March 29th Update #4 - Gear & Equipment

The most difficult part of preparing for the Camino is determining exactly what gear and equipment is needed along the way. The goal is to be as light and efficient as possible. Above is a picture of EVERYTHING I plan to bring with me along my journey, in 3 sections from left to right:

• Left - An example of the clothes I will be wearing each day on my hike, including:

  • Hiking boots

  • Socks

  • Underwear

  • Hiking pants/shorts

  • Short sleeve hiking shirt + plus light weight long sleeve hiking shirt w/ hood

  • Baseball hat

  • Sunglasses

  • Iphone & Apple Watch (not shown)

• Middle - A worst case scenario of what I'll carry with me in my backpack each day, to be prepared for whatever conditions I might face. The backpack & contents weighs 18 pounds, but I'll continue to look for ways to scale back, as my ultimate weight goal is 15 pounds. I could pack some of these items in my 'overnight' suitcase (see below), pending weather conditions. These items include:

  • Backpack

  • Light 'winter' down coat

  • Ukelele w/ dry sack (to play my music along the way!)

  • Ipad - for my ukelele music

  • Charger/converter

  • Rain jacket

  • Utility tool

  • Headphones

  • First aid (band aids, pain relief cream, ibuprofen, all purpose soap, wipes)

  • Poncho

  • Winter hat, mid-weight gloves, neck gaiter

  • Passport, wallet, journal & pen (in small dry sack)

  • Sandals to wear while drying out hiking shoes/socks mid-day on breaks

  • Leg gaiters

  • Camino guidebook

• Right - Additional clothes and gear that I will pack in a small suitcase, to be 'delivered' ahead to the next town each day by a travel service. My initial goal was to carry everything and NOT use this service; however, I have a c-pap that I need to bring, along with several medications & prescriptions. Thus, I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to bring a bit more gear that what I otherwise would. The total weight of the suitcase and contents is approximately 15 pounds; so, the weight of all gear that I'll be bringing in my suitcase and backpack (not including the clothes I'll be wearing) is 33 pounds, which isn't too bad! The gear includes:

  • Suitcase

  • C-pap

  • Camino de Santiago history & culture book

  • Toiletries

  • Medication & prescriptions

  • Extra soap, pain relief cream, band aids

  • Hiking boot wax

  • Extra converter and adapter

  • Shade hat

  • More hiking pants/shorts

  • More shirts (short + long)

  • More hiking socks

  • More underwear

  • Computer (to blog my experience)

  • Extra hiking shoes

  • Extra insoles