3 Quick packing questions

TooManyRiceCakes · May 7, 2018

Hello all!

Thanks to your help I have my rout and I have my bus tickets!
And now, I would really appreciate any advise for these questions about what to bring on the trail.

1) Should I being my official US passport, or will a photocopy be good enough? I have read that maybe benign the whole passport would be better, but I just want to make sure.

2) Trekking poles. While I am a undergrad college student, my knees are not the best ever, and I hear trekking poles can help people with knee issues avoid problems. Can I find some sticks on the trail and use that instead of paying a pair of poles?
I don’t want to buy them because of money (As a college student, I need to cut corners whenever I can)/space when I fly home back to the states.

3) My camera. I have a Cannon camera that is about 1.28 pounds/580 grams. I very much want to bring it, as photography is a big passion of mine. My question is: would any of you strongly advise against this? Are there other pilgrims that bring sizable cameras with them? If you think bringing it will not be a terrible mistake, I plan on leaving the charger at home to force me to be selective with it’s use, and to save weight.

Thank you!
I am so amazed and the speed and quality of the responses on this sight

pilgrimjonas · May 7, 2018

Hey there! Let me share my point of view!

1) You’re probably best advised to bring your actual passport. Not carrying it may lead to awkward moments when immigrating and checking in in the albergues. Are you worried about it getting stolen?

2) You can purchase cheap poles on the camino. Also, a lot of pilgrims leave theirs behind so there’s a chance you might use some second hand ones. That also applies for actual wooden walking sticks. Alternatively, mother nature’s sticks might help you out here and there when climbing down.

3) I think gear questions can never be finals answered. They really depend on your individual concept and use. Personally I would never bring a DSLR, but prefer to use my iPhone as a camera when on a walk. Safe the weight and rather not be bothered with to many visual options, I tell myself. Keep it light and simple. However, pilgrims do bring cameras and there’s nothing wrong with it. So if you love fotography and don’t mind the weight, you might be happy to bring it

mspath · May 7, 2018

For more re carrying a national passport see this earlier forum thread.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/do-i-need-my-passport.24387/

MikeyC · May 7, 2018

European Union countries require a passport for non EU visitors. Must have an expiry date at least 3 months after intended departure date. Original document.

If your knees are dodgy why risk them by trying to save 20 dollars? You can't rely on finding suitable tree branches and very unlikely in St Jean or crossing the Pyrenees.

I use the phone camera. If you are really keen you might consider buying hiking poles before you leave and get one with a camera mount for your SLR.

martin1ws · May 7, 2018

TooManyRiceCakes said:
...
3) My camera. I have a Cannon camera that is about 1.28 pounds/580 grams....

I think if you ask about your camera and you are not absolutely sure that you need it you should leave it at home.

Here is Hank's comment in this thread (video):
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...king-list-ultralight-under-5-kg-10-lbs.53662/

He talks about his camera here (19m 48s):

RJM · May 7, 2018

Bring your actual, physical passport.
Do not bring your camera if you have even the slightest feeling you will regret doing so. Perhaps use your phone instead.
Do not depend on finding suitable branches to use as trekking poles. Buy inexpensive ones when you arrive or perhaps at Wal-Mart. Yes, they have trekking poles that will easily work well on the Camino.

TooManyRiceCakes · May 7, 2018

Thank you for your thoughts!

So I will bring my full passport. I am not too worried about it getting stolen so that should be ok.

I think I will try to get poles when I get there. Do you think I should get them in León, or look through the lost and found bins in the first albergue I come to?

I will keep thinking about the camera. I love that thing dearly and my throw away phone has a poor camera. I am pretty sure I will wind up bringing it.

Thanks again!

pilgrimjonas · May 7, 2018

In the albergues there are sometimes poles to be found, which other pilgrims left behind. But don't count on it! Where will you start your journey? I am asking, because not every village features a fully equipped outdoor store Why would you rather buy a new pair instead of taking your ones from home?

Athena Atterdag · May 7, 2018

As already indicated, EU requires non-EU citizens to carry their passports. Just in case: if you're flying with a European airline within Europe, check your confirmation email and boarding pass carefully - you might be required to go through a visa check at the airline's registration desk at the airport!

TooManyRiceCakes · May 7, 2018

pilgrimjonas said:
In the albergues there are sometimes poles to be found, which other pilgrims left behind. But don't count on it! Where will you start your journey? I am asking, because not every village features a fully equipped outdoor store Why would you rather buy a new pair instead of taking your ones from home?

I am starting in León, and I would take the poles back if they were collapsible! I am just worried about fitting them into my suitcase as a fly back to the us

JabbaPapa · May 7, 2018

TooManyRiceCakes said:
1) Should I being my official US passport, or will a photocopy be good enough? I have read that maybe benign the whole passport would be better, but I just want to make sure.

