Tips for walking in the heat

[David]

Hi - I posted a shortened version of this as a response on another thread and then thought it might make a good standalone topic.
Please do join in and add tips - it can be pretty hot out there, mad dogs and Englishman and all that ...

So - think dusty Meseta, 34+ degrees, the hot air shimmering into distant water mirages ...
1. Walk slow, really slow - no, really slow, and relaxed. Oh, and be cheerful, it really helps.
2. Shorten distances each day.
3. Start early.
4. Make your pack super-light or use a trailer (buy it before you go, obviously).
5. Wear loose clothes.
6. Wear a wide brimmed hat made of a material that can be soaked and soak it at every stream or fountain or tap, the evaporation as it dries will cool you..
7. Carry a long handled umbrella and use it as a parasol (not short handled, arm will really ache after a very short time).
8. Carry a bandanna or linen napkin with you and often wet it and run it over your skin, especially your head.
9. Hydrate of course but drinking copious amounts of water equals copious amounts of urinating and sweating which leaches out the electrolytes our bodies need, especially salt, so use electrolyte replacement sachets regularly. - If you aren't sweating and/or urinating you are dehydrated, if your sweat isn't salty you have salt/electrolyte problem. Use as much salt (lots) as you want at each meal. As a note; salt is not 'unhealthy' for you. Not enough and you will get ill and faint. Too much and the body will just excrete the excess and restore balance. In the Navy salt tablets were issued daily in the tropics and we could be fined a day's pay for not taking them.
10. Don't walk between 2 and 4pm (that is what siestas are for).
11. Drink before you walk in the morning (and the night before), camel your body.
12. Don't eat sugar in any form (especially designer 'trekking' bars!) as blood sugar levels will be raised and give you a boost but only for twenty minutes and then it will quickly drop to below it was before eating the sugar = exhaustion. Each time the body releases insulin to re-balance, a few years of this and the producing gland exhausts and doesn't work anymore and, Hey Presto! Type 2 diabetes.
13. Same goes for caffeine - if you can, give it up; highs and lows, energy and exhaustion - give it up - or! save it for 4pm and have a pot of tea - when we had the empire 4pm tea was what helped us survive in hot countries as it is a really strong (temporary) energising drug.
14. Don't eat a large lunch and don't drink alcohol at lunch.
15. If you don't have an umbrella find a large heavy tall slow moving pilgrim and walk on the shade side of them.
16. Have a servant pulling a cart behind you that carries a solar powered freezer with cold delights inside.

Buen Camino!

 

[dougfitz]

Hi - I posted a shortened version of this as a response on another thread and then thought it might make a good standalone topic.
Please do join in and add tips - it can be pretty hot out there, mad dogs and Englishman and all that ...

So - think dusty Meseta, 34+ degrees, the hot air shimmering into distant water mirages ...
1. Walk slow, really slow - no, really slow, and relaxed. Oh, and be cheerful, it really helps.
2. Shorten distances each day.
3. Start early.
4. Make your pack super-light or use a trailer (buy it before you go, obviously).
5. Wear loose clothes.
6. Wear a wide brimmed hat made of a material that can be soaked and soak it at every stream or fountain or tap, the evaporation as it dries will cool you..
7. Carry a long handled umbrella and use it as a parasol (not short handled, arm will really ache after a very short time).
8. Carry a bandanna or linen napkin with you and often wet it and run it over your skin, especially your head.
9. Hydrate of course but drinking copious amounts of water equals copious amounts of urinating and sweating which leaches out the electrolytes our bodies need, especially salt, so use electrolyte replacement sachets regularly. - If you aren't sweating and/or urinating you are dehydrated, if your sweat isn't salty you have salt/electrolyte problem. Use as much salt (lots) as you want at each meal. As a note; salt is not 'unhealthy' for you. Not enough and you will get ill and faint. Too much and the body will just excrete the excess and restore balance. In the Navy salt tablets were issued daily in the tropics and we could be fined a day's pay for not taking them.
10. Don't walk between 2 and 4pm (that is what siestas are for).
11. Drink before you walk in the morning (and the night before), camel your body.
12. Don't eat sugar in any form (especially designer 'trekking' bars!) as blood sugar levels will be raised and give you a boost but only for twenty minutes and then it will quickly drop to below it was before eating the sugar = exhaustion. Each time the body releases insulin to re-balance, a few years of this and the producing gland exhausts and doesn't work anymore and, Hey Presto! Type 2 diabetes.
13. Same goes for caffeine - give it up; highs and lows, energy and exhaustion - give it up - or! save it for 4pm and have a pot of tea - when we had the empire 4pm tea was what helped us survive in hot countries as it is a really strong (temporary) energising drug.
14. Don't eat a large lunch and don't drink alcohol at lunch.
15. If you don't have an umbrella find a large heavy tall slow moving pilgrim and walk on the shade side of them.
16. Have a servant pulling a cart behind you that carries a solar powered freezer with cold delights inside.

Buen Camino!

Thank you @David. This needs several emojis:

 

[Bradypus]

16. Have a servant pulling a cart behind you that carries a solar powered freezer with cold delights inside.

Noel Coward is now my earworm for the day

 

[dick bird]

10. Don't walk between 2 and 4pm (that is what siestas are for).

That is a very important tip. A lot of people assume that midday is the hottest time of the day. But midday on the clock is not actually midday in Spain. Spain is due south of the UK, yet it is in the same time zone as the rest of Europe. This is a throwback to Franco's time. They also have daylight saving so the clocks are one hour ahead. This means that Spain is actually 2 hours ahead of the sun and the meridian is at 2pm, not 12 noon. To put it another way, if you leave at 6 am, you have 8 hours, if not more, before the temperature reaches its maximum. If you think temperatures are starting to fall by 4 o'clock, think again.

 

[markie6]

Noel Coward is now my earworm for the day

Mad dogs spotted on the camino. Not so many Englishmen

 

[Robo]

Hi - I posted a shortened version of this as a response on another thread and then thought it might make a good standalone topic.
Please do join in and add tips - it can be pretty hot out there, mad dogs and Englishman and all that ...

