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Camino in January

Frederickdios

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
2013- 200 miles in 9 days. Future- January 1-12
Hello, I am looking to continue a segment of the Camino Frances, that I started 10 years ago. I would be starting back up in Burgos.

Is it possible to do this in January ? It seems like the weather is not terrible, but finding a place to stay might be more difficult?

My plan would be to camp or sleep outside if no where is open. Attempting to walk 18 hours a day approximately. Knowing it will be very dark!

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
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You will not have 18 hours of daylight , so you will need light sources and reflective gear.

And if you wild camp ( which is generally discouraged in Spain - this is NOT the AT), NO FIRES. Whether justified or not, the Guardia Civil have learned to associate wildfires with ignorant pilgrims, and they won't be merciful.
 
No fires! Just a hammock to survive the night. It seems like it is a challenging time of year to attempt?
 
Having walked that section before in winter there are albergues open but not in every village- so you need a plan.
It seems if you are thinking 18hour days that is meaning that the 9 1/2 hours of sunlight in January leaves you walking in the dark.
Instead of time - roughly how many kilometres per hour are you comfortable walking on using decent tracks and paths, with some hills but no major climbs.
I like to camp - but it will be cold, maybe a few degrees below freezing temperatures night- that is chilling in a hammock without serious gear, including a tarp. I don't think I would want to carry that level of gear!

So most if the time open albergues are at least 20km apart, and it would be possible to walk 30km or 40km to an open one. But the big difference in winter is ringing/WhatsApp at least the night ahead to check it's open (until the Xunta albergues in Galicia)

So for example if 18 hour days is something like days of 40km+ walking
1- Burgos to Castrojeriz is 40km with open albergues
2- Castrojeriz to Carrion 45km Open albergue
3- Carrion to Sahagun 40km open albergue
4 - Sahagun to Mansilla 37km open albergue
5- Mansilla to san Martin 44km open albergue
Etc
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
I walked from Leon to Santiago late Jan / early Feb. I was lucky with weather until the last 2 days when the rain was torrential. Very quiet. Most days I saw one or two peregrinos only. And as others have remarked, accommodation is scarce and requires some planning. I loved it. I am leaving Pamplona for Santiago again on Nov 20.
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
kptorrahk said:
Didn't he mean 18km per day? 18h per day is ridiculous. I've never heard of any pilgrim attempting that
Click to expand...
Thank you, last time I stopped early evening, and then regretted not continuing farther that day. So my hesitation with the winter is walking, not finding a place to stop or having to stop very early in the day to play it safe.

I have a lot of ground to cover that is why I would not want to stop too early in the day.

Planning ahead for when to stop is also challenging.
 
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Frederickdios said:
I have a lot of ground to cover that is why I would not want to stop too early in the day.
Click to expand...
How much ground? Are you trying to get to Santiago from Burgos in, what, 6 days, 9 days? I would guess that most people walk for around 6 hours a day and would expect to get to Santiago in about 20 days from Burgos. You’re planning to walk 18 hours a day???? I guess you’ll stop for a pee now and then but what’s the rush?
Frederickdios said:
Planning ahead for when to stop is also challenging.
Click to expand...
Which bit of planning is it that you find challenging? The information on available accommodations and the distances between them is readily available. A couple of hours research will give you the opportunity to map out a basic plan and viable alternatives.

My one real concern is that you appear to be planning to walk for 18 hours a day, with only 9 hours of available daylight. I’m wondering why? I’m even wondering what would be the point
 
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I guess no rush, more like a challenge for myself. But yeah, would probably be more ideal to just wait until summer with more sunlight. January would be easy for me for work, limited days available away from work :/ I’d love to take it slow and have a lot of free time.
 
So, is your plan to make pilgrimage to the shrine of Santiago or is it to walk very quickly across northern Spain, mostly in the dark?
 
Each to his own…… I also walk further and faster than most but it works for me and presumably the OP too.
 
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Just curious : have you already walked 18h/day ?
And also camped in a hammock in winter with temperatures below zero°C ?
I suppose if you are used to this why not..
 
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