Both original and photocopy -- the original is absolutely necessary, immigration Authorities would be entirely within their rights were they to refuse passage out of USA, refuse entry on arrival, or deport you for absence of a travel document.

But you could certainly secret the passport away in your pack, and use the photocopy for most Camino purposes.

TooManyRiceCakes said:
2) Trekking poles. While I am a undergrad college student, my knees are not the best ever, and I hear trekking poles can help people with knee issues avoid problems. Can I find some sticks on the trail and use that instead of paying a pair of poles?
I don’t want to buy them because of money (As a college student, I need to cut corners whenever I can)/space when I fly home back to the states.

You don't need to bring anything like that across from the States on your plane.

But if your knees aren't the best, buying a cheap pair of poles after you arrive in Europe would likely be the best idea.

Finding some sticks is very non-ideal, hiking staves need to be properly stripped of bark and dried before they're usable, and most wood is non-appropriate.

The best staves are basically an entire ash sapling of the right thickness and height for you personally. You will not randomly find such on the Way.

Also, staff use is harder to learn than pole use.

Buy a couple of cheap poles when you get here.

TooManyRiceCakes said:
3) My camera. I have a Cannon camera that is about 1.28 pounds/580 grams. I very much want to bring it, as photography is a big passion of mine. My question is: would any of you strongly advise against this?

No.

trecile · May 7, 2018

JabbaPapa said:
Both original and photocopy -- the original is absolutely necessary, immigration Authorities would be entirely within their rights were they to refuse passage out of USA, refuse entry on arrival, or deport you for absence of a travel document.

As I understand it from @TooManyRiceCakes other posts that she is already in Spain on a study abroad program.

Aroha · May 7, 2018

I would normally take my camera and lenses everywhere with me but that would bring my backpack weight way over and to be honest I just can't see myself stopping all the time to get it out and take pictures as I would if I had nothing else to carry. Most smartphones have good capabilities for awb, iso and fstop adjustments. Failing that you can always edit your phone pics later with Snapseed. I'm sticking with my phone.

natefaith · May 7, 2018

Welcome to the Forum, @TooManyRiceCakes !

If you must bring your camera, I'd recommend bringing the charger as well. I've found that with my DSLR if I use it a lot in cooler weather (which it will be when you want to take early-morning fog landscape photos!) the battery runs out much more quickly. In my opinion, if you're going to bring the camera, you might as well go whole-hog and get the most out of it on your Camino, which would mean bringing the charger so you can take as many photos as you want. On the other hand, if you already plan to be selective with how you use it, then I wouldn't bring the camera at all.

Having said that, you may want to train a bit with the camera and see how it feels to have with you. Would you have it around your neck while walking? Would you have it in your pack, and where in the pack would it be? How long would it take to dig out when you wanted to take photos? In the end, you may find that the hassle of bringing it (and walking with it around your neck or in your hand) are worth it, or you may find that it's just too uncomfortable/ heavy/ annoying to have. Especially if you also need to manage with trekking poles.

Do you have Lidl store nearby? They may have hiking gear and trekking poles for very cheap. And Decathlon, as always, will have poles at a reasonable price. As someone else said above, spending money on poles may be a good investment for your knees. Poles take stress and weight off your knees and feet and can provide good balance going up and down hill (which you'll need going down into Molinaseca and up into O Cebreiro). I actually LOVE going downhill with poles - I feel like I have four feet! It's very fun.

If you're worried about flying back to the US with them, you could always leave them at the albergue in O Cebreiro or give them to another pilgrim who needs them when you're done.

Enjoy all the planning and Buen Camino!
Faith

Vacajoe · May 7, 2018

Taking photos with an iPhone and wishing every time that I had a better camera . If your phone’s camera is subpar, you’ll kick yourself the very first sunset you see. Today it was a parade of sheep that I couldn’t capture very sharply.

As for poles, wife bought two at $10 each at Decathalon in Spain. An excellent investment, but watchva video or two so you hold them and use them correctly. They not only save your knees, they also increase your walking speed dramatically! So far I have seen only one set left in the donation pile in the 20+ alburgues I have stayed in...

SYates · May 7, 2018

TooManyRiceCakes said:
Hello all!

Thanks to your help I have my rout and I have my bus tickets!
And now, I would really appreciate any advise for these questions about what to bring on the trail.

1) Should I being my official US passport, or will a photocopy be good enough? I have read that maybe benign the whole passport would be better, but I just want to make sure.

2) Trekking poles. While I am a undergrad college student, my knees are not the best ever, and I hear trekking poles can help people with knee issues avoid problems. Can I find some sticks on the trail and use that instead of paying a pair of poles?
I don’t want to buy them because of money (As a college student, I need to cut corners whenever I can)/space when I fly home back to the states.