So - think dusty Meseta, 34+ degrees, the hot air shimmering into distant water mirages ...
1. Walk slow, really slow - no, really slow, and relaxed. Oh, and be cheerful, it really helps.
2. Shorten distances each day.
3. Start early.
4. Make your pack super-light or use a trailer (buy it before you go, obviously).
5. Wear loose clothes.
6. Wear a wide brimmed hat made of a material that can be soaked and soak it at every stream or fountain or tap, the evaporation as it dries will cool you..
7. Carry a long handled umbrella and use it as a parasol (not short handled, arm will really ache after a very short time).
8. Carry a bandanna or linen napkin with you and often wet it and run it over your skin, especially your head.
9. Hydrate of course but drinking copious amounts of water equals copious amounts of urinating and sweating which leaches out the electrolytes our bodies need, especially salt, so use electrolyte replacement sachets regularly. - If you aren't sweating and/or urinating you are dehydrated, if your sweat isn't salty you have salt/electrolyte problem. Use as much salt (lots) as you want at each meal. As a note; salt is not 'unhealthy' for you. Not enough and you will get ill and faint. Too much and the body will just excrete the excess and restore balance. In the Navy salt tablets were issued daily in the tropics and we could be fined a day's pay for not taking them.
10. Don't walk between 2 and 4pm (that is what siestas are for).
11. Drink before you walk in the morning (and the night before), camel your body.
12. Don't eat sugar in any form (especially designer 'trekking' bars!) as blood sugar levels will be raised and give you a boost but only for twenty minutes and then it will quickly drop to below it was before eating the sugar = exhaustion. Each time the body releases insulin to re-balance, a few years of this and the producing gland exhausts and doesn't work anymore and, Hey Presto! Type 2 diabetes.
13. Same goes for caffeine - give it up; highs and lows, energy and exhaustion - give it up - or! save it for 4pm and have a pot of tea - when we had the empire 4pm tea was what helped us survive in hot countries as it is a really strong (temporary) energising drug.
14. Don't eat a large lunch and don't drink alcohol at lunch.
15. If you don't have an umbrella find a large heavy tall slow moving pilgrim and walk on the shade side of them.
16. Have a servant pulling a cart behind you that carries a solar powered freezer with cold delights inside.

Buen Camino!

Great list David. Good share !

If I might add some comments, based on my recent Camino walking in hot weather. (1,200 kms this time)


#7. I carry a short handled umbrella but use it in a hands free mode. I used these clips to hold it in place and they worked very well. https://www.backpackinglight.com.au/products/gossamer-gear-handsfree-umbrella-clip Previously I used a mix of velcro straps and elastic.

#9 is often over looked or misunderstood. I am staggered at how little water some people carry. As a result, they ARE walking dehydrated. A simple pee test is the best measure. Just google urine color chart. If you have never looked at one, please do. And the electrolytes are so often neglected. This year I used SaltSticks and they were great. When I ran out of those I started carrying a bottle of Aquarius.

#12. Eating sugar. I am guilty of carry snickers bars as a trail snack! But the point I would like to make is breakfast. I made a point of researching diet prior to this Camino. And toast with jam just does not cut it in my view. The jam is just sugar, and the 'white' bread just turns to a type of sugar once you eat it. Sugar is a very short term energy source.

Long term energy comes from proteins, oils and fats. So instead of jam on that toast, ask for ham, cheese, olive oil.... And when I could get them, eggs. Tortilla is another great long term energy food....

And my 'go to' DIY breakfast for those pre dawn starts, was a small tin of sardines in oil...with a really grainy wholemeal bread roll. Long lasting energy! It really worked. Note. The DIY breakfast and pre dawn starts were from private rooms, or if in Albergues, done without disturbing others!

#14. No Large lunch. I actually made lunch my main meal of the day, (menu del dia) once I had 'stopped' walking for the day. But I think the point about not eating a large lunch or drinking alcohol is really valid, if you have not yet stopped walking for the day.

#17. I would add...... Wear clothing that covers your skin! I never walk in shorts or short sleeves. I suspect the Bedouins know a thing or two about clothing for hot weather... I am 'covered' from head to toe. Wide brimmed hat, long sleeves, long pants ..... umbrella......


And I still came home 'tanned' !

 

[trecile]

That is a very important tip. A lot of people assume that midday is the hottest time of the day

Not to mention that the temperature often continues to build after the time that the sun is highest in the sky

 

[Robo]

Not to mention that the temperature often continues to build after the time that the sun is highest in the sky

I was quite surprised on my recent Camino. Looking at the weather app, I would check the weather for the days ahead, and then for the next day, Hour by Hour. Based on that, I would determine my start time, and the time by which I really needed to finish for the day.

Usually the hottest part of the day was 3-4 pm.

The actual process was more like.

1. I'm walking 25 kms.
2. That will take me 7.5 hours including breaks. (worst case)
3. I want to be finished by 2 pm at the latest.
4. So I need to start at........ 6:30 am.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Hi @David,
All great tips for walking in heat and you have condensed them into one good thread. I have never walked a Camino in extreme heat, but it can get quite "warm" by mid to late May on most of my Caminos by the time I finish. No additional tips from me; just a few comments.
#8) My personal favorite is using a wet bandana around my neck and refreshing it in streams or taps as often as I can. The colder the water, the better. In a pinch I wet it with my water bottle, but it's not as refreshing.
#13) It's not for me. Although I am not a caffeine addict and never have withdrawal headaches, I love my morning "cafe con leche" and it's one of my little pleasures that seem to do me no harm.
#14) I'm with Robo on that one. If I walk by a bar near "lunch time", I almost never pass up a meal, but alcohol can make me sluggish, so usually opt for a zero Coke and request ice on the side.
#17) It works for Robo, but it's not for me on hot days. I have tried it, but find even the lightest fabrics to feel stifling and confining, especially if there is a light breeze to take advantage of.

P.S. Nice to see this new post on the forum, and I thought I'd read that you are planning a Camino in September.

 

[bullingtonce]

Hi - I posted a shortened version of this as a response on another thread and then thought it might make a good standalone topic.
Please do join in and add tips - it can be pretty hot out there, mad dogs and Englishman and all that ...

So - think dusty Meseta, 34+ degrees, the hot air shimmering into distant water mirages ...
1. Walk slow, really slow - no, really slow, and relaxed. Oh, and be cheerful, it really helps.
2. Shorten distances each day.
3. Start early.
4. Make your pack super-light or use a trailer (buy it before you go, obviously).
5. Wear loose clothes.
6. Wear a wide brimmed hat made of a material that can be soaked and soak it at every stream or fountain or tap, the evaporation as it dries will cool you..
7. Carry a long handled umbrella and use it as a parasol (not short handled, arm will really ache after a very short time).
8. Carry a bandanna or linen napkin with you and often wet it and run it over your skin, especially your head.
9. Hydrate of course but drinking copious amounts of water equals copious amounts of urinating and sweating which leaches out the electrolytes our bodies need, especially salt, so use electrolyte replacement sachets regularly. - If you aren't sweating and/or urinating you are dehydrated, if your sweat isn't salty you have salt/electrolyte problem. Use as much salt (lots) as you want at each meal. As a note; salt is not 'unhealthy' for you. Not enough and you will get ill and faint. Too much and the body will just excrete the excess and restore balance. In the Navy salt tablets were issued daily in the tropics and we could be fined a day's pay for not taking them.
10. Don't walk between 2 and 4pm (that is what siestas are for).
11. Drink before you walk in the morning (and the night before), camel your body.
12. Don't eat sugar in any form (especially designer 'trekking' bars!) as blood sugar levels will be raised and give you a boost but only for twenty minutes and then it will quickly drop to below it was before eating the sugar = exhaustion. Each time the body releases insulin to re-balance, a few years of this and the producing gland exhausts and doesn't work anymore and, Hey Presto! Type 2 diabetes.
13. Same goes for caffeine - give it up; highs and lows, energy and exhaustion - give it up - or! save it for 4pm and have a pot of tea - when we had the empire 4pm tea was what helped us survive in hot countries as it is a really strong (temporary) energising drug.
14. Don't eat a large lunch and don't drink alcohol at lunch.
15. If you don't have an umbrella find a large heavy tall slow moving pilgrim and walk on the shade side of them.
16. Have a servant pulling a cart behind you that carries a solar powered freezer with cold delights inside.

