3 November 2013, repeat walk.

[JP]

Walked 7.5 KM today in our new hiking shoes on a bike trail along the river in town today, a good start and everything went well with no problems. Next Saturday or Sunday depending on the weather we will tackle a new hiking trail that goes up to the top of one of the local ski hills about an 8.5 KM walk up the Mountain side.

 

[mralisn]

This sounds like a great start JP. When will you walk the Camino?

Did you walk with packs as well? One of the things I like to do is to slowly add weight to my backpack. This helps to build back and shoulder muscles and allows me time to get used to moving with my bag on. I just put a bunch of junk in my pack to weigh it down. The 8.5km climb sounds awesome. Maybe if the weather isn't perfect, this will be a good day to walk as well.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Your Camino has begun.

Simeon

 

[JP]

For now our starting date is April 20/21 2014, we still have to confirm vacation days before committing to a definite start date. No packs yet, our practice area is in the middle of town, so we would get strange looks if we walked with large packs, our town is built on a series of hills and crossed by two rivers with many foot trails so we can get to a practice area in less than 15 minutes. Our Area is also surrounded by Mountains and Lakes with many trails in wooded areas, plus when the snow comes we will bring out the snowshoes and we can train all Winter in deep snow.

 

[AshaDasi]

Once the training begins, so the camino begins, I feel. It was that way for me, anyhow. The camino brings so much insight, and much of it is connected with the shifts and changes that the body goes through. As you practice walking regularly, you will also see a shift in your thought processes. I'd love to hear them in the coming months!

 

[mralisn]

Yes, plenty of time to practice and train.

I fully understand the strange looks while walking around with pack. During the rainy season here, I go to my gym and find a treadmill in the back corner. As long as no one is waiting, I'll spend a couple of hours walking on treadmill with full pack and set at incline while wearing my Camino shoes. It's a good time to get asked questions about the Camino.

It seems as if your town is perfect for preparation.

 

[JP]

Coming down the Mountain, which is at my back covered in fog.

Almost back down, fog finally lifted and I can finally take a photo of the Lake.



Diagram of the Ski Hill, we limbed up to the last chair lift, to slippery and wet to climb the last 200 feet up to the communication tower.

September 14th 2013. Well we went up one of the local Ski hill yesterday carrying a 3.5 Kilo day pack. It rained all night, so the ground was very wet, The trail signs were very confusing, so we ended up going up the steep and rocky service road and finally only coverd 5 KM (I think we may stop at Orissons on the first day, instead of walking al the way to Roncevaux!). We started at 1,300 feet elevation up to the top of the Mountain at 2,350 feet elevation. We fell in love with our walking poles, very usefull going uphill and life savers going downhill ! I did not wear my Gaiters, but that was a mistake, by the end of the walk our pants were wet and muddy up to our knees in the wet conditions of the trails. Our clothes were wet from the condensation and perspiration and when we reached the very Windy top of the hill, we were freezing. We rested and had our lunch, not much to see because the top of the Mountain was foggy and cloudy and we could not see the lake at the base of the Mountain at all. We started down right after lunch and made it back down to the Ski Chalet in very short time.

 

[JP]

Today September 15th 2013, we are doing a short walk of 3.5 KM on flat land on a small bike path in the middle of town on the banks of the river, to keep our muscles from cramping up for work tomorrow. We have several other Mountains with hiking trails in the Area and we will be hiking those in the coming weeks.

 

[scruffy1]

The only real difficult parts for me on the Camino are those within civiliztion say sidewalks (such as leaving Leon) through industrial areas (such as entrance to Logrono), around ariports (Burgos and sadly Santiago), so do include some urban walks. Be warned though, sidewalks create their own difficulties, a usual walk from my home reaches a larrge busy intersection with a long wait for lights to cross creating a rest-point whether needed or not. On the Camino one can suddenly discover a "need" to rest after only 40 minutes walking due to a stop light back home.

 

[JP]

Today the 21 Sept. 2013, was the hardest training day yet, we climbed a local Mountain about an hour from Home using a wilderness trail. We started at 1,500 feet elevation and right up 2,880 feet and back down covering 4.5 KM going up the front face of the Mountain and down the other side and ended up on a logging road with a small rise for another 6 KM back to our starting point. We coverd in total 10.5 KM in 5.30 hours (because of the steep and rocky terrain we took many rest stops not to burn up our feet).
Hiking poles were again a life saver, but because of the nice weather we only needed to wear a t-shirt. We did carry all the extra gear in case the weather turned on us and extra water so my pack weighed 6.5 KL today.


