• Remove ads on the forum by becoming a donating member. More here.
This is a mobile optimized page that loads fast, if you want to load the real page, click this text.

Hiking Poles needed Pontevedra to Santiago?

Unweekends

American - planning 1st time Camino
Time of past OR future Camino
Sept 2025
I'm walking a short 3 day Camino.

Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis ( Day 1)
Caldas de Reis to Padron ( Day 2)
Padron to Santiago de Compostela ( Day 3)
FREE day in Santiago then head home ( Day 4).

Is there elevation & difficult terrain in these cities? Will I need hiking poles?
 
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.
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
I'm asking because if it's a lot of assents & decents the I want to use hiking poles. If it's pretty flat, then I will not need the poles. My knees get bad sometimes.
 
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Unweekends said:
I'm asking because if it's a lot of assents & decents the I want to use hiking poles. If it's pretty flat, then I will not need the poles. My knees get bad sometimes.
Click to expand...
If your knees get bad, anytime, perhaps you might consider using poles more frequently?

As a one-off your chosen route does not ‘need’ poles. I would, however, use poles.
 
Camino Preparation Guide
Fail to prepare? reduce your risk by buying this book full of practical info.
2nd ed.
ok, I can only base it on my experience. Poles have saved me so many times.

Sometimes its just from falling after I'm tired and walking down a rocky slope.

Sometimes it is when crossing a log over a river.

Sometimes it is for a little leverage while crossing a tiny stream of water so my feet don't get wet.

And they have no downside.
 
Damien Reynolds said:
I wasn't responding to the OP. I was responding to your 2500km remark. I mean, you walk that far, and you don't use poles?
Click to expand...
Yep. I’ll take and use poles in “wild” country. I find them useful in muddy or loose rock scenarios but, for me, for most walks they’re just furniture. Like the posh rucksacks and the breathable wet wear and the perfect trainers.

Mostly I go for a walk in the clothes I wear everyday with a toothbrush and a spare change of knickers and socks in my pack. If I’m going for more than a week I’ll probably take a change of shirt, depending on season.

And that’s 2500 miles, 4000km. It’s not really very far
 
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.
*Some* people benefit from poles in *some* circumstances.

The OP stated that the OP benefits from using poles on ascents and descents, tho OP doesn't specify how steep a grade. Others have pointed out here that the OP's route doesn't seem to have a lot of elevation changes, but only the OP can say whether the route looks flat enough to forgo poles.

And, contrary to statement, there *can* be a downside to using poles.

If, oh, say, a person using hiking poles finds that they do indeed relieve stress on the legs, but at the cost of aggravating an old upper back injury to the point of being unable to shoulder a day pack? (True story).

My choices on the Primitivo were: a. use poles, ship pack, chew aspirina, and keep the day pack on the right side, or b: don't use poles, still ship pack, wear day pack, and watch the left knee swell and stiffen up. There's a reason why the last 30km into Santiago took me 10 hours.

Either way, hopefully the OP has an answer they can use, although if they're not familiar with profiles, it may still be a challenge.
 
Here’s my two cents day 8 on the coastal route. Take them. I experienced a sharp hip pain while crossing a steep and uneven section on day two. I walked the stage but took a cab the final 2 miles to the hotel from a pub on the edge of town. The next day I took a cab the final four miles into Baiona because I just couldn’t do the incline. Level walking was fine, downhills were fine. Uphills were nearly impossible. I’ve been using my trail buddy poles since and I have hit my stride and found my groove. I would take them.
 
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
you're a long way south of where the OP is proposing to start and in an entirely different landscape
 
I have gotten to Compostela five times. I always see walkers carrying, not using, their poles toward the end. Earlier, they are walking with the poles but don't need them; just extra hand baggage.
 
Last edited:
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I have done week-long hikes and also a Camino Francés without poles ... and without any problems. Still, when I happen to have poles with me, I always love them.
The only reason I sometimes travel without them is because I love to travel without checked in luggage. For my last camino I sent hiking poles to a hotel in Oviedo and picked them up upon arrival.
However, that is not always a good option.
 
I carry one pole, a folding Black Diamond, and use it mainly just for nasty descents and stream crossings. Carried folded in my hand at the non-handle end, with its' 6 inch cloth wrist strap on the handle, it is the best darn fly swatter on the Camino. Buen Camino
 
Damien Reynolds said:
In cities they are stowed.
Click to expand...
Same for me.

When I entered Valença on the Camino Portuguese I stowed my poles on my backpack. As I left the city I didn't bother to take them off my backpack because I knew that it was just about 3km to Tui where I was stopping for the day. By the time I got to Tui my back was sore. For me, the poles help my posture while I'm wearing a backpack and keep my back from getting sore. They also keep my hands from getting swollen, and provide my arms with exercise to keep them toned.
 
Promote your Camino Project on the forum
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
There are a couple of ascents and descents on that route that I wished I would have had poles for. Or at least one pole. There is a steep descent into a town where you come down a road that seemed like it might be slippery in the rain. Does anyone else remember that??
 
I loves poles, they are brakes (downhill), engines (uphill) and stabilizers...or outriggers! But, I find that in warm conditions, my hands swell uncomfortably, and using poles alleviates that. You will not find huge gradient differences...although there is a bit of an uphill slog on the last stretch...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Camino Photo

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Most read last week in this forum

Similar threads

8-day 115KM Camino at a slower pace with 1 rest day ( from Valenca)
Replies
8
Views
911
caminocoffee
A
Rest Day: Pontevedra, CaldasdeReis, or Padron?
Replies
20
Views
2K
hikentravel1234
H
R
Help with sello and other questions
Replies
27
Views
2K
David Tallan
M
Bike route advice for Portuguese Camino Vigo to SdC
Replies
7
Views
734
Mum
M
Complimentary Hiking Poles in Bilbao Airport ?
Replies
14
Views
3K
caminosister
Menu
Log in
Register