Buen Camino!

David,
Thank you for the informative post; however, why did you exclude hiring four Spanish laborers to carry you in a sedan chair (with a top cover of course)?. Health always comes first, no? Plus, as you pass the peasant walkers who cannot afford a sedan chair, it gives a mighty boost to one's ego. And I might add, it boosts the local economy. A win-win scenario in my opinion. Chuck

 

[t2andreo]

Spot on - David and all the other veterans. I can attest to every suggestion and recommendation made above.

Personally, I use two Buffs. When not used for warmth or to block the sun, they make excellent neck or wrist bands. When soaked in clean water - not necessarily potable - but clean, they make outstanding evaporative cooling devices for the pressure points in your neck and wrists.

I have also used a Buff for a pressure bandage to staunch some significant bleeding one year, when I fell over a fence and scraped my head deeply - no sutures needed. I placed a full packet of facial tissues under the Buff and used the Buff to hold the "bandage" tightly on he wound. "Worked a treat" - as my UK friends would say.

How this happened, you might ask - don't. I am still too embarrassed to admit I made a newbie mistake. My old drill sergeant in the Army (way back in the day - 1975) would have had a field day with this goof. I can hear him, with full-on expletives NOT deleted, telling my fellow trainees to watch "Goofus" show us all how NOT to scale a meter-high obstacle (fence) with a loaded rucksack on his back - doh! What WAS I thinking? Anytway, I did not bleed to death and it ended well.

The sole caveat is that everyone is a little different. For example, I take prescription meds that make me less tolerant of heat and bright sun.

But, taken together, these recommendations should’ve part of every pilgrim’s basic skill set.

Thanks again.

Tom

 

[roving_rufus]

Having done a couple of summer caminos in France I generally agree with most.

7- I have a short handled uv umbrella that you can attach to you pack handsfree - mine is a cheap uv umbrella that I rigged up - and very definitely makes a big difference. (Bought it to try 5 years ago to try before I put money in a more expensive proper hiking one but it's still going strong)

12- I am guilty of sugary snacks but carefully pair it with something else such as complex carbs and protein to help even out the sugars better.

13- I can cope with one cup of coffee in the morning whether first thing or at "second breakfast" but any more I notice the effect too much of a crash.

Only once on the CP did I come close to the effects of heat/sun and remember arriving into Azambuja and buying a tin of coke at the petrol station right at the entrance and using it as an ice pack to help cool down. I was fine but if I had had much further to go it might have been a different matter.

 

[mazzarina]

Excellent tips!
To add to the collection: I take a linen towel or a sarong which I drape over my hat and shoulders as a portable sunshade. I sometimes give it a soak, which is delicious in the slightest breeze.
It can double as a towel, sheet, curtain on a lower bunk, matador's cape ...

 

[PilgrimPillar]

Hi - I posted a shortened version of this as a response on another thread and then thought it might make a good standalone topic.
Please do join in and add tips - it can be pretty hot out there, mad dogs and Englishman and all that ...

So - think dusty Meseta, 34+ degrees, the hot air shimmering into distant water mirages ...
1. Walk slow, really slow - no, really slow, and relaxed. Oh, and be cheerful, it really helps.
2. Shorten distances each day.
3. Start early.
4. Make your pack super-light or use a trailer (buy it before you go, obviously).
5. Wear loose clothes.
6. Wear a wide brimmed hat made of a material that can be soaked and soak it at every stream or fountain or tap, the evaporation as it dries will cool you..
7. Carry a long handled umbrella and use it as a parasol (not short handled, arm will really ache after a very short time).
8. Carry a bandanna or linen napkin with you and often wet it and run it over your skin, especially your head.
9. Hydrate of course but drinking copious amounts of water equals copious amounts of urinating and sweating which leaches out the electrolytes our bodies need, especially salt, so use electrolyte replacement sachets regularly. - If you aren't sweating and/or urinating you are dehydrated, if your sweat isn't salty you have salt/electrolyte problem. Use as much salt (lots) as you want at each meal. As a note; salt is not 'unhealthy' for you. Not enough and you will get ill and faint. Too much and the body will just excrete the excess and restore balance. In the Navy salt tablets were issued daily in the tropics and we could be fined a day's pay for not taking them.
10. Don't walk between 2 and 4pm (that is what siestas are for).
11. Drink before you walk in the morning (and the night before), camel your body.
12. Don't eat sugar in any form (especially designer 'trekking' bars!) as blood sugar levels will be raised and give you a boost but only for twenty minutes and then it will quickly drop to below it was before eating the sugar = exhaustion. Each time the body releases insulin to re-balance, a few years of this and the producing gland exhausts and doesn't work anymore and, Hey Presto! Type 2 diabetes.
13. Same goes for caffeine - give it up; highs and lows, energy and exhaustion - give it up - or! save it for 4pm and have a pot of tea - when we had the empire 4pm tea was what helped us survive in hot countries as it is a really strong (temporary) energising drug.
14. Don't eat a large lunch and don't drink alcohol at lunch.
15. If you don't have an umbrella find a large heavy tall slow moving pilgrim and walk on the shade side of them.
16. Have a servant pulling a cart behind you that carries a solar powered freezer with cold delights inside.

Buen Camino!

3 ltr water bladder
Smallish microfiber towel to wet down around neck area
Long sleeved / quick dry / thin synthetic underwear to wet down
Flexfit «combed wool» syntethic cap to wet down
Start walking 0500 = half days walk before 1100??

Black colors means quicker dissipated water when wet down and higher cooling effect

Ultreia!

 

[WalkingInGers]

@David You mention « camelling your body ». What does that mean? I am not familiar with that obviously British expression…does it have to do with water?

 

[David]

@David You mention « camelling your body ». What does that mean? I am not familiar with that obviously British expression…does it have to do with water?

Ah, I just invented the term!! As I wrote I wanted to get the image across of really filling the body tissues, each cell, with water a while before actually heat walking, so came up with "camel your body" as camels really know how to store water.

 

[WalkingInGers]

Ah, I just invented the term!! As I wrote I wanted to get the image of really filling the body tissues, each cell, with water, so came up with "camelling the body" as camels really know how to store water.

Let’s hope that this new term reaches The Oxford Dictionary. Thanks for those great tips, btw, as it’s much appreciated: it gives us all points to keep in mind. Really good points especially after one has spent months in the desert.
Would you recommend certain color types of clothing?