Bottom of the Mountain. Start of the climb, it got at lot harder !!!!!!!!



2,450 FT Elevation View of the Valley Below. Trees are just starting to change to their Fall coloration.



Top of the Mountain 2,880 FT Elevation.


Resting after coming down the Mountain, 6 KM to go.


Beaver Dam at the start of our last 6 KM.


Finally back at the Park's Information Building and the end of our 10.5 KM walk!

 

[JP]

Sunday September 29th, 2013. Went up another Ski Hill today, about a 30 minute drive from home. I use to ski here in my younger days, before my knees gave out. We started at 1230 feet altitude walked right up to 2800 feet and then back down ( It took 5.30 hours including lunch break and rest stops.). This time we walked 7.25 KM up and down the mountain carrying our 6.5 Kilo backpacks, when we are feeling stronger we will try with the fully loaded 10 Kilo packs we will be carrying on the Camino. Uphill we used a service road and downhill was down the steepest ski run on the Mountain ( Our feet took quite a beating). We did our first Camino Practice Good Deed today, we had only walked about 30 minutes uphill and we heard a women coming downhill complaining of a bad blister on her toe and fearing what the rest of the climb down back to the Ski Lodge was doing to her feet. We stopped and gave her some band aids so she could fix up her feet, she thanked us and we continued on our climb up the Mountain. I went a bit crazy with photos, but the Mountain Scenery was beautifully painted with the colours of the Fall Foliage. This weekend was the first of three weekends of the Fall Festival, where you can take the chair lift up the Mountain and either ride it back down or walk down. Really a lot of people on the Hill this weekend !



Just starting up, at the bottom a partial view of the Ski Chalet and parking lot.



First rest break about 2 KM up the Mountain.



About half way up the Mountain !



The Valley below is on fire, tree leaves are turning Red, Yellow and Gold !



Lake below, a very nice day for boating also. The Lake starts in Canada and ends in the USA.



Mountain look-out on top of the Mountain at 2,800 Feet elevation



Mountain meadow, ladies sitting down on the grass were speaking Spanish and for a minute I though I was seeing Roncesvalles in the distance.



On our way down, luckily steepest part is done !



Finally down, I hurt the bottom my left heel last weekend and as you can see on my face, this week's climb finished me off. At my back the smaller Mountain on the left on the picture below



We climbed the highest Mountain (center one in the picture) right up to the top at 2,800 Feet of Altitude.

 

[mralisn]

This is awesome JP. All kinds of practice for the Camino no matter incline, decline, packing lunch, blisters. Such great scenery as well.

Cheers,
Simeon

 

[johnsondav]

Walked 7.5 KM today in our new hiking shoes on a bike trail along the river in town today, a good start and everything went well with no problems. Next Saturday or Sunday depending on the weather we will tackle a new hiking trail that goes up to the top of one of the local ski hills about an 8.5 KM walk up the Mountain side.

When will you be doing your Camino?

 

[JP]

"When will you be doing your Camino?"

Hi johnsondave! I see you are from Tulsa, I have been there many times, at the Wannamaker Show. We hope to start our Camino on the 20th of April 2014, but won't be sure untill February in order to confirm my girlfriend's vacation time.

 

[JP]

Last Weekend 5 & 6 October we could not walk, because I had to go out of Town for a working Weekend and we drove 1,494 KM (there and back again). Not walking gave us a needed rest period, but other parts of our bodies were sore after the long drive. The heel of my foot was in bad shape from our walk two weeks ago and my Girlfriend's arm because of a minor fall on our last walk was also hurting. This Saturday the 6th of October we will be attempting a walk around a Mountain located about 87 KM from Home. I bought some inserts for my boots to protect my sore heel and half finger gloves to protect the palm of my hand while using the trekking poles. Glad we are taking these practice runs and finding out about these problems now instead of while walking on the Camino next Spring.

