To Walk Far, Carry Less : Camino de Santiago (8 page)

Look for a sales clerk that knows how to accurately measure feet, including heel width, forefoot width, and the usual foot-length measurement. These factors might indicate a particular brand or model that will work well for you. Boot and shoe manufacturers are sometimes known for particular characteristics—one company might make boots or shoes that typically have a wide toe box, for example, while another company’s products might be known for their narrow heel beds. A knowledgeable sales clerk should be able to quickly steer you toward the appropriate footwear for your foot’s size, shape, and structure.

Be Picky

Ultimately, you know what feels best. Test the footwear in the store by walking around for an hour or so.

If possible, go up and down stairs or a steep ramp to see if

• your toes have enough room in the toe box;
  
• your heel lifts up inside the shoe (it shouldn’t lift more than about six millimeters, or a quarter inch); or
  
• your foot slips inside the boot or shoe when climbing up and down the ramp or stairs (it shouldn’t).
  

See if you can wiggle your toes freely without them rubbing against the inside of the boot or shoe. I met an Australian woman who developed blisters on the baby toe of each foot. Her boots were too short, thus pinching and jamming her toes on every step, especially when going downhill. She quit her journey after two painful days on the Camino.

If you notice even the tiniest friction on the toes or the heel, imagine how your feet will fare walking thousands and thousands of steps with that constant friction.

Avoid Style, Look for Performance

In their design and marketing, almost all footwear companies try to appeal to our fashion sense. Sometimes that’s especially true for (their perceptions of) female tastes (pink patches on boots—really?).

Don’t let yourself be swayed by color or design. Look for practical footwear that can perform well in a variety of conditions.

That cute pink pattern will likely get covered in mud and cow dung anyway.

Look for a Liberal Exchange Policy

Sometimes you can’t know the true character of footwear until you take it out into the world and establish some real intimacy. I once bought a pair of boots that felt perfect in the store. When I started wearing them on short walks to break them in, I became increasingly annoyed by the metal eyelets for the shoestrings. On each step they dug into my foot where it bends. It was clear that the boot design was not suitable for my feet. It was time for a divorce. I restored the newness of the boots by cleaning the sides and bottoms of the soles, and then I returned them for a full refund.

Pilgrim Stories

It’s not reasonable to return boots with signs of excessive wear, but sometimes a great store makes exceptions. At the same store that gave me a refund for the eyelets-from-hell boots, I bought a different pair of boots. They passed the critical test walks, and eventually carried me comfortably for the first 480 kilometers (about 300 miles) on the Le Puy route. Then, with about 320 kilometers to go (about 200 miles), I noticed the stitching near the toes starting to unravel on the left boot. Even worse, about the same time I started hearing a squeak in the same left boot—with each step I took. (This constant squeaking can alter one’s mental health.) Upon returning home, I took the squeaky, unraveling boot and its twin back to the store. I thought they might just re-stitch the boot. Instead, they gave me a full refund on the well-worn boots that had traveled over 800 kilometers (about 500 miles). I’ve been a loyal customer ever since, thanks to that generous exchange policy.

A liberal exchange policy is important: how can you be sure you love your footwear until you’ve at least been out on several dates together?

Sock Test

Sock packaging usually prevents us from trying socks on before buying them. Look for a store with a liberal exchange policy, so you can at least unwrap the socks to try them on. A good fit with quality features should be immediately apparent. If not, you can return the socks without any sign of wear.

Gear Guide

Don’t be surprised at sock prices. Quality hiking socks are expensive, but they’re worth it: today’s sock designs, as well as the fabrics used, often help prevent blisters.

However—because socks are so important when backpacking for long distances—the best test is to wear them for several kilometers in the footwear you’ll use on the Camino. But then it’s only fair to put socks that fail the test walk in a sock drawer for general use, rather than trying to return them.

How Many Pairs of Socks to Take

Ultralight backpackers might take two pairs of socks: one to wear and one to spare. Then they wash the worn pair every night. If the socks are still damp in the morning, the other pair can be worn.

I recommend taking three pairs of hiking socks: one to wear and two to spare. That provides an option to delay the sock-washing chore for a night or two. It also provides an extra pair if you want to change socks midday. Clean, dry socks can also help prevent blisters.

I also take a fourth pair of socks as a luxury item. I wear them after the day’s walk, and sleep in them when my feet feel cold. They’re baggy and loose so my feet can breathe after their day-long confinement.

Sock Features to Look For

Fit

Look for a sock that fits your foot without any excess material that can bunch, especially at the toes or in the heel. The fit should be snug, yet not so tight as to cut off circulation. A good fit helps to prevent blisters too.

Fabric and Design

Forget cotton socks. They retain moisture and have no wicking quality to pull that moisture away from the skin of your feet. That constant moisture could cause blisters. Cotton socks also take forever to dry.

Many socks today combine synthetic fibers with wool to make the socks less scratchy and more absorbent. This fiber blend also gives them better wicking capabilities. Although wool is not the only choice for sock fabric, many backpackers prefer some type of wool blend because of its cushioning and insulating properties, as well as its durability.

Look for a design without bulging seams. Any nubs of exposed stitching will constantly rub your feet as you walk. That’s yet another way to get blisters. Look for flat seams or no seams.

Get socks with reinforced heels and toes. Extra padding under the ball of the foot also helps to cushion.