3) My camera. I have a Cannon camera that is about 1.28 pounds/580 grams. I very much want to bring it, as photography is a big passion of mine. My question is: would any of you strongly advise against this? Are there other pilgrims that bring sizable cameras with them? If you think bringing it will not be a terrible mistake, I plan on leaving the charger at home to force me to be selective with it’s use, and to save weight.

Thank you!
I am so amazed and the speed and quality of the responses on this sight

1) In Spain it is required by law that you always carry a legal ID aka passport or similar (original not copy) with you).

2) Poles are widely available at the usual starting points and not to expensive. I think I paid 25 Euro for two good poles in Roncesvalles in 2016.

3) If photography is your passion bring your camera - AND its charger. Sounds like one of the Canon G series to me - love them!

Buen Camino, SY

DowtyCamino · May 8, 2018

It sounds like you have plenty of advice already but let me add a question or two for you to ponder.
Camera: what is your intent? If you love photography I'd lean toward taking it. Being able to record my memories on my camera was important to me on both Camino's and I'm glad I brought mine. However if I didn't bring one I'd have been more "present" toward other beauty than what my eye wanted to capture on "film". So be aware that having a camera (ignoring the weight) may come at a cost. You need to decide where your passion lies for this Camino.

tomnorth · May 8, 2018

TooManyRiceCakes said:
Hello all!

Thanks to your help I have my rout and I have my bus tickets!
And now, I would really appreciate any advise for these questions about what to bring on the trail.

1) Should I being my official US passport, or will a photocopy be good enough? I have read that maybe benign the whole passport would be better, but I just want to make sure.

2) Trekking poles. While I am a undergrad college student, my knees are not the best ever, and I hear trekking poles can help people with knee issues avoid problems. Can I find some sticks on the trail and use that instead of paying a pair of poles?
I don’t want to buy them because of money (As a college student, I need to cut corners whenever I can)/space when I fly home back to the states.

3) My camera. I have a Cannon camera that is about 1.28 pounds/580 grams. I very much want to bring it, as photography is a big passion of mine. My question is: would any of you strongly advise against this? Are there other pilgrims that bring sizable cameras with them? If you think bringing it will not be a terrible mistake, I plan on leaving the charger at home to force me to be selective with it’s use, and to save weight. If you’d like to check out my photos from the Camino Frances you can see them over at

Thank you!
I am so amazed and the speed and quality of the responses on this sight

Definitely bring your official passport. A photocopy is really only good as a record for you and your family. It has no official validity.

As others have said, I’d pick up some inexpensive trekking poles. A stick just won’t cut it I’m afraid.

I walked the Camino Frances in 2015 with my Nikon D800. I’m planning to bring my Nikon D850 when I walk in 2019. I did not bring a charger. I only brought one extra battery. I turned off image review to save battery. I made it with battery power to spare. If photography is a passion for you and it is for me, then bring your camera. You can check out my photos at Www.tomnorthenscold.com/camino.

JillGat · May 8, 2018

I brought Pacer Poles, which I ordered from England to the US and had to check because they won't fit in my pack onboard. I don't regret this decision at all.

Several times I ran across people with complicated cameras with lenses, etc. and some of them asked me to email my pictures to them; pictures I took on my phone. I even self-published my pictures (of green doors in northern Spain) in a book and they turned out spectacularly, in my opinion.

kdespot · May 8, 2018

1) Yes. Reasons stated above.
2) Yes. Poles are very advantageous to have and only MIGHT be available at your starting point. Even if they are, why give yourself one more thing to do when you are travel weary and there are much better things to do with your time?
3) Depends. The photos that I took with my iPhone 6 in the fall of 2016 absolutely wowed my friends. Why carry the weight unless you're a pro photographer?

followtheyellowarrows · May 12, 2018

I brought along a decent quality but small, lightweight point and shoot camera. It was a good compromise for me because it was much lighter than my dslr and easy to whip out to take a quick shot without needing to actually stop walking most of the time. I think if I'd carried my dslr it would have stayed in my pack a lot of the time just because it would be a hassle to get at. Because I didn't have all of the creative control that I would have in a dslr I didn't worry as much about getting the best shot or spending too long to compose a shot, which helped me to stay in the present of the moment rather than getting caught up in the photography. The photo quality turned out to be great and I did not regret my decision at all, especially when my walking mates sent me the photos they took on their smart phones, mine were leaps and bounds better.

Philip Nelson · May 12, 2018

TooManyRiceCakes said:
Hello all!

Thanks to your help I have my rout and I have my bus tickets!
And now, I would really appreciate any advise for these questions about what to bring on the trail.

1) Should I being my official US passport, or will a photocopy be good enough? I have read that maybe benign the whole passport would be better, but I just want to make sure.