 

[zakosdad]

Looks like you have some good paths to walk on - for real life photos of the CF see my blog http://dalenarlene.blogspot.com
One of the most difficult things for us, was coping with trails that were not flat - that tended to slope either to the right
or left or veed into the middle - strewn with random rocks all over the place - happened on the "flats" as well as uphill and
downhill. Lots of rough downhills so use those trekking poles - hopefully you have watched videos on proper use. We ran into a
few women who fell flat on their faces and ended up all black and blue - because they did not know how to use their poles.
When they started to trip they had their poles angled behind them and kept their hands locked onto the poles so all they could do was
fall on their faces. Had they trained correctl,y it would have been more likely their poles would have helped them avoid those
falls.
Buen Camino

 

[MendiWalker]

Don´t let the bad weather stop you from training. You´ll bound to get it during your Camino!

Buen Camino!

 

[JP]

12 th October 2013 Wilderness Trail Walk. About one Hour drive from Home, walked 6.7 KM with our new Vaude 24 Liter day packs carrying only 5 Kilos or half the load that our Camino 42 Liter packs will weigh. Hardest walk yet, this one was really bad physically. Forgot the golden Army Rule learned as an 18 year kid and did not hydrate myself properly during the first part of the climb, paid for it dearly when I reached the top of the first Mountain. I was very weak, got sick and had a terrible leg cramp. It made the climb down and up the second Mountain a very painfull experience ! Weather was again very nice, probably Indian Summer and that means cold weather and snow is probably just around the corner. The Forest is quickly loosing its Fall colouring and the ground is covered with tree leaves making it slippery walking in some parts. Trails was very rocky and covered with large loose rocks and exposed tree roots which made walking hard on the feet, knees and ankles ! We started at 1,750 feet elevation, but at the start with a made wrong turn and followed a trail that brougt us to 1,470 feet elevation and then started our climb to the top of the Mountain. We reached an elevation of 2,600 feet, but the climb was very steep and relentless. After, I fell apart physically, we started to make our way down a very steep and hard decent and in some places a very narrow trail downhill for people in our physical condition (58 years old and very out of shape). Made it down to the base of the first Mountain and started up the second mountain, the trail was in bad shape with lots of erosion and badly marked in some spots. We finally made it up, but darkness was coming and we were eager to return to our starting point, we finally made it back to the car after 7.30 hours of walking, climbing and almost crawling down the trails !



Start of the walk. Just before we made our wrong turn !



Coming down the trail we see a Mountain Stream.



Small Mountain Stream, down at 1,470 feet elevation and the start of our climb up the first Mountain.



In the distance, a Ski Hill we climbed in the Fog a few weeks ago, we finally get to see what it looks like on a clear day. At 2,600 feet elevation on the top of the first Mountain.




On the way down the first Mountain, bell shaped mushrooms on dead trees.




The trail that never ends !



Small narrow path that zigzags down the Mountain, do not trip here the fall is a long one !



Back down the first Mountain to the small Stream that snakes around the trail.





A rest before going up and then down the last Mountain.




Back down to the parking lot, end of the trail.

 

[MendiWalker]

Hi JP

Both you and your wife are very lucky to have such beautiful mountains to hike in. Nice photos.

Buen Camino

 

[JP]

13 October 2013. We walked 3.5 KM around the river path in the center of town to strech our legs today after the hard hiking yesterday. Another nice Fall day.



A tourist train just leaving the train station and crossing an old iron bridge on the river heading out for a fall tour.



A view of the river walk, right in the middle of town.




Ending our walk in the park on the river.



A municipal walking trail in my town in the middle of a residential district that we checked out today after our river walk. Built on a local historical piece of farmland first settled in 1839. A new place to train in the coming weeks when deer and moose hunting in the woods make hiking a bit dangerous, nice flat and easy on the legs and feet !

 

[jmcarp]

Great start to your training! I'll echo other comments about hiking with your backpacks, slowly building up to the weight you'll actually be carrying. And it's good that you're getting in some hikes with significant elevation gain -- you'll appreciate that when you start up the hill to Roncesvalles. I'd recommend making a reservation to stay at Orisson the first night -- it breaks up the long climb and gives you a chance to "get your feet wet," as the saying goes.