 

[David]

David,
Thank you for the informative post; however, why did you exclude hiring four Spanish laborers to carry you in a sedan chair (with a top cover of course)?. Health always comes first, no? Plus, as you pass the peasant walkers who cannot afford a sedan chair, it gives a mighty boost to one's ego. And I might add, it boosts the local economy. A win-win scenario in my opinion. Chuck

Ah, well I don't actually walk nor hire Spanish workers and a sedan - this is my transport (and servants) and I can be seen in various places when I do my first aid. They are waiting for me to climb aboard. Difficult to book refugios for obvious reasons and there are just not enough Paradors on the route. Life is so difficult sometimes.



p.s. @CaminoChrissy -Hi, yes, all settled back in a house in Bath now and have been thinking that I could go to Camino for a few weeks early September but not planned yet. Would be a more 'selfish' one, still do first aid but do the Meseta again 'for me' (last time, with JennyH94 a few years ago from Burgos .. was so hot, in the 30s!! I loved it, the dusty somehow medieval Meseta, my favourite section of Camino). and it was what got me thinking about walking in the heat. xx

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Would be a more 'selfish' one, still do first aid but do the Meseta again 'for me'

You don't sound like a selfish person to me from your posts I've read over the years. I've also watched the interview/s @Robo has done with you; another little snippet into the person you are. No one will care if your first aid kit is possibly a little smaller this time around. I hope your plan turns into a reality for you.

 

[lt56ny]

Hi - I posted a shortened version of this as a response on another thread and then thought it might make a good standalone topic.
Please do join in and add tips - it can be pretty hot out there, mad dogs and Englishman and all that ...

So - think dusty Meseta, 34+ degrees, the hot air shimmering into distant water mirages ...
1. Walk slow, really slow - no, really slow, and relaxed. Oh, and be cheerful, it really helps.
2. Shorten distances each day.
3. Start early.
4. Make your pack super-light or use a trailer (buy it before you go, obviously).
5. Wear loose clothes.
6. Wear a wide brimmed hat made of a material that can be soaked and soak it at every stream or fountain or tap, the evaporation as it dries will cool you..
7. Carry a long handled umbrella and use it as a parasol (not short handled, arm will really ache after a very short time).
8. Carry a bandanna or linen napkin with you and often wet it and run it over your skin, especially your head.
9. Hydrate of course but drinking copious amounts of water equals copious amounts of urinating and sweating which leaches out the electrolytes our bodies need, especially salt, so use electrolyte replacement sachets regularly. - If you aren't sweating and/or urinating you are dehydrated, if your sweat isn't salty you have salt/electrolyte problem. Use as much salt (lots) as you want at each meal. As a note; salt is not 'unhealthy' for you. Not enough and you will get ill and faint. Too much and the body will just excrete the excess and restore balance. In the Navy salt tablets were issued daily in the tropics and we could be fined a day's pay for not taking them.
10. Don't walk between 2 and 4pm (that is what siestas are for).
11. Drink before you walk in the morning (and the night before), camel your body.
12. Don't eat sugar in any form (especially designer 'trekking' bars!) as blood sugar levels will be raised and give you a boost but only for twenty minutes and then it will quickly drop to below it was before eating the sugar = exhaustion. Each time the body releases insulin to re-balance, a few years of this and the producing gland exhausts and doesn't work anymore and, Hey Presto! Type 2 diabetes.
13. Same goes for caffeine - if you can, give it up; highs and lows, energy and exhaustion - give it up - or! save it for 4pm and have a pot of tea - when we had the empire 4pm tea was what helped us survive in hot countries as it is a really strong (temporary) energising drug.
14. Don't eat a large lunch and don't drink alcohol at lunch.
15. If you don't have an umbrella find a large heavy tall slow moving pilgrim and walk on the shade side of them.
16. Have a servant pulling a cart behind you that carries a solar powered freezer with cold delights inside.

Buen Camino!

I just wanted to add that when I did walk in hot weather, which I now try to do like the plague, I drink a full liter of water before I begin in the morning. I was a pharmaceutical rep (I know it can be perceived as a dirty word and I did quit because of certain big pharma practices) the mention of the pancreas working too hard and not being able to produce enough natural insulin is very true and because of sedentary lifestyles and horrendous eating habits is the reason a vast number of the type 2 diabetics develop this preventable disease. I am sure you know this better than I. I am 69 years old and thankfully my A1C and blood sugar levels are good. Walking and doing the camino are great ways to ward off diabetes and a whole host of other morbidities. A camino is a great way to lower both blood sugar and A1C. Being 69 in my mind does kind of suck. I would much rather be 29 all things considered but it affords me the opportunity to walk when temps are much more temperate and tolerable (Late October/November/December).
One thing we should add to your list is to protect your whole body from melanomas. I had a cancer scare that luckily was nothing that my wonderful Dermatologist discovered (not a melanoma) and removed before it could turn into cancer. She told me that almost every day she has someone, especially those over 60, coming in with a new melanoma or a recurring one. She told me from now on I MUST always wear sunscreen and a hat no matter the time of year or cloud cover. I showed her the hat I wear on the camino and she thought it was perfect.

Sun Runner Cap

Performance sun cap with mesh side panels and a wicking sweatband to keep you cool. Equipped with a UPF 40 removable sun cape that can be snapped on and off for extra coverage.

www.outdoorresearch.com

She said whenever I am on the camino I should pull the string up in the front to protect my face. I already had started doing that on my last camino.
I walked the VDLP 2 years ago and the first week or so it was still 90F+ every day. I wore a pair of very light long pants and long sleeve wicker shirts both with IV protection. I absolutely did NOT feel I was hotter with light long sleeve shirts and long pants then in short sleeves and shorts.

 

[Cherylmayneill]

Hi - I posted a shortened version of this as a response on another thread and then thought it might make a good standalone topic.
Please do join in and add tips - it can be pretty hot out there, mad dogs and Englishman and all that ...

So - think dusty Meseta, 34+ degrees, the hot air shimmering into distant water mirages ...
1. Walk slow, really slow - no, really slow, and relaxed. Oh, and be cheerful, it really helps.
2. Shorten distances each day.
3. Start early.
4. Make your pack super-light or use a trailer (buy it before you go, obviously).
5. Wear loose clothes.
6. Wear a wide brimmed hat made of a material that can be soaked and soak it at every stream or fountain or tap, the evaporation as it dries will cool you..
7. Carry a long handled umbrella and use it as a parasol (not short handled, arm will really ache after a very short time).
8. Carry a bandanna or linen napkin with you and often wet it and run it over your skin, especially your head.
9. Hydrate of course but drinking copious amounts of water equals copious amounts of urinating and sweating which leaches out the electrolytes our bodies need, especially salt, so use electrolyte replacement sachets regularly. - If you aren't sweating and/or urinating you are dehydrated, if your sweat isn't salty you have salt/electrolyte problem. Use as much salt (lots) as you want at each meal. As a note; salt is not 'unhealthy' for you. Not enough and you will get ill and faint. Too much and the body will just excrete the excess and restore balance. In the Navy salt tablets were issued daily in the tropics and we could be fined a day's pay for not taking them.
10. Don't walk between 2 and 4pm (that is what siestas are for).
11. Drink before you walk in the morning (and the night before), camel your body.
12. Don't eat sugar in any form (especially designer 'trekking' bars!) as blood sugar levels will be raised and give you a boost but only for twenty minutes and then it will quickly drop to below it was before eating the sugar = exhaustion. Each time the body releases insulin to re-balance, a few years of this and the producing gland exhausts and doesn't work anymore and, Hey Presto! Type 2 diabetes.
13. Same goes for caffeine - if you can, give it up; highs and lows, energy and exhaustion - give it up - or! save it for 4pm and have a pot of tea - when we had the empire 4pm tea was what helped us survive in hot countries as it is a really strong (temporary) energising drug.
14. Don't eat a large lunch and don't drink alcohol at lunch.
15. If you don't have an umbrella find a large heavy tall slow moving pilgrim and walk on the shade side of them.
16. Have a servant pulling a cart behind you that carries a solar powered freezer with cold delights inside.

