. I think that's the effect of walking measured in weeks and also the effect of walking part paved (highway shoulder) portions of the Camino. <BR>
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Donald<BR>
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