Also, use these training hikes to evaluate different types and combinations of socks and liners. I ended up with a combination of medium-weight merino wool socks (Smartwool and Powersox brands) with ladies nylon anklets for liners. My wife discovered she was getting a rash from the wool socks; therefore she wore Wigwam polyester socks with no liners. We also used Gold Bond "Friction Defense" on our feet every day, both in our training hikes and the Camino itself. It's a roll-on treatment that applies like a deodorant stick. Neither of us ever had a blister for the entire Camino Frances or for the 500+ miles we wracked up in training hikes in the months before our Camino.

Jim

 

[JP]

We have been using Wigwam polyester/marino blend medium weight socks with nylon liners. I also bought some Nok cream for our feet, but we have not used it yet. In all our practice runs up to now we have not had any sign of blisters. I did hurt my heel a couple of weeks ago, when I hit a rock going downhill. The bruise is stil painfull, but it has not forced me to stop training. At 5 Kilos I hardly notice my pack, but we have not tried walking yet with the larger one which will weigh around 10/11 Kilos. Because of the warnings about snow and rain last spring (hoping to walk late April/May), unless the weather is better this year we will be carrying a lot of extra warm clothing , rain gear and a lightweight sleeping bag.

 

[JP]

Walking Partner was sick with a fever this weekend, so I walked alone in a local wilderness park in the middle of town about 2 KM from my home. It used to be a large working farm from 1830 to about 1954, it was sold to the City and all the farm buildings and the Family House was torn down in 1962 and it became a park. The park has many trails and is in the middle of a residential area. I walked 6.36 KM in a bout 2.30 hours at a slow pace just relaxing, I only had my water bottle, the trails are mostly level with a few very smal inclines here and there. Weather is cooler, but still pretty nice for this time of year. Trees are getting bare and it is looking very much like Winter is coming !



Map of the Walking trails in the Wilderness Park in the middle of town.



Start of my walk, terrain is a bit ruff with stones and exposed roots.



Trails evens out and is nice to walk on.



Trails links up to a service road for the power company.



Off to the side the start of a cross-country ski trail, a place to explore on snow shoes once the snow comes.



The trail in some spots is right in the back of people's houses.



A foot bridge over a small Woodland Stream.



Relaxing walk in the woods on a nice day.




Small meadow in the woods.




End of my walk and parking lot is just in front of me.

 

[Olivares]

JP-- good start! In the winter months supplement your training with daily routines at an elliptical machine, specially the one that have the incline function. It trains the muscle groups you use in walking and it allows you to exercice with your backpack. The incline will allow you to train walking "uphill". Start with 30 minutes/day, go from there. It also strenghtens your core (abs/breathing). Gorgeous picture BTW, thanks for sharing! Buen Camino!!

 

[JP]

Thanks for the kind words Olivares, but we do not have access to such a machine. We will continue to train in Wintertime at our cottage using snow shoes to walk on the frozen lake and on a couple of cross country ski trails in the woods near the cottage.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Hi JP! Well done on your practice. I smiled when I saw you'd only done 8 kms and 10 kms .... then I looked at the pictures and saw the terrain! WOW! I've been on a few caminos in my time, but those mountain walks would totally shatter me!
Good luck on the actual camino. As we say ...
Buen Camino!

 

[JP]

On Saturday 26th of October, 2013 with joined a group walk hosted by the local Québec to Compostelle Association. We walked 11 KM Under rainy and wet conditions. We wimped out after lunch and finished the walk on our own. The heel on my foot that I hurt a few weeks ago was acting up and these guys walked to fast for us !



Instruction for the road ahead.



Starting out in the rain! All day was a mix of rain and wet snow.






The three walkers on the right, have walked the Way in the past.




We started off on a long winding road, with a pretty good incline.



First snow I have seen this year, by December we should several feet of the white stuff.



We left the paved road at the top of the hill and followed a Woodland trails after that for most of the trek.



Trail marker we are not lost !



Lunch break and advice from an experienced Pilgrim



After this photo, we let the group walk on and we finished at our own pace. I think our Camino will be a solitary one, it will not be a race for us.

 

[JP]

Saturday 3 November, 2013. Deer Hunting Season started this weekend so it was not a great time to be walking in the woods. Because of this, I again walked the Wilderness Park in the middle of town, but this time with my walking Partner (she missed my last walk, because of a fever). Weather is getting colder at 0 degrees Celsius, a cool and crisp walk of 4 KM.