Buen Camino!

Love this thankyou. I think I may well be the 'tall, large, slow moving pilgrim'!

 

[Rita Flower]

A couple of additional points
I met two sisters on the Via who had these special caps/head scarves that you refrigerate the night before and they stay cool all day!
I read that an umbrella drops your water needs by 10%. It gives more shade so I didn’t need long sleeves which I find suffocating and admire those who can tolerate covering up.
I used a short handle umbrella but rigged it up to be hands free. Though I think I would use a long handles one next time.
On the Via I thought I found my water ‘sweet spot’. Not drinking so much that I needed to pee every hour or two (and I do have a strong bladder) but enough so there was a sufficient ‘flow through’.

 

[JerryStroebele]

Umbrella and wet hat. And with a nice breeze under the umbrella I don't need the hat. I'm not much of a beer drinker but love a cold one in the afternoon. Every bar now has 0.0 cerveza, some even on tap and they all taste great. Buen Camino

 

[Saint Mike II]

Hola @David and others. Some really good stuff posted above. One (I think it was Crissy) made mention of warmer temperatures in May. May I extend this - if you are walking the Via De La Plata, the warmer/hotter days can and will kick in a month or more ahead of the Frances. So even with a 6.00 am (or sun rise) start you can still find the temps are over 30C or 86F before 12.00 midday. Thus the suggestions about carrying extra water - at least 2 (maybe 3) litres if you are aiming to walk a 30+km (18/19 mile) day. Buen Camino.

 

[Mananath]

If you are planning on starting early in the morning, when it is still dark, consider attaching a reflector to your backpack to make it easier for you to be spotted by motorists. There is a lot of road walking on the Camino!

 

[Philtration]

Bro, I was right there with you until #13. For me there is no meaning to life without "café fuerte caliente muy grande con leche !!".

 

[bubba]

All my walks have been in the spring but that is not a safeguard from the heat. I take a nap if I can find some shade and a comfortable spot in the late afternoon. Hydrating before the nap. Hydrating(cameling) the night before and morning helps avoid carrying a large weight of water. I carry about a litre and try not to use it unless necessary, drinking plentifully when I come across available water sources.

 

[Corelacka]

I walked from León to Santiago in June 2022 and most days were 36°+C. I wore long sleeved technical tee shirts with thumb loops to cover back of my hands and full length Lycra pants. From 11am onwards I used my trekking towel underneath my wide brimmed trekking hat and walked very slowly. I planned my stops so that I did the 1,200+ metre climbs first thing in the morning. I always used antiperspirant on my feet when I changed into trekking sandals at end of walk - saw too many peregrinos getting blisters in late afternoon heat while wearing flip flops.

 

[Turga]

Geez! I walk in August/September when it’s really hot and apart from #6 (and I don’t soak my hat), #8 and #14, apparently I’m doing everything wrong! I wonder why I’m still alive?

 

[Rita Flower]

Geez! I walk in August/September when it’s really hot and apart from #6 (and I don’t soak my hat), #8 and #14, apparently I’m doing everything wrong! I wonder why I’m still alive?

There is hot and there is HOT. To quote ….
Holiday Weather
https://www.holiday-weather.com › ...
Seville, Average Weather July - Spain
The highest ever recorded temperature for July in Seville is a boiling hot 47 °C with the lowest being 13°C.

While the average high in July /August is 37 C it’s not guaranteed.

I live in Australia and am familiar with the heat. In Andalusia I walked in temps of 32 C a couple of times when I continued walking till 1-2 pm, but that’s my limit. It wasn’t pleasant but doable. Mostly I stopped at midday when temps were still below 30 C (in late September)

You know yourself best and sound like an experienced walker/ hiker.
I guess forum members want to protect beloved ‘newbies’ from making a challenging Camino (the Via) even more challenging.
PS. I love the Via and do wish you Buen Camino

 

[Robo]

If you are planning on starting early in the morning, when it is still dark, consider attaching a reflector to your backpack to make it easier for you to be spotted by motorists. There is a lot of road walking on the Camino!

Very good point.
I have reflectors on my pack, but also reflective tape on my poles.
It works very well.


View attachment Tape.mp4

 

[chinacat]

I have a sort of cotton necktie filled with crystals which you soak in water and which really cools you as it dries. It lasted longer than just soaking a piece of material.
Trouble is, I haven’t a clue where I bought it.
(might have been Safariquip)
But I have found it useful in UK heatwaves too …
I’d flake in 30C temps … there’d be no question of actually walking …

Ah, I do have one more suggestion, David: try to find a melon every day … preferably a water melon. There’s something about balancing the Vit D with Vit A that really restores me, body and soul ..

 

[catperson]

That is a very important tip. A lot of people assume that midday is the hottest time of the day. But midday on the clock is not actually midday in Spain. Spain is due south of the UK, yet it is in the same time zone as the rest of Europe. This is a throwback to Franco's time. They also have daylight saving so the clocks are one hour ahead. This means that Spain is actually 2 hours ahead of the sun and the meridian is at 2pm, not 12 noon. To put it another way, if you leave at 6 am, you have 8 hours, if not more, before the temperature reaches its maximum. If you think temperatures are starting to fall by 4 o'clock, think again.

I think many people don’t know about @ Franco time in Spain

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I think many people don’t know about @ Franco time in Spain

True probably, but I have read "Guernica", and "The History if the Basques". Both were prompted by a friend and I found them both very interesting.

 

[Anthony18]

Hi - I posted a shortened version of this as a response on another thread and then thought it might make a good standalone topic.
Please do join in and add tips - it can be pretty hot out there, mad dogs and Englishman and all that ...

