Under the Milky Way, 0c: Getting Ready

Stuff & Actions Beyond the Gears

After doing some research on what I needed to do to prepare myself for the journey, I started to create a to-do list and to check off things from the list as I went -- ebooks to buy, Apps to download, credit/debit cards to apply, things to purchase based on the packing lists provided by many Vloggers. Of course there were more -- much more, especially the training, the mock walks. With a full-time job, I must figure out a realistic way to do all these -- How often and how far should I walk each time? How much should I carry while I was training myself? Do I need to come up with a backup plan on the Way, in case something unexpected would happen?

John Brierley's Camino book series are highly recommended by many Camino veterans and enthusiasts. I bought his book on Camino Frances, exchanged it for an eBook to reduce the weight. Looking back now, I shouldn't have bought it at all, unless I have time to read it before the trip. Along the way, I found no time to read. And reading an eBook from a phone was nearly impossible. Still is. Of course this is an after-event enlightenment, an after-thought. I also joined a couple of Facebook groups (Camino de Santiago 2023; Camino Frances) and a local Pilgrims Chapter for American Pilgrims on the Camino. With many recommendations, I downloaded Apps such as Buen Camino, Whatsapp, Gronze Maps. I downloaded a few more, but never got to use them, so I removed them from my phone after the trip. 

While I was doing research on the trip, I ran into a website that I fell in love with. That was actually what I used the MOST before my trip -- I used it to find the related information, to book hostels, and so on. (https://www.caminoguidebook.com/routes/camino-frances)

In order to become more acquainted with the content and the functions of the apps and other resources, I tried to use them once in a while, just to see what I could find quickly, whether or not they were fool-proof. Since I am not super tech-savvy, it is crucial for me to use the related necessary features that I could pick up very quickly when I am on the road.

What I found very helpful were many Podcast episodes I listened to during my training walks -- El Camino de Santiago Pilgrims' Podcast. It is a platform that hosts many past pilgrims who walked on Camino once or more. The host, Bradley Chermside, was a published author, a very experienced witty host who asked many interesting and relevant questions. I learned a great deal from the podcasts, more so than reading a specific book on do's and don'ts related to walking the Camino! I enjoyed listening to every episode!

BTW, Bradley Chermside is a great musician, an amazing singer!! The podcast episodes can easily be accessed through Spotify.

https://followtheyellowshell.com/pilgrims-podcast/

During my training walks, if not listening to podcasts, at times, I found opportunities to converse with local hiking enthusiasts and experts. Ying, for instance. Ying, an outdoor-adventure expert among my friends, generously and patiently addressed all my questions, concerns in the most considerate and encouraging way. How I feel blessed to have her in my crowd!

A friend of mine got me in touch with a Camino Frances veteran pilgrim, who had walked the Way three times already with his wife, both at their senior age of over 70! We emailed each other a few times. I scheduled phone calls and a Zoom meeting with him and his beautiful and youthful wife. She was being trained to run a marathon in May 2023, in her 70's!! I asked them a lot of questions. All my concerns and doubts evaporated with their assurance and generous sharing. They were so kind to have shared their itinerary with me, which included their booking information for the their hotels. Even though I did not end up using exactly the same booking information as he had provided, since I'd be staying in hostels, I still found it very helpful as a general reference in terms of distance in each day, names of towns/villages/cities they stayed at, contact information for their stay, and the general cost per day. All these set me an inner compass for an overall map in terms of what I should expect along the Way. 

So during weekdays, after work. I would walk in the nearby metro parks for 1-3 hours, with or without my bakpacks. I would train 1-2 times per week to begin with, then add a day and a bit more intensity to that. On weekends, I was able to do a little more, especially on Saturdays. As time got close to my departure date, I was able to walk around 7 hours a day with a fully packed backpack, with or without trekking poles, for 18-20 miles!  I felt great about what my body could handle. Blessed are my feet! I identified a local park with hills and loose rocks so that I could simulate what I can handle, and how my body would react to the intensity of physical strains I put on it each time.

Of course, walking in a nearby park was not the same as walking on the Camino. It shouldn't. There was no concerns regarding access to the bathrooms, refilling water, getting a snack, or the familiarity of the routes. Those are all known, all predictable. It was a great start, since I could focus more on training, on conditioning myself physically and mentally.  

