guidebook necessery?

Hello everybody,
Thanks for the information this forum offers. I am going to walk the camino del norte in july and august this summer. Last year I walked the camino frances and I loved it. Last year I didnt really prepare for the walk, I just red about it on the internet and in 3 days my backpack was packed and I was on the train to France. When I arrived in Saint Jean Pied de Port I just followed the other people to a little house were there were some people who gave pilgrim passports and a little map of the mountains and the villages(I dont know how you call such a map but the heights were on it too). Last year I did not have a guidebook, sometimes I read other peoples guidebooks or just followed them. And it was really easy to find the way because there were yellow arrows almost everywhere.

Since the camino del norte is less crowded and as I read it is not always clear which way to go, I was wondering if at the first place you get a heightmap and a list of all the albergues as we got on the frensh route. If not I could make one myself from the information on the internet. And my second question is if a road discription like in the guidebooks is really nessecery.

Thank you very much, Sam

thanks everybody,

I think I will do what viajero suggests. I am copying all the 'etapa' maps from mundicamino.com and I have also combined several albergue lists from all over this forum into one document. Then with these two combined I'll take the chances. And when you get lost you'll always know you have to go west .
Thanks viajero, your post is really motivating. About the costs, I will also prepare to sleep outside of the albergue is too expencive or compleo. Does anyone know if this is well possible on the Norte. I know it was on the camino frances, I also met someone who was walking the camino frances without money at all, in fact even traveled all the way from letvia or something to saint jean pied.
thanks again, and have a wonderful journey viajero

Sam