So - think dusty Meseta, 34+ degrees, the hot air shimmering into distant water mirages ...
1. Walk slow, really slow - no, really slow, and relaxed. Oh, and be cheerful, it really helps.
2. Shorten distances each day.
3. Start early.
4. Make your pack super-light or use a trailer (buy it before you go, obviously).
5. Wear loose clothes.
6. Wear a wide brimmed hat made of a material that can be soaked and soak it at every stream or fountain or tap, the evaporation as it dries will cool you..
7. Carry a long handled umbrella and use it as a parasol (not short handled, arm will really ache after a very short time).
8. Carry a bandanna or linen napkin with you and often wet it and run it over your skin, especially your head.
9. Hydrate of course but drinking copious amounts of water equals copious amounts of urinating and sweating which leaches out the electrolytes our bodies need, especially salt, so use electrolyte replacement sachets regularly. - If you aren't sweating and/or urinating you are dehydrated, if your sweat isn't salty you have salt/electrolyte problem. Use as much salt (lots) as you want at each meal. As a note; salt is not 'unhealthy' for you. Not enough and you will get ill and faint. Too much and the body will just excrete the excess and restore balance. In the Navy salt tablets were issued daily in the tropics and we could be fined a day's pay for not taking them.
10. Don't walk between 2 and 4pm (that is what siestas are for).
11. Drink before you walk in the morning (and the night before), camel your body.
12. Don't eat sugar in any form (especially designer 'trekking' bars!) as blood sugar levels will be raised and give you a boost but only for twenty minutes and then it will quickly drop to below it was before eating the sugar = exhaustion. Each time the body releases insulin to re-balance, a few years of this and the producing gland exhausts and doesn't work anymore and, Hey Presto! Type 2 diabetes.
13. Same goes for caffeine - if you can, give it up; highs and lows, energy and exhaustion - give it up - or! save it for 4pm and have a pot of tea - when we had the empire 4pm tea was what helped us survive in hot countries as it is a really strong (temporary) energising drug.
14. Don't eat a large lunch and don't drink alcohol at lunch.
15. If you don't have an umbrella find a large heavy tall slow moving pilgrim and walk on the shade side of them.
16. Have a servant pulling a cart behind you that carries a solar powered freezer with cold delights inside.

Buen Camino!

1. Start early. It's nice and cool in the mornings.
2. Bring plenty of water.
3. Wet your buff and wear it on your head under your hat, or around your neck.
4. Get this or something similar to attach a "short" hiking umbrella to your backpack's strap. This will free your hands up. Trust me, it works. I did this in 2019 on the CF and everyone I passed offered to buy my umbrella-LOL!! Here I am approaching the San Anton Ruins with my trusty hiking umbrella attached to my left backpack strap. Hope this helps and buen camino!

 

[cathietherese]

@David thank you to you and other members for what is a vital post. We walked the CF last August. I can’t imagine doing this without our sun umbrellas or electrolyte/potassium tablets.
Hydrating before you leave (from the previous evening), and the wee test are marathon tips. If you are not wanting to pee as you normally would that’s a big warning sign.
If it got too hot for us - (way too close to 40 degrees) we stopped walking. on days like that we framed it as the Camino lesson for that day was accepting it was dangerous and reading nature. (.Seeing and helping other fitter and younger people collapsed from the heat/waiting for an ambulance was humbling pie too).
Take care and buen Camino.

 

[dangif123]

Hi - I posted a shortened version of this as a response on another thread and then thought it might make a good standalone topic.
Please do join in and add tips - it can be pretty hot out there, mad dogs and Englishman and all that ...

So - think dusty Meseta, 34+ degrees, the hot air shimmering into distant water mirages ...
1. Walk slow, really slow - no, really slow, and relaxed. Oh, and be cheerful, it really helps.
2. Shorten distances each day.
3. Start early.
4. Make your pack super-light or use a trailer (buy it before you go, obviously).
5. Wear loose clothes.
6. Wear a wide brimmed hat made of a material that can be soaked and soak it at every stream or fountain or tap, the evaporation as it dries will cool you..
7. Carry a long handled umbrella and use it as a parasol (not short handled, arm will really ache after a very short time).
8. Carry a bandanna or linen napkin with you and often wet it and run it over your skin, especially your head.
9. Hydrate of course but drinking copious amounts of water equals copious amounts of urinating and sweating which leaches out the electrolytes our bodies need, especially salt, so use electrolyte replacement sachets regularly. - If you aren't sweating and/or urinating you are dehydrated, if your sweat isn't salty you have salt/electrolyte problem. Use as much salt (lots) as you want at each meal. As a note; salt is not 'unhealthy' for you. Not enough and you will get ill and faint. Too much and the body will just excrete the excess and restore balance. In the Navy salt tablets were issued daily in the tropics and we could be fined a day's pay for not taking them.
10. Don't walk between 2 and 4pm (that is what siestas are for).
11. Drink before you walk in the morning (and the night before), camel your body.
12. Don't eat sugar in any form (especially designer 'trekking' bars!) as blood sugar levels will be raised and give you a boost but only for twenty minutes and then it will quickly drop to below it was before eating the sugar = exhaustion. Each time the body releases insulin to re-balance, a few years of this and the producing gland exhausts and doesn't work anymore and, Hey Presto! Type 2 diabetes.
13. Same goes for caffeine - if you can, give it up; highs and lows, energy and exhaustion - give it up - or! save it for 4pm and have a pot of tea - when we had the empire 4pm tea was what helped us survive in hot countries as it is a really strong (temporary) energising drug.
14. Don't eat a large lunch and don't drink alcohol at lunch.
15. If you don't have an umbrella find a large heavy tall slow moving pilgrim and walk on the shade side of them.
16. Have a servant pulling a cart behind you that carries a solar powered freezer with cold delights inside.

Buen Camino!

There are also yogic ‘cooling breath’ techniques which help lower the body temperature. They are quite straightforward to do just google cooling breath.

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

Not to mention that the temperature often continues to build after the time that the sun is highest in the sky

If you look at the hour-by-hour predictions from IPMA (the Portuguese weather/environmental department), the hottest part of the day in central Portugal is inevitably 2-5 or so, not noon. Partly the built environment, I think. So much concrete and hardscape that it acts as a heat sink and radiates a lot of heat back in the later part of the day. Of course, not so bad on the greener parts of the caminos.

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

I have a sort of cotton necktie filled with crystals which you soak in water and which really cools you as it dries. It lasted longer than just soaking a piece of material.
Trouble is, I haven’t a clue where I bought it.

For those in Canada and the US, pre-caminos, this from Lee Valley could help...

Cooling Towel - Lee Valley Tools

www.leevalley.com

 

[Turga]

For those in Canada and the US, pre-caminos, this from Lee Valley could help...

Cooling Towel - Lee Valley Tools

www.leevalley.com

I use something like that, works well.

Plenty of quite cheap different brands and sizes on Amazon e.g.: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Cooling-...7505&sprefix=cooling+tow,aps,106&sr=8-23&th=1

 

[David Tallan]

True probably, but I have read "Guernica", and "The History if the Basques". Both were prompted by a friend and I found them both very interesting.

In response to:

I think many people don’t know about @ Franco time in Spain

I think catperson was referring to the time zone Franco imposed, rather than Franco's time in charge. I don't know if those two books talked much about the time zone.

 

[AlwynWellington]

I suspect the Bedouins know a thing or two about clothing for hot weather...

My (now faint) recollection from my readings for Economic History, was the "black" stuff sent to Arabia et al by the English wool trade.

Not white as given us by the 1960's movie Lawrence of Arabia.

 

[sonjafromConnecticutUSA]

Hi - I posted a shortened version of this as a response on another thread and then thought it might make a good standalone topic.
Please do join in and add tips - it can be pretty hot out there, mad dogs and Englishman and all that ...

