Link to Amazon to Purchase ($5.99) eBook Version of "SLOW CAMINO"

Slow Camino - My Adventure on the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage by Terence Callery
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Choosing Your Gear - Running Shoes and Backpack and Ultra-Light Rain Suit

Another website I stumbled onto was www.annieswalkers.com, which was full of sage advice by Annie, who has made a small business of taking others on the Camino as a guide and planner. The single best piece of advice came from Annie, who was adamant about getting hiking shoes or sneakers a size and a half larger than your actual size. I followed Annie’s advice and got a pair of size 12 ASICS (with gel innersoles) for my size 10½ feet—half a size more for my thick alpaca socks, which are very warm and which would wick the moisture away from my feet, and a whole size larger for my foot to swell. I also went with a second pair of running shoes, size 12 waterproof Columbias, which I would wear when it rained. I could switch from one pair of sneakers to the other when I felt rubbing that might turn into a blister. I learned to turn my socks inside-out halfway through the day to keep my feet dry. The other tip I faithfully followed, courtesy of Annie’s Walkers, was to put on a thin nylon sock liner. This not only wicks the moisture, but the rubbing now happens between the two pairs of socks and not so much on the foot. I followed the advice and got just one blister on my entire journey.
The next most important piece of gear after the running shoes was the backpack. After spending a couple of hours surfing the Camino blogs and Googling questions like “What is the best sized backpack to hike the Camino de Santiago?” I discovered there were several mentions of a backpack manufactured by Osprey called the Talon which was a 33-liter pack, just right for the 20 pounds I planned to take. “Take no more than 10% of your body weight” was the Camino commandment. So for me at 220 pounds, it would be definitely less than 22 pounds.
The back side of the Osprey Talon has a design feature that creates a vertical “air chimney” which is trademarked as “Airscape,” a construct of foam ridges and mesh which keep the pack from holding moisture against your back. Another trademarked feature is the “ergo pull” hip belt closure and the “biostretch” mesh-covered shoulder straps, making this a very comfortable pack to wear. It really seemed to give and mold right to my body.
The harness had a number of adjustable back lengths, with a “rip it and stick it” Velcro attachment. There were mesh pockets on each side where I kept a water bottle and my pack rain cover for easy access. There was also a flat pocket inside the top flap where I could store my Apple iPad mini, making it easy to get to and pull out when I saw a photo opportunity. Altogether, the Osprey Talon 33-liter pack at $129 (along with the necessary waterproof backpack rain cover which was another $35) from REI was perfect.
Choosing raingear turned out to be a bit trickier. Having done lots of sailing on the coast of Maine, I had used neoprene raingear that was really waterproof. But for sailing, you are just sitting in the cockpit. Walking on the Camino, you can get sticky and wet if your raingear doesn’t breathe. I decided to buy a pair of ultra-lightweight Frogg Toggs, which are made out of polypropylene and have a micro-breathable construction that lets air molecules in and keeps water molecules out. This was a good choice since the outer shell also doubled as a windbreaker and as snow gear. If it were snowing, I could wear the Frogg Toggs pants over my Nike running pants along with a pair of polypropylene long johns, and I would be warm and dry. The best thing was that the rain gear from Frogg Toggs weighed only one pound for both jacket and pants. I usually kept the jacket in an outer backpack pocket for easy access. After much experimentation, I went with a Maine yellow sou’wester fisherman’s rain hat for head cover. It was the only thing that kept moisture from going down the back of my neck, and the brim in the front stuck out just enough to keep rain droplets off my glasses. I saw hundreds of pilgrims as I walked the Camino, but not a single one wore a neon yellow sou’wester. Anyone want to buy some fish?

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