Hiking in Pyrenées
Feb 7th, 2009, 11:03 AM
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Hiking in Pyrenées
My husband, brother and I are hiking from St. Jean Pied de Port in France to Pamplona in Spain in early July. Do we need any special clothes or gear to make this trip. When we finish we plan to head to Bordeaux to investigate the Dordogne region. Any suggestions or advice.
Feb 7th, 2009, 11:13 AM
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Carry a very, very small packback. After you have cut the amount to the minimum, cut this in half again. Wear good boots, warm sweaters, easily washed and dried clothes, and again, don't carry anything you need if you necessary do not need.
You can try to cover about 20 kms per day but it's very difficult to continue this speed. Plan for about 10~15 kms per day.
You will find places where there's nothing at all. You will have to just plug along and hope to find a good place to sleep. Normally you will have to be up and eating breakfast at 07:00 am. Then you start to walk again.
Good luck though.
Blackduff
You can try to cover about 20 kms per day but it's very difficult to continue this speed. Plan for about 10~15 kms per day.
You will find places where there's nothing at all. You will have to just plug along and hope to find a good place to sleep. Normally you will have to be up and eating breakfast at 07:00 am. Then you start to walk again.
Good luck though.
Blackduff
Feb 7th, 2009, 11:25 AM
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arfoley,
Ditto to all that blackduff has told you.
Since you'll be traveling the Route of St. James (Camino de Santiago) from St. Jean-Pied-de-Port down to Pamplona, you might want to post your questions to veteran Camino walkers and get their sage advice about gear and timing on this great forum geared for those who walk this pilgrimage route:
www.pilgrimage-to-santiago.com
If you don't plan to overnight in the albergues (the special pilgrims' lodgings) and want small, rural hotel suggestions, just yell, as we know most all the rural inns on that route.
A very, very important note!!
if you plan to hit Pamplona from July 6-14, during the Festival of San Fermín, the city will be incredibly crowded, extremely crazy, with lodging at an absolute premium and triple the normal cost. (I work at the festival every year).
Ditto to all that blackduff has told you.
Since you'll be traveling the Route of St. James (Camino de Santiago) from St. Jean-Pied-de-Port down to Pamplona, you might want to post your questions to veteran Camino walkers and get their sage advice about gear and timing on this great forum geared for those who walk this pilgrimage route:
www.pilgrimage-to-santiago.com
If you don't plan to overnight in the albergues (the special pilgrims' lodgings) and want small, rural hotel suggestions, just yell, as we know most all the rural inns on that route.
A very, very important note!!
if you plan to hit Pamplona from July 6-14, during the Festival of San Fermín, the city will be incredibly crowded, extremely crazy, with lodging at an absolute premium and triple the normal cost. (I work at the festival every year).
Feb 8th, 2009, 04:21 AM
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>>Do you really think we will still need warm sweaters? <<
You are in the mountains. Weather can change quickly. Bright sunshine in the morning, then all of a sudden a cloud appears, gusty winds and it becomes ice-cold. Be aware that there will be snow on the summits.
You are in the mountains. Weather can change quickly. Bright sunshine in the morning, then all of a sudden a cloud appears, gusty winds and it becomes ice-cold. Be aware that there will be snow on the summits.
Feb 8th, 2009, 07:02 PM
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You will need a sweater at night. We spend a portion of each July in Pamplona, the Pyrénées on the Spanish side and in Basse-Navarre on the French side, and while days can be very warm, it does cool down considerably at night.
Since July is a very busy month with heavy pilgrim traffic on the Road to St. James, which you'll be traveling from St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Pamplona, lodging on that route will also be at a premium. If you do plan to spend your nights at hostales or rural inns on the Camino Francés, advance reservations would be essential, and the pilgrims' albergues can fill up really quickly, since this route has become extremely popular recently.
On this pilgrim trail that you'll be following, in Burguete (Auritz in Basque), we've stayed at the very cute and comfortable 3 star Hotel Loizu
www.hotelloizu.com
and we have an upcoming stay in Akerreta at the Hotel Akerreta, also on the route.
www.hotelakerreta.com
Or if you're looking for more rock-bottom budget accomodations, there are a number of "casas rurales", rural homes on this route,
In Burguete, these casa rurales have rooms of a high standard with very economical rates.
I've stayed at the Casa Rural Loigorri, which has only 2 rooms with private bath, and it's absolutely immaculate.
In Burguete we take clients to dine on traditional Navarran fare at the delightful
Txiki Polit.
In St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, pilgrims really rave about the low budget L'Espirit du Chemin, but it won't start taking summer reservations until March 15.
www.espritduchemin.org
The mid-point on the mountain between St. Jean-Pied-de-Port and Roncesvalles is Orisson.
Many pilgrims recommend the Refuge there . But it only has 18 beds. so reservations for July are absolutely essential.
www.refuge-orisson.com/index.html
Since July is a very busy month with heavy pilgrim traffic on the Road to St. James, which you'll be traveling from St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Pamplona, lodging on that route will also be at a premium. If you do plan to spend your nights at hostales or rural inns on the Camino Francés, advance reservations would be essential, and the pilgrims' albergues can fill up really quickly, since this route has become extremely popular recently.
On this pilgrim trail that you'll be following, in Burguete (Auritz in Basque), we've stayed at the very cute and comfortable 3 star Hotel Loizu
www.hotelloizu.com
and we have an upcoming stay in Akerreta at the Hotel Akerreta, also on the route.
www.hotelakerreta.com
Or if you're looking for more rock-bottom budget accomodations, there are a number of "casas rurales", rural homes on this route,
In Burguete, these casa rurales have rooms of a high standard with very economical rates.
I've stayed at the Casa Rural Loigorri, which has only 2 rooms with private bath, and it's absolutely immaculate.