So - think dusty Meseta, 34+ degrees, the hot air shimmering into distant water mirages ...
1. Walk slow, really slow - no, really slow, and relaxed. Oh, and be cheerful, it really helps.
2. Shorten distances each day.
3. Start early.
4. Make your pack super-light or use a trailer (buy it before you go, obviously).
5. Wear loose clothes.
6. Wear a wide brimmed hat made of a material that can be soaked and soak it at every stream or fountain or tap, the evaporation as it dries will cool you..
7. Carry a long handled umbrella and use it as a parasol (not short handled, arm will really ache after a very short time).
8. Carry a bandanna or linen napkin with you and often wet it and run it over your skin, especially your head.
9. Hydrate of course but drinking copious amounts of water equals copious amounts of urinating and sweating which leaches out the electrolytes our bodies need, especially salt, so use electrolyte replacement sachets regularly. - If you aren't sweating and/or urinating you are dehydrated, if your sweat isn't salty you have salt/electrolyte problem. Use as much salt (lots) as you want at each meal. As a note; salt is not 'unhealthy' for you. Not enough and you will get ill and faint. Too much and the body will just excrete the excess and restore balance. In the Navy salt tablets were issued daily in the tropics and we could be fined a day's pay for not taking them.
10. Don't walk between 2 and 4pm (that is what siestas are for).
11. Drink before you walk in the morning (and the night before), camel your body.
12. Don't eat sugar in any form (especially designer 'trekking' bars!) as blood sugar levels will be raised and give you a boost but only for twenty minutes and then it will quickly drop to below it was before eating the sugar = exhaustion. Each time the body releases insulin to re-balance, a few years of this and the producing gland exhausts and doesn't work anymore and, Hey Presto! Type 2 diabetes.
13. Same goes for caffeine - if you can, give it up; highs and lows, energy and exhaustion - give it up - or! save it for 4pm and have a pot of tea - when we had the empire 4pm tea was what helped us survive in hot countries as it is a really strong (temporary) energising drug.
14. Don't eat a large lunch and don't drink alcohol at lunch.
15. If you don't have an umbrella find a large heavy tall slow moving pilgrim and walk on the shade side of them.
16. Have a servant pulling a cart behind you that carries a solar powered freezer with cold delights inside.

Buen Camino!

Excellent suggestions! I will
heed most of them myself this summer. May I just add a point for possible discussion or else to stimulate one's own research, because I also feel compelled to aid my fellow humans. My point is that consuming plenty of salt, which is sodium hydroxide, mimics the act of drinking seawater. This will hurt your body by dehydration as the body needs to dilute it to expel it. Drinking enough seawater will end you. Yes, we need electrolytes and they are comprised of many mineral combinations, not just sodium hydroxide, and should be derived from fruits and vegetables. Salt is dehydrating and table salt is not the source for bioavailable sodium, meaning it's not in the form that the body needs. Bioavailable sodium and other electrolytes should be derived from plants, again, if you want the form of sodium that is not dehydrating. Yes, Himalayan sea salt or similar do contain trace minerals and if you are going to add salt, that would be the best. I don't think the Navy is infallible in their methods of health maintenance. But again, form one's own opinion on this topic, but may I suggest taking the salt advice "with a grain of salt" (not too seriously). Buen Camino all, and much love to all humans, see you in Hotgust and September.

 

[dougfitz]

May I just add a point for possible discussion or else to stimulate one's own research, because I also feel compelled to aid my fellow humans. My point is that consuming plenty of salt, which is sodium hydroxide, mimics the act of drinking seawater.

If you do feel compelled to help, perhaps you need to get some basic chemistry correct. Common salt is sodium chloride. Sodium hydroxide is otherwise known as caustic soda or lye. It is a major component of many oven cleaners, and definitely not recommended for human consumption!

 

[David]

Talking of healthy bodies here. A lack of salt causes weakness, cramp, fainting, even leading to death.
Other mammals will walk miles to find a salt lick. A part of the wages of a Roman legionary was paid in salt (from which we get salary).
We came from the oceans and essentially our bodies are bags of sea water, replicating our original environment and allowing us to survive away from it. The body takes in salt until each cell is in balance. Too much salt and the body expels it, and, yes, also shows thirst, until in balance again.
When I speak of salt I speak of sea salt and not the awful dead commonly packaged table salt.
We speak of temporary extremes here, not a lifestyle, so keep salt up, hydration up, and electrolyte sachets too.

 

[trecile]

When I speak of salt I speak of iodine rich sea salt and not the awful dead commonly packaged table salt

Hmmm, I don't think that sea salt is rich in iodine, unless it has been added.

Mayo Clinic Q and A: Sea salt and sufficient iodine intake - Mayo Clinic News Network

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I rarely use table salt anymore when cooking. Instead, I like to use sea salt. But I've noticed that a lot of sea salts don’t contain iodine. Do I need iodized salt, or are there sources of iodine other than salt that are likely giving me all of the iodine I need? […]

newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org

 

[David]

Hmmm, I don't think that sea salt is rich in iodine, unless it has been added.

Mayo Clinic Q and A: Sea salt and sufficient iodine intake - Mayo Clinic News Network

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I rarely use table salt anymore when cooking. Instead, I like to use sea salt. But I've noticed that a lot of sea salts don’t contain iodine. Do I need iodized salt, or are there sources of iodine other than salt that are likely giving me all of the iodine I need? […]

newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org

True - mine does but is added. Apologies.

 

[sonjafromConnecticutUSA]

If you do feel compelled to help, perhaps you need to get some basic chemistry correct. Common salt is sodium chloride. Sodium hydroxide is otherwise known as caustic soda or lye. It is a major component of many oven cleaners, and definitely not recommended for human consumption!

Thank you very much I do apologize for my error and I'm quite embarrassed. Thank you again. I do intend only to help.

 

[Nick B]

Wonder how all those pilgrims from previous centuries survived.........

 

[trecile]

Wonder how all those pilgrims from previous centuries survived.........

Some of them didn't!

 

[HumanistHiker]

I swear by starting a hot day with a sachet of Dioralyte or similar rehydration salts in water. I did that everyday on my recent Camino, where daily temperatures were often around the 30°C mark, and at no point felt the telltale headache or queasiness of heat exhaustion, which I've had a few times before.

Sugar free Frize Limao became a refreshing favourite in cafes in Portugal.

Some folks must have very different physiology from me if they can "camel" and drink lots of water the day before and not spend the whole night getting up to go for a pee, or having to keep stopping on the trail to pee before it gets really hot.

I was also glad of a very loose fitting long sleeve shirt, and my Paramo trousers which dried quickly when they got sweaty. l don't know how anyone could stand wearing clingy lycra in the heat, or having to plaster arms and legs in horrible sticky suncream every day if wearing T-shirts & shorts.

 

[JennyH94]

Terrific thread, David - thanks for opening the discussion and to everyone for your posts - like, Like, LIKE for all the posts!