Liner Socks

The idea of wearing liner socks next to your feet is that this extra layer of material, instead of the skin of your feet, takes the friction inside shoes or boots. They’re like a second skin. Liner socks also help wick away moisture. Some liner socks are made of soft merino wool. For people with sensitivities to wool, liner socks in polypropylene, polyester, or silk work well to prevent the outer wool socks from touching the skin.

Some backpackers insist liner socks are essential; others prefer wearing just well-fitting socks with wicking properties.

Experiment: see what works for your feet by trying different options before embarking on your Camino journey.

Gear Guide

Sock Care

• Wash socks by hand, inside out, with mild soap.
  
• Rinse thoroughly—residual soap can irritate the skin.
  
• Avoid completely drying socks in a hot dryer.
  
• Hang socks to dry. This helps to prevent any high-tech fabric qualities from breaking down.
  

Take another pair of shoes in addition to the ones you’ll hike in. It’s healthy for your feet to have a break from the footwear you’ve worn all day while walking.

Since many pilgrims’ accommodations require everyone to leave their footwear at the front door, especially if it’s wet or covered in mud, you’ll want something to wear inside your accommodation for the night.

Your alternate footwear should also be comfortable enough to walk some distance in, since you probably won’t want to wear your hiking footwear when you go out to eat or take a stroll in the evenings to sightsee.

Look for the following features for your alternate footwear:

• Adds little to your backpack weight.
  
• Has enough of a sole to provide comfort and safety on bumpy and uneven cobblestone streets in towns and villages.
  
• Is waterproof, for use in communal showers.
  

Flip-flops are a tempting choice because they’re so lightweight. If you want to go ultralight, go with flip-flops. Then wear your hiking footwear on evening walks.

It’s helpful to choose alternate footwear that also works well on cobblestone streets—otherwise tired feet might have to stay confined in boots while you’re sightseeing, dining out, or shopping for food after the long day’s walk (street in Limoges, France, on the Vézelay route).

Two Suggestions for Alternate Footwear

All-Terrain or Multisport Sandals

All-terrain or multisport sandals are thick-soled sandals that use adjustable straps to hold your foot securely in place. Worn with or without socks, they allow the feet to spread and breathe. If the straps are fabric, instead of leather, this kind of sandal can also be worn in communal showers.

If it’s raining in the evening, you could always wear your hiking footwear—unless the weather is warm enough that you won’t mind wet feet.

All-terrain sandals also make a great plan-B shoe. If you get serious blisters from your other footwear, and your backpack is not too heavy, these sandals might allow you to continue on your way while letting your blisters heal.

Crocs or Other Rubber Shoes

Yes, they’re ugly. But ugly wonderful: they please the feet after hiking all day. I prefer the Crocs model that has several holes on the top and a heel strap.

Disadvantage: feet get wet when it rains.

Advantage: they’re great for wearing in communal showers.

Super advantage: rubber shoes weigh less than the durable all-terrain sandals. My beloved Teva sport sandals (both of them together) weigh about 475 grams (just over a pound). The pair of Crocs weighs 252 grams (8.9 ounces).

It’s possible to find a sport sandal to rival the weight of the Crocs. I recently found an inexpensive pair of sport sandals that weighed 29 grams (one ounce) less than the Crocs. They’re not as durable as my Tevas, but they have a decent-enough sole and they’re waterproof.

* * *

You should now have a good idea of everything you might want to wear, from head to foot, so let’s get started on what Camino pilgrims typically carry in their backpack.

Sleeping sheets weigh less than sleeping bags, and take up less space in the backpack, which makes them a great choice for a lightweight Camino backpack. But whether they’re the best choice is not so straightforward.

Overall, I’d recommend a lightweight sleeping bag as the most practical choice for Camino journeys in both France and Spain, though the reasons are a bit different for each country. I’d also recommend that you visit the Camino pilgrims’ forums (they’re different, despite the similar website addresses) at
www.caminodesantiago.me
and
www.caminodesantiago.me.uk
, where you can post a question about whether to take a sleeping bag or a sleeping sheet on the specific Camino route you want to take. That way you’ll get up-to-date information from pilgrims who’ve recently walked the route.

Gear Guide

Travelers who’ve slept in youth hostels will be familiar with sleeping sheets, which are often recommended to cover a hostel bed. Sometimes called a travel sheet, it’s sized to fit a twin bed and has a large pocket for a pillow. A sleeping-bag liner is a similar option.

Sleeping sheets are typically made of cotton or silk. Cotton costs less, but weighs more than silk. Silk feels luxurious, but it’s slippery: blankets covering a silk sheet can slide off during the night (a problem I’ve experienced firsthand).

I’ll share my experience on four popular routes in France and Spain to give you an idea of how the sleeping situations on the different routes vary, so you can pack according to your plans.

Spain

On the Camino Francés and Vía de la Plata Routes

On Camino routes in Spain blankets are often not available in the pilgrims’ refuges, or they’re in short supply.

Some refuges can feel cold at night, even in the summer months. If you can’t find a blanket, a sleeping sheet may not be enough to keep you warm.

In remote locations or in small villages with no hotels or inns, a pilgrims’ refuge may be the only option for the night’s accommodation. This fact, combined with large crowds (common particularly on the Camino Francés), means that beds are not always available in refuges. Sometimes a local school gym or a community center is opened to handle the overflow of pilgrims; pilgrims then sleep on the floor. Sometimes extra mattresses are placed on the floor in a crowded refuge, but even those can become scarce. A sleeping bag is better than a thin sleeping sheet in these situations.