In Burguete we take clients to dine on traditional Navarran fare at the delightful
Txiki Polit.
In St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, pilgrims really rave about the low budget L'Espirit du Chemin, but it won't start taking summer reservations until March 15.
www.espritduchemin.org
The mid-point on the mountain between St. Jean-Pied-de-Port and Roncesvalles is Orisson.
Many pilgrims recommend the Refuge there . But it only has 18 beds. so reservations for July are absolutely essential.
www.refuge-orisson.com/index.html
Feb 10th, 2009, 12:28 AM
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Hiking boots like these:
http://www.lowa.de/english/products/products.php
Modern hiking boots are waterproof, comfortable and extremely lightweight.
http://www.lowa.de/english/products/products.php
Modern hiking boots are waterproof, comfortable and extremely lightweight.
Feb 10th, 2009, 02:01 PM
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I have a pair of Ecco's Expedition walking boots that I've used for Picos de Europa hikes.
For that stretch of the Route of St. James, again, the veteran pilgrimage trail walkers on
www.pilgrimage-to-santiago.com can give you the best advice on the proper footwear for walking that specific terrain, since they've all learned from experience what's best. And our own poster, Ireynold, who is a veteran Camino Francés walker. We'll be walking just a small portion of it next month.
The toughest stretch is obviously over the Ibañeta pass (1,057 meters) and down to Valcarlós.
Glad you have advance reservations!
For that stretch of the Route of St. James, again, the veteran pilgrimage trail walkers on
www.pilgrimage-to-santiago.com can give you the best advice on the proper footwear for walking that specific terrain, since they've all learned from experience what's best. And our own poster, Ireynold, who is a veteran Camino Francés walker. We'll be walking just a small portion of it next month.
The toughest stretch is obviously over the Ibañeta pass (1,057 meters) and down to Valcarlós.
Glad you have advance reservations!
Feb 11th, 2009, 08:06 AM
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Hi, arfoley,
Lucky lucky you. I've done this walk several times and have experienced all kinds of weather -- once I went from St. jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles (the town on the Spanish side) without seeing anything, it was so foggy. But then I've also had brilliant sun, so I guess it all evens out.
If you have reservations, I guess your daily mileage is set, but I would say most walkers do this in three or maybe four days.
Day 1 -- St. Jean to Roncesvalles
Day 2 -- Roncesvalles to Zubiri or Larrasoana
Day 3 -- Into Pamplona
To break it up into four days, you would most likely stop at either the albergue in Hontto or Orisson, both in France after St. Jean. I have spent the night in Orisson (if you have a reservation there, bring a copy of it, because I know someone who couldn't prove her reservation and there was no room for her). But Orisson is an absolutely beautiful place -- there's the inn, and the mountains and beautiful views and a few animals. It's probably about 10-12 km from St. Jean, but those km are pretty much straigt up.
As far as gear, people walk the Camino in anything from flip flops to heavy leather hiking boots. I think it depends on your own preference and what you're used to. I used to wear a heavy Vasque boot, but am now sold on North Face mid level hiking shoes. Goretex is a very good idea.
I do think a fleece (say Polartec 100 or 200) is a good idea even in July. And good rain gear. Basically you will have to carry the same amount of gear you would have to carry if you did the whole 850 km -- one set of clothes on, one in the pack, rain gear, basic toiletries, basic first aid. Most people who do this a lot try to keep total weight to 6-8 kilos. It's hard but definitely worth it. Water is probably the heaviest thing I carry at a kilo a liter, I usually carry no more than a liter, there tend to be fountains along the way.
Depending on your age and the condition of your knees, you might want walking sticks. I walk with two of them and wouldn't start a camino without them. But others think they're ridiculous, it just depends.
Watch out, the biggest danger you will encounter on this walk is that you will become addicted to the Camino de Santiago and unable to stop!
Laurie
Lucky lucky you. I've done this walk several times and have experienced all kinds of weather -- once I went from St. jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles (the town on the Spanish side) without seeing anything, it was so foggy. But then I've also had brilliant sun, so I guess it all evens out.
If you have reservations, I guess your daily mileage is set, but I would say most walkers do this in three or maybe four days.
Day 1 -- St. Jean to Roncesvalles
Day 2 -- Roncesvalles to Zubiri or Larrasoana
Day 3 -- Into Pamplona
To break it up into four days, you would most likely stop at either the albergue in Hontto or Orisson, both in France after St. Jean. I have spent the night in Orisson (if you have a reservation there, bring a copy of it, because I know someone who couldn't prove her reservation and there was no room for her). But Orisson is an absolutely beautiful place -- there's the inn, and the mountains and beautiful views and a few animals. It's probably about 10-12 km from St. Jean, but those km are pretty much straigt up.
As far as gear, people walk the Camino in anything from flip flops to heavy leather hiking boots. I think it depends on your own preference and what you're used to. I used to wear a heavy Vasque boot, but am now sold on North Face mid level hiking shoes. Goretex is a very good idea.
I do think a fleece (say Polartec 100 or 200) is a good idea even in July. And good rain gear. Basically you will have to carry the same amount of gear you would have to carry if you did the whole 850 km -- one set of clothes on, one in the pack, rain gear, basic toiletries, basic first aid. Most people who do this a lot try to keep total weight to 6-8 kilos. It's hard but definitely worth it. Water is probably the heaviest thing I carry at a kilo a liter, I usually carry no more than a liter, there tend to be fountains along the way.
Depending on your age and the condition of your knees, you might want walking sticks. I walk with two of them and wouldn't start a camino without them. But others think they're ridiculous, it just depends.
Watch out, the biggest danger you will encounter on this walk is that you will become addicted to the Camino de Santiago and unable to stop!
Laurie