Last year I walked the VDLP and the Sanabres until just before Ourense, when a fall and a heel fracture prevented me from continuing. (Planning to finish the Sanabres next May) … I walked April-May from Seville and had some terribly hot days. I had the luxury of my hiking trailer Spot as my Camino companion (Spot was created by David - thank you again and again David!) and because of this I was able to carry four litres of water. When I could, I’d freeze one of the bottles full of water in the albergue fridge the night before and by the time I needed a cooling drink the bottle would have been sufficiently defrosted to provide around half a cup at least. At the same time I’d also drink from my other two litre bottle which I kept at room temperature. I know that drinking room temperature water is much better for your body as you assimilate it more quickly and easily but crikey that icy cold water was refreshing! And coupled with a banana at a mid-morning break, it was bliss.

Here’s my icy water bottle on a waymarker just before Granja de Moreuela - so refreshing!



Cheers from Oz -
Jenny

 

[JustJack]

#7. I carry a short handled umbrella but use it in a hands free mode. I used these clips to hold it in place and they worked very well. https://www.backpackinglight.com.au/products/gossamer-gear-handsfree-umbrella-clip Previously I used a mix of velcro straps and elastic.

Did the clips work as well as advertised? I tried using my own home made clip without much success.

The clips you linked to are $14, but shipping is $54(!).... I'll see if there's an alternative on Amazon.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Terrific thread, David - thanks for opening the discussion and to everyone for your posts - like, Like, LIKE for all the posts!

Last year I walked the VDLP and the Sanabres until just before Ourense, when a fall and a heel fracture prevented me from continuing. (Planning to finish the Sanabres next May) … I walked April-May from Seville and had some terribly hot days. I had the luxury of my hiking trailer Spot as my Camino companion (Spot was created by David - thank you again and again David!) and because of this I was able to carry four litres of water. When I could, I’d freeze one of the bottles full of water in the albergue fridge the night before and by the time I needed a cooling drink the bottle would have been sufficiently defrosted to provide around half a cup at least. At the same time I’d also drink from my other two litre bottle which I kept at room temperature. I know that drinking room temperature water is much better for your body as you assimilate it more quickly and easily but crikey that icy cold water was refreshing! And coupled with a banana at a mid-morning break, it was bliss.

Here’s my icy water bottle on a waymarker just before Granja de Moreuela - so refreshing!

View attachment 159103

Cheers from Oz -
Jenny

Jenny, I absolutely love ice water year around, even at home. On the Camino, I always asked for Coke Zero with "heilo" for my mid day drink and if it's a warm day, I drink vino blanco with my evening meal; I always still asked for ice. The server sometimes looked at me oddly, but would get a big fat ice cube and drop in my glass...bliss!

So sorry to hear about your fall and the heel fracture you had. I myself had fractured my proximal humerus bone at the train station on my way to the airport going home from my spring Camino. I'm sure there are more of "us" out there who had injuries while walking than we realize.

 

[trecile]

The clips you linked to are $14, but shipping is $54(!).... I'll see if there's an alternative on Amazon

You can try these clips made for hydration tubes.



Or order from the Gossamer Gear site in the US.

Handsfree Umbrella Clamp

One handsfree umbrella clamp and one bungee clamp make this set the perfect umbrella companion. Use the clip on almost any shoulder strap to go handsfree to hide from the sun or the rain.

www.gossamergear.com

 

[Robo]

Did the clips work as well as advertised? I tried using my own home made clip without much success.

The clips you linked to are $14, but shipping is $54(!).... I'll see if there's an alternative on Amazon.

They worked well. Prior to that I used velcro cable ties. Almost as good.

 

[Babyboomergirl]

Last year I walked the VDLP and the Sanabres until just before Ourense, when a fall and a heel fracture prevented me from continuing. (Planning to finish the Sanabres next May) … I walked April-May from Seville and had some terribly hot days.

Sorry to hear you had a fall. I walked the VDLP from Seville this year April- May and also sustained an injury ( knee fracture ) so had to stop in Zamora. It was heatwave weather in April which was unexpected and I’m glad I had a handsfree umbrella. Now I’m trying to decide whether to return and finish the Sanabrés next year in April ( possibly very cold and wet ) or June ( hot )

 

[JennyH94]

Hi @Babyboomergirl - I’m sorry to hear about your injury too - it’s really disappointing when you’ve walked so far, as we both did. If you do decide to finish the Sanabres you’ll have some very special days which you will be utterly thrilled about - for one thing the landscape is so stunning that it takes your breath away. To have all this peace and beauty to yourself if you’re walking alone is amazing … who gets to experience that in our crowded and troubled world? The part from Zamora to just before Ourense was my favourite part and the walking was an absolute joy.

And the hands-free umbrella? You bet!!! Fantastic!!!

Cheers from Sydney -
Jenny

 

[Lindsay53]

Sorry to hear you had a fall. I walked the VDLP from Seville this year April- May and also sustained an injury ( knee fracture ) so had to stop in Zamora. It was heatwave weather in April which was unexpected and I’m glad I had a handsfree umbrella. Now I’m trying to decide whether to return and finish the Sanabrés next year in April ( possibly very cold and wet ) or June ( hot )

Definitely return and finish the Sanbres BBG. As JennyH94 has noted above, it's an awesome experience. It was a bit cold in the early May mornings but usually turned into a fine and warm day. The mountain scenery is great and the solitude is there if you want it. Do it!

 

[WalkingInGers]

I think the sun umbrella sounds like an excellent idea…now another question…any recommendations about preventing TRANSPIRATION? I transpire so much that I am too often too wet while other people are hot but not drenched.

 

[JerryStroebele]

Me too. But I call it sweating. Albergue shower. Buen Camino

 

[WalkingInGers]

Me too. But I call it sweating. Albergue shower. Buen Camino

Sorry about that..yes..sweating…I sometimes mix languages…

 

[dougfitz]

I think the su umbrella sounds like an excellent idea…now another question…any recommendations about preventing TRANSPIRATION? I transpire so much that I am too often too wet while other people are hot but not drenched.

I think it is a mistake to think that one sweats too much in normal circumstances. It is the body's natural response to the amount of work that you are doing. I eschew anti-perspirants and deodorants, both on the camino and in my daily life at home. I find daily washing is sufficient to control underarm odour, while allowing my body to sweat freely when it needs to.

I have seen reference to sweat-free walking techniques being used as a water conservation measure, but more than knowing some people use them, I don't have any further details.

What I would be concerned about is if I was sweating more profusely than I normally would for the conditions. Excess sweating is a sign of heat exhaustion, and if that were accompanied with other signs like feeling nauseous, starting to get a headache, dizziness or cramps, that would be an early warning to slow down, perhaps rest for a while in a shady spot, and make sure I didn't stop sipping water.

 

[C clearly]

Sorry about that..yes..sweating…I sometimes mix languages…

The word you were looking for is "perspiration", but "sweating" is more common in speech.

 

[Rita Flower]

Reflecting umbrella in the heat - a definite Yes. I have walked with and without. The umbrella makes a huge difference to comfort and water consumption.
Sweating - our bodies all have unique responses to heat. I don’t sweat a lot but my face gets red very easily. Sometimes people think I am struggling but I’m not - just an unattractive red face.
Sweating keeps you cool. Just make sure you stay hydrated - and you might need an electrolyte drink to replace lost salts and minerals.