To Walk Far, Carry Less : Camino de Santiago (7 page)

If rain chaps appeal to you but you can’t find them, consider making your own. I’m not a seamstress, but I found them quite easy to make. Just make sure to verify that the fabric is
waterproof.

Gaiters

Want to try that Kiwi poncho-shorts combo? Consider taking gaiters to keep the top of your socks dry.

I’ve never worn gaiters, but I can imagine their practicality in many situations:

• They prevent small stones from sneaking into your footwear—especially footwear that doesn’t cover the ankles, like hiking shoes.
  
• They’ll help you stay dry when walking in taller weeds or grasses that are wet with morning dew.
  
• As part of a rain-gear system, gaiters could fill the gap between the hem of an almost-ankle-length poncho and the top of your footwear.
  
• They’re easier to wash than rain pants or hiking pants, so it would be useful to wear gaiters over pants or below shorts on a fine day when the trail is still muddy from rainstorms. If you’re wearing hiking shoes, rather than ankle-high boots, gaiters would be particularly helpful in mud.
  

Gear Guide

Rain-Gear Care

A fabric-coating substance, durable water repellent (DWR), is applied to the outside of a fabric to make water bead up and roll off. Over time, that DWR could be scraped off the fabric. Dirt or grime can also reduce DWR’s effectiveness.

Thus, it’s a good idea to keep rain gear in a separate bag. Then the bag—instead of the jacket, poncho, rain pants, chaps, or gaiters—gets scraped when going in and out of the backpack. I’ve found that the lightweight cellophane bag that a new rain jacket arrived in works perfectly as protection for the DWR coating.

Test older rain jackets, ponchos, and rain pants in the shower before taking them with you. If they’ve lost their ability to repel water, better to discover that at home than on the Camino.

If you find that a garment is no longer waterproof, you can use a spray to restore the DWR protection. Dry cleaners sometimes offer a service to restore DWR protection. (Give the garment another good test after either of these treatments.)

Follow provided instructions to clean waterproof garments—they sometimes recommend soaps to use—or
not
use. Sometimes the instructions indicate you should dry the garment in a dryer; others insist you should hang the garment to dry in the open air. Some instructions suggest you could restore some of the DWR properties yourself by pressing a warm or hot iron to the fabric.

* * *

Now that we’ve explored the options for staying dry, let’s tackle another very important issue for Camino pilgrims: footwear.

A Frenchwoman insisted that her high-tech running shoes were the best shoes for the Camino.

A Spanish man pointed to his battered department-store sneakers and said, “These are the shoes you must wear for the Camino.”

An American woman said wearing sport sandals with socks was the only way to walk the Camino.

A Basque man said his trail-hiking shoes were an excellent choice for the Camino journey.

A Frenchman who’s walked
thousands
of kilometers on Camino routes both popular and obscure always wears hiking boots. His wife even mails him a replacement pair when his boots no longer offer sufficient tread or support during his lengthy journeys.

I always wear boots too.

These photos, which I took on the Vézelay route in France, illustrate one reason why I wear boots.

Why boots, Exhibit A: Camino mud on trail

Why boots, Exhibit B: Camino mud on me

(Note: I found that these boots were too heavy and stiff for the Camino. I’ve since changed to a more flexible, lighter-weight boot.)

• I prefer covered ankles when walking on muddy trails.
  
• I want support for my feet and ankles when walking on steep, slippery, or rocky trails.
  
• I like keeping my feet dry in rain (and perhaps snow) and when crossing the occasional creek.
  
• Ankle-high boots diminish the chance that tiny pebbles from the trail will sneak into my footwear. Sandals or shoes provide easier access for these pests.
  
• Ankle-high boots, covered by rain pants, keep my socks dry. If you wear shoes, your socks could get wet at the ankles while you walk, even if they’re covered by rain pants.
  

... And My Favored Boot Type

I’ve experimented with mountaineering-style boots that have a sturdy body and a thick sole. But Camino routes often follow country lanes and roads, and I’ve found that boots that are too heavy and stiff make my feet ache after walking long distances on tarmac. I’ve heard other pilgrims offer the same complaint.

Lightweight boots, made with a combination of fabric and leather, have enough sole and flexibility to endure a variety of Camino surfaces. Being lightweight, they’re also easier to lift with each step.

I’ve had success with boots made with a Gore-Tex fabric that makes the boots both waterproof and breathable under most conditions. That technology has kept my feet dry, warm in cold weather, and even reasonably cool in hot weather.

While I make the case for boots, others will just as emphatically make their case for sport sandals, hiking shoes, running shoes, or an old pair of skimpy sneakers.

Pilgrim Stories

I once tried a pair of lightweight hiking shoes for a Camino journey. They were not waterproof (I’m embarrassed to say!). Day one: fine. Day two: I walked on a grassy trail covered with an early-morning dew. My feet got wet, and within an hour I had huge blisters on the bottoms of my feet that took days to heal. I had to buy other footwear in France—and break it in on the Camino journey—not the best way to test new footwear.

Choose your Camino footwear based on what you know about your feet—and the rest of your body, as footwear also affects the knees, hips, and back. Also consider these factors:

• When you’re going
  
• The terrain for the route
  
• The kind of weather you’ll likely experience (for example: sandals or sneakers would be uncomfortable during a surprise spring snow, or during hours—or days—of rain)
  
• How far you’ll be walking (several weeks of daily walking will have more impact on your feet than walking for several days)
  

If you choose to wear light footwear, especially sandals, which don’t offer a lot of support, make sure your backpack is also lightweight—a heavy backpack puts enormous pressure on the feet and ankles.

On all of the Camino routes, the terrain often varies from day to day. To help you decide what footwear will work best for you, here are just a few of the typical situations you’ll encounter on nearly all Camino routes.

A dirt road

A steep and rocky trail

A country lane (looks easy, but hours of walking on pavement, day after day, is actually quite hard on the feet)

Most Important: Test Your Footwear

Before you leave home, wear your fully loaded backpack while testing your footwear. Do it every day for a few days to test a variety of conditions. Walk in the rain. Walk on muddy trails. Walk on steep, rocky paths. Walk down slippery, muddy hills. Walk for long distances on paved surfaces. If you’re headed to Santiago, these are likely the conditions you’ll experience.

It’s also helpful to break in new footwear by wearing it every day for a few weeks, even when not carrying a backpack.

Pilgrim Stories

An experienced pilgrim fellow I know once bought some fancy new boots in London before heading to France to begin another pilgrimage. Of course, that didn’t allow time for testing the boots, and it turned out to be a painful journey: he discovered the heavy boots made his feet swell and pinched and jammed his toes too. To add to his misery, it was a spring season with unusual amounts of rainfall, and the unseasoned boots (not yet fully waterproofed) allowed his feet to get wet, which then led to foot rot—a nasty condition. He completed his journey, but had to pamper his feet back to health long after returning home. It’s important for me to repeat: test your footwear before going on a pilgrimage.

Shop Late in the Day

Shop when your feet are warm or, even better, when they’re hot. That’s how your feet will feel while walking long distances. You’ll be more likely to choose appropriately roomy footwear if you shop when your feet are naturally swollen at the end of an active day.

Gear Guide

To ensure you choose footwear that fits well, when you go shopping be sure to wear the socks, footpads, and/or orthotics you plan to use on the Camino.

Buy at a Bricks-and-Mortar Store

It’s best to buy footwear in person at a store rather than online. If you choose to shop online, be sure to buy from a company with a liberal exchange policy.

Find a Trained Sales Clerk