I strongly dislike Concrete paths

[ffp13]

Before I walked my first Camino I would not have picked up on the difference in hardness between concrete and bitumen.
Now when walking longer distances I find myself instinctively walking on the shoulder of the road or the nature strip (grass strip) in preference to the concrete path.

Some communities along the Camino have constructed at great expense broad concrete paths entering their town / village , was this to provide a welcoming road for the pilgrims? Or to stop he pilgrims from traipsing mud into their town bars an hostels? Beside these beautiful paths you will see well worn paths that avoid the concrete.

What is your preferred walking surface, mine is compressed crushed rock

 

[Anniesantiago]

I'm just the opposite. I find it much easier on my joints to walk the paved road than the shoulder. Weird.

 

[ffp13]

I hate and detest thick gravel or loose stones when I am walking down hills. I get a weird vertigo thing which is not helped by the threat of a slip.

I know what you mean, there was one area where the surface was slate and those rocha were like ice when it rained, I ended up walking the longer roadway than risk a Camino ending slip.

 

[canadiandude]

My own preference is for compacted dirt paths. There is a nature trail by my home here in Stockholm that I loved walking on, especially in the autumn when the leaves left a cushiony bed to walk upon. That path has now been graded and a huge amount of compressed crushed rock placed atop the dirt path. Now, I never walk there. It no longer feels natural and it looks horrible.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I find it much easier on my joints to walk the paved road

I, too, am a road walker. I took alternative roads several times to restore my ankle that was reacting badly to uneven surfaces. My walking partner loved the marked path, so we were regularly on parallel paths. I found more bars and cafes! All the routes get you there...

 

[Rebekah Scott]

150,000 people walking, biking, and riding over a dirt surface each year = EROSION.

much of the paving that´s been done on the caminos in the past 10 years had more to do with stabilizing the road surface than anything else. When I first walked from Roncesvalles to Zubiri, the path was mud, mud, rocks, and more mud. It was awful for the pilgrims, awful for the tradesmen at the bottom, and really bad for the path itself -- all those feet wore smooth the pathway, and rain bounced off and ran unimpeded downhill, carrying with it anything loose. Channels and arroyos started to develop, footing got more slippery, and the mud down at the bottom got more thick and deep. Eventually, the steepest bits were re-routed, and the remaining erosion was curbed with concrete. It just is not the same any more... and that is not all bad!

That´s just one spot. Out here in the middle they put down fine gravel and widened the way so emergency vehicles could get to within a few meters of fallen pilgrims. Really steep bits, like the Matamulas hill coming into Hornillos and the Alto outside Castrojeriz, were paved to stop the runoff and curb some of the injuries sustained on slippery gravel and dirt.

No, it isn´t so nice to walk on. But they did something to solve a more pressing problem.

 

[backpack45]

I hate concrete paths also. Much harder on the feet. I can literally feel the difference with my plantar fasciitis, which is not an issue on a dirt path, but often starts hurting when I step onto concrete. Like others have suggested, I often walk on the tarmac-surfaced street rather than the concrete path. Perhaps, as was suggested, those that pave paths often do so to reduce erosion, but I think that the ones would want to pave over every surface are sometimes non-hikers that think they are doing hikers a favor.

I don't like loose rock on downhill sections either, but with my poles, I can usually manage that okay. Funny thing is, as much as I worry about slipping on downhill sections, most of my falls over the years have been over a root, or similar, on fairly flat surfaces. posting.php?mode=reply&f=11&t=16004#

 

[CaminoJohn]

What I realized immediately on my first camino, and really hadn't fully realized until I had to walk straight up or down a hill is that the modern camino is not a hiking trail. It is made up a network of farm roads waymarked for the safety of pilgrims to take them off the highways that have largely replaced the medieval route. Purpose built hiking trails (at least in the States) have switchbacks which allow the hiker to climb or descend without excess strain on tendons and knees and prevent erosion! The camino is mostly a road, built for horses,carts, tractors,cars and trucks. I can think of very few stretches that were purpose built with hikers or erosion in mind. It works for what it was designed for and when it doesn't it gets paved like all other roads.

 

[marian55]

I love dirt paths and rocks....( :arrow: camino de madrid )

Now,I do understand better why they make these concrete paths. Thank you Rebekah, very well explained.

 

[jacoblewis2008]

I wish there was more concrete maintenance on the roads, too. It definitely has some wear and tear on your ankles and knees over long distances. I prefer walking in grass more than anything.

 

[Stellere]

At home, I prefer walking on dirt paths. But it makes sense that poured concrete would help combat erosion.

 

[ffp13]

I found something worse than walking on concrete, the granite cobble stone roads on the Camino Portuguese that seem to go on forever, and the stone wall fences that prevent you from walking to the side of the road.

 

[Laliibeans]

As much as I hate concrete, I'm not sure it can compare to the pain of walking on this (my arthritis might contribute to that though):