<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>Hi, Mary Kay,
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<BR>I walked the Camino in Sept 2000. When I was in Pamploma, I met a woman who had walked from St Jean using a backpack to which she had attached a luggage trolley (wheels). She said she had no problem, not even in the mountains as she could easily put the whole thing on her back if she needed too. I took her advice and bought wheels in Pamplona and of course it made life easier while I was using the buses. When I began walking I continued to use the wheels even on gravel and dirt paths. I had packed lightly enough that if the ground was very rocky or muddy, all i had to do was lift it up by the handle and carry it with one hand. No problem! There was also a very nice person I walked with occasionally who would automatically grab one end of it without my asking when we came to difficult terrain. Very nice of him!
<BR>I'm glad I used them and would do it again especially since my back is not that strong and I wouldn't want to risk injury.. Buy the lightest backpack you can find and pack the bare minimum. Do not buy one with attached wheels because they are much too heavy. Again, buy the lightest set of wheels you can find. Then again, you could wait till you get to the Camino, use the pack on your back and see how you feel. When you get to Pamplona or any other big city you can buy wheels there. They are so cheap there that you can leave them at a refugio if you feel you don't want them any longer.
<BR>BTW, I also saw a young man using wheels. </FONT></HTML>