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<p>Howard Mendes wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE><font face="arial,helvetica"><font size=-1>In a message
dated 6/3/2002 1:01:54 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Spirit444aAOL.COM writes:</font></font>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"><font face="arial,helvetica"><font size=-1>I
am packing a light weight, compact, down sleeping bag on the recommendation
of a fellow pilgram. He said that it gets cold in the mountains(he
was there in July/Aug. 2000) and that there were no blankets available.</font></font></blockquote>
<p><font face="arial,helvetica"><font size=-1>Don't take a sleeping bag.
A sleep sack will do fine. Many refugios DO provide blankets.
I go crazy when people provide wrong information. Howard Mendes,
NYC</font></font></blockquote>
Arghh, I hate when people start arguing like this! It could be hot
in October, it could be cold. I went in July - I roasted in La Rioja and
froze to death in Rabanal. What does that prove about a walk next
fall? There might be blankets at a refugio, or there might not be.
The blankets might be clean or they might be dirty, in which case you might
not want them anywhere near you. (Even with a sleep sack, the thought
of using a blanket that dozens of dirty, sweaty, coughing, sneezing, blister-poking
pilgrims had also recently used was too much for me...)
<br>It's not a question of people providing wrong information - it's just
that there are no facts here, just one's own experience and preferences
and conjecture about the needs of a stranger. I had a lightweight
down sleeping bag and sometimes I was too hot and sometimes I was grateful
for it. I had a lightweight fleece and ended up buying a sweatshirt
because past Leon the weather changed and I was always cold. People
said I was crazy to take more than 2 shirts, but I took three and was glad
that I did. It's great for experienced people to pass on advice through
GOCAMINO, but who gave anyone the rule book?
<p>Leslie
<p>lbarr604aearthlink.net
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