2) Trekking poles. While I am a undergrad college student, my knees are not the best ever, and I hear trekking poles can help people with knee issues avoid problems. Can I find some sticks on the trail and use that instead of paying a pair of poles?
I don’t want to buy them because of money (As a college student, I need to cut corners whenever I can)/space when I fly home back to the states.

3) My camera. I have a Cannon camera that is about 1.28 pounds/580 grams. I very much want to bring it, as photography is a big passion of mine. My question is: would any of you strongly advise against this? Are there other pilgrims that bring sizable cameras with them? If you think bringing it will not be a terrible mistake, I plan on leaving the charger at home to force me to be selective with it’s use, and to save weight.

Thank you!
I am so amazed and the speed and quality of the responses on this sight

Philip Nelson · May 12, 2018

You need passport. I wondered about trekking poles and I am so happy I brought them. Yes, if you want your camera, bring it. Don't let the minimalist packers scare. For me first time, pack about 20 lbs., started SJPP, currently Leon, no problems.

Lynda t · May 12, 2018

TooManyRiceCakes said:
Hello all!

Thanks to your help I have my rout and I have my bus tickets!
And now, I would really appreciate any advise for these questions about what to bring on the trail.

1) Should I being my official US passport, or will a photocopy be good enough? I have read that maybe benign the whole passport would be better, but I just want to make sure.

2) Trekking poles. While I am a undergrad college student, my knees are not the best ever, and I hear trekking poles can help people with knee issues avoid problems. Can I find some sticks on the trail and use that instead of paying a pair of poles?
I don’t want to buy them because of money (As a college student, I need to cut corners whenever I can)/space when I fly home back to the states.

3) My camera. I have a Cannon camera that is about 1.28 pounds/580 grams. I very much want to bring it, as photography is a big passion of mine. My question is: would any of you strongly advise against this? Are there other pilgrims that bring sizable cameras with them? If you think bringing it will not be a terrible mistake, I plan on leaving the charger at home to force me to be selective with it’s use, and to save weight.

Thank you!
I am so amazed and the speed and quality of the responses on this sight

If you bring the camera then bring the charger. You will be very cross with yourself if the battery fails and you have to carry a 'dead' camera.

Swift3 · May 12, 2018

TooManyRiceCakes said:
Thank you for your thoughts!

So I will bring my full passport. I am not too worried about it getting stolen so that should be ok.

I think I will try to get poles when I get there. Do you think I should get them in León, or look through the lost and found bins in the first albergue I come to?

I will keep thinking about the camera. I love that thing dearly and my throw away phone has a poor camera. I am pretty sure I will wind up bringing it.

Thanks again!

If you do bring it, then bring your charger too. You will want to take more photos, not fewer. Be prepared!

Grutch · May 13, 2018

TooManyRiceCakes said:
Hello all!

Thanks to your help I have my rout and I have my bus tickets!
And now, I would really appreciate any advise for these questions about what to bring on the trail.

1) Should I being my official US passport, or will a photocopy be good enough? I have read that maybe benign the whole passport would be better, but I just want to make sure.

2) Trekking poles. While I am a undergrad college student, my knees are not the best ever, and I hear trekking poles can help people with knee issues avoid problems. Can I find some sticks on the trail and use that instead of paying a pair of poles?
I don’t want to buy them because of money (As a college student, I need to cut corners whenever I can)/space when I fly home back to the states.

3) My camera. I have a Cannon camera that is about 1.28 pounds/580 grams. I very much want to bring it, as photography is a big passion of mine. My question is: would any of you strongly advise against this? Are there other pilgrims that bring sizable cameras with them? If you think bringing it will not be a terrible mistake, I plan on leaving the charger at home to force me to be selective with it’s use, and to save weight.

Thank you!
I am so amazed and the speed and quality of the responses on this sight

Bring your passport and keep it on your person. Have a photocopy in you pack or some other safe place.

I used poles and would recommend them. The increase stability and speed and can help going both up and down steep inclines.

Camera is up to you. Your going to want to take photo's but if you can get by with your phone you might be glad you were not committed to a large valuable item for 800K. I did see a few people with SLR's and they seems happy to have them.

Enjoy!

Susan M Fron · May 16, 2018

TooManyRiceCakes said:
Thank you for your thoughts!

So I will bring my full passport. I am not too worried about it getting stolen so that should be ok.

I think I will try to get poles when I get there. Do you think I should get them in León, or look through the lost and found bins in the first albergue I come to?

I will keep thinking about the camera. I love that thing dearly and my throw away phone has a poor camera. I am pretty sure I will wind up bringing it.

Thanks again!

If you don't have a good phone camera, you may want to buy one or bring your camera. I have a Samsung S7 and still think about bringing my kodak.

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