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This is very dangerous advice. On the third day of my year 2000 pilgrimage,
I left the hotel in Marsillargues with one liter bottle of water full and
only a couple of hundred ml of water in the second one. I was confident
that I would be finding the village fountains that a friend had told me
would be along the way. No way - there were none to be found. Perhaps there
are fountains along the LePuy route, but that advice did not apply to the
Arles route. Even my friend ran into trouble on one occasion when he was
about to fill his bottle from the fountain in Lascabanes and suddenly remembered
that the CSJ guide said to beware of the water in that village. On that
very hot day in southern France, I did see running water in creeks and
ditches, but I had no filter and did not trust it. I had emptied the full
bottle and was carefully rationing that last partial bottle when, fortunately,
I saw a sign for a bar in a village that was off the road a way. I didn't
want to do any extra walking but felt that it was essential to get more
water. I found the bar, where I bought a glass of juice and the bartender
was kind enough to fill my bottle for me. After that, I took care to make
sure I had plenty of water on hand, even if it meant over 4 pounds of extra
weight. A couple of days later, on the way out of St. Guilhem-le-Désert,
there was a rushing mountain stream that was probably safe water to drink,
but the trail soon leaves the stream and switchbacks up the side of the
Gorge de l'Herault. There is a lot of steep elevation gain and no water
along the way until far down the other side of the western ridge. I was
lucky in that there was a cool overcast, but on a hot, sunnier day, I would
definitely have needed to carry a ot of water.
<p>Spain was no different. There were no village fountains that I can remember
from Jaca to Puente la Reine de Jaca, nor on the next two days to Artrieda
and Yesa. The driest day I have encountered was in September of 2002, going
from Roncesvalles to Zubiri. That was a shocker; it was much tougher than
the previous day going over the Pyrenees from Hountto to Roncesvalles.
The Pyrenees crossing is always a concern, but that one was a relatively
easy day, sunny, but with a cool breeze. There <i>is</i>a fountain along
the way, but I didn't really need anything to drink between my breakfast
orange juice in Hountto and a beer at a bar in Roncesvalles. Going on to
Zubiri the next day was a different matter. It has more uphill than I had
anticipated and the day was very hot indeed. It was a full two liter day
- I needed every bit of the water that I carried.
<p>Personally, I think that there is too much obsession of carrying too
much weight. I was berated on several occasions for carrying too much.
I don't know why those people complained. They did not have to carry it.
<p>regards,
<p>Robert Spenger
<br>rspengeraadelphia.net
<br>
<br>
<p>Alec McKenzie wrote
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>There will be a fountain of good drinkable water
in practically every
<br>village you pass through, and also at some places in between. If you
<br>don't see it, ask for the "fuente". You certainly don't need to take
<br>much water with you. Get yourself a 1/3 liter plastic bottle of
<br>mineral water at a shop, and keep the bottle to re-fill when you pass
<br>a fountain.
<p>Alec McKenzie
<br>alecamckenzie.me.uk</blockquote>
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