Main Gears

Shoes are on top of the priority. I tried on my Hoka trail-running shoes in the store, walked on them during training. Hoka Speedgoat 5 are light, breezes well, but the toe boxes are two narrow. The toes felt pinched after walking for a while. Hoka One One Stinson ATR6, also light in weight, has decent-sized toe boxes. Yet with a seal around the toes and the whole base, it made ventilation harder. Thus once sweat, the feet will be more likely to get blisters! During training, both pairs of shoes gave me blisters -- 4 on each feet in one week!! That occurred AFTER the shoes were broken into!!

Now I understand why it is a good idea to have hiking sandals as well, to give the feet, especially toes, a break from the cooped-up environment, and to give them time to air. Some say the shoe sizes need to be 1/2 size or one-size larger than the shoes one normally wears. Since sock liners and thick wool socks are normally worn at once, it makes sense. After purchasing a pair of Chaco hiking sandles, I didn't end up bringing with me the last minute, because they weighed more than one pound! As Ying said to me, each additional ounce carried on the back might feel much more after carrying it for a while. I set them aside. It turned out, a few days into my walk, I got more blisters, and really needed them! I bought a pair in one of the towns I passed by.

Backpacks are extremely important. I looked at about a dozen backpacks, and saw myself buying many backpacks and returning them in a time span of weeks. Thank goodness for Amazon's return policy. Some packpacks were never opened, but only weighed in my hands, measured for their heights, and looked at for their accessibility and, most importantly, comfort level. I did visit local REI stores a few times to get myself fitted with a "dream" backpack. (Did the same with the trekking poles and shoes). I brought a backpack home, tried it on 3 times on my training. It happened to be super hot those times, and the waist belt was so thickly padded that I couldn't stand the heat around my waist, so back to the store it went, hence the online shopping frenzy for the backpack episode!

Hot days are the best days to test backpacks with AirSpace/AirEscape feature -- the trampoline-style back-design to separate the human body from closely touching the padding of the backpack. When the weight is loaded, and when the heat strikes, this "trampoline baby" makes a world of difference! -- The back of the backpack doesn't stick to the body -- to avoid much of the discomfort.

The backpack's storage capacity and accessibility are equally important. I knew that I only wanted to bring a backpack for the trip, carry-on only. Therefore, I wanted to make sure that my backpack meet the international airlines' carry-on requirements, which is around 21 inches in height. There might be some wiggle room here, but I would rather have it shorter to avoid any troubles and delays at any airport! So 21 inches in height max. No more than that! To access items in the backpack, I would like to see myself carry a backpack that I could easily find an item when I wish to get it quickly without dumping everything out to look for it. Thus, think along the line of small pouches, extra compartments and zippers, etc., to allow quick access of items any time.

I also intended to limit the storage space volumn in my backpack so that it would force me into thinking twice about what to put into the bag. This strategy helped me plan more carefully, shop more purposefully. Go see the world with a light load, girl!!

I carefully considered the accessibility of water (bottle(s)) while walking. On one hand I wanted to make sure that I do not need to spend any extra time taking care of the water-carrying device/bottle. On the other hand, I wanted to make sure whenever I needed water, I could easily retrieve it without setting the backpack down. Even though my backpack came with a water bladder, I decided not to bring it — to avoid one additional thing that I had to take care of on the Way. Some people on YouTube showed how to care for a water bladder during trips — Oh, boy, I felt overwhelmed already just by watching the care steps!! I was convinced that, with a fully packed bag, it would be inconvenient to take the water bladder out and put it back on for refills anyway! I was NOT ready to bring a water bladder this time!

Not much needs to be said about clothes. My considerations at the time were: layers, quick-dry, light weight, easy to care for -- for many of what I have packed into the bag. Merino-wool worked well for me.

I'll skip explaining other packed items here, unless I need to respond to inquiries.

Final Thoughts

I tried to remind myself of reasons why I wanted to do the Camino, during training and while on the Way, so that I would not lose sight, no matter WHAT happens --> focus on the positives, smell the roses, let sunsets blow your mind away, take pictures of events and things beautiful, silly, cute, memorable, look at the snake-skin and stare at it for a longer time than normal, like an idiot (:-)) and keep chugging along, in spite of the blisters, in spite of bad, really very bad days!!!

Please find the packing list here, generated via my GoogleKeep list: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WdrW5zMIBLU5mYGIGXRUSDAZhIXBLbZYTtElCj5uk08/edit?usp=sharing

When I packed for the trip, before I hiked on the Camino, with two bottles of regular-sized water, the backpack weighed 17lbs. Too heavy!!

I got to do better next time!

加油！！！