March/April footwear on the Camino Frances

[TrishAlexSage]

Greetings,

My girls and I are trying to figure out the boot issue...

We habitually hike in Sorels during November-March in the White Mountains of NH (USA). We're comfortable in Sorels -- they're waterproof and warm down to -40 degrees F, and we're used to hiking in them for miles and miles. Therefore, they should be warm and comfortable enough for the Camino Frances when there's snow, cold wind, and freezing mud.

However -- they're heavy, and I'm sure we won't want them all the time. During days that are dry and above 45 degrees, they're going to be too hot for our feet.

What do other March/April Camino trekkers use? Should we bring our Sorels for the cold and wet days, but also carry light-weight trail runners for warmer days? I hate the thought of lugging the Sorels when we're not using them, but I REALLY hate the thought of hiking through snow, ice, and freezing cold mud in inadequate footwear.

We'd welcome suggestions and advice from previous March/April Camino Frances hikers. Many thanks!

 

[Tia Valeria]

Having walked in late April and May, although not the Francés, we favour lightweight waterproof leather boots, just high enough to give ankle support but with shaped backs to allow flexing downhill. We rely on socks (3 pairs) for extra warmth and to prevent blisters. (If it turned really hot I would use 3 pairs still but not the thickest pair.)

How heavy are your current boots? they may be more than you will need for the Camino. However for any Camino in March/April IMHO waterproofing is needed, and some sort of spares for evening etc. We use Crocs, others use sandals......

On another thread skilslaw says quite rightly that fit of your footwear is the most important thing to consider.
Buen Camino

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I REALLY hate the thought of hiking through snow, ice, and freezing cold mud

You will be hard-pressed to find that! (Well, regular mud, maybe.) A majority of the path is improved or paved. Except in the Pyrenees, standing snow is rare. If the snow is that bad in the Pyrenees, you should delay your start or follow the road route. I never saw ice I could not walk around. Should you encounter widespread ice, wait a few hours for it to melt. In March and April you may need to bundle up a bit in the morning cool, but it is not a walk through the Arctic. Wear your most comfortable outdoor footwear, and take just one pair. You will be glad you did.

 

[TrishAlexSage]

Thank you!

This is the one area that I feel completely lost about. Hiking in winter/early spring where we live means needing to dress as though we are indeed in the Arctic. From now until we leave, we will, as we have the past few winters, hike up mountains through snow and ice in subzero temps wearing snowshoes, microspikes, or Hillsound Pros (mini-crampons). We are used to carrying all those things at once, along with balaclavas, heating packs ,etc.

Since we're coming from an area with frigid and snowy winters, and since we're used to hiking in that, I don't have a good perspective on what a winter Camino is like. Anything we use here will be warm and dry enough for the Camino, and I'm used to thinking in terms of preventing frostbite, moving quickly to prevent hypothermia, etc. Therefore, part of me cringes at the thought of not having all our hard-core winter things with us...with our usual gear, we could cross the Pyrenees no matter how much snow and ice is on the path (assuming I had decent visibility, a compass, and a map). We could bivy the night out if needed and finish our crossing the next day, etc. We're used to the cold and we're comfortable dealing with it.

I've read other people's Camino winter blogs, but when I hear someone describe something as "cold," I don't know if that would be "cold" to us or just normal, since we come from a relatively cool/cold place.

Keeping the feet warm and dry is crucial...but so is not lugging around weight we don't need.

I appreciate the advice and will look into finding one pair of proper boots -- I will make sure they are waterproof. Maybe Sorels that are "winter" but not rated all the way down to -40 F (?). We will probably bring our microspikes for ice regardless, since they don't weight all that much and are invaluable when needed. We can run up ice-covered slopes in them with little worry of falling -- they're wonderful inventions. I can always mail them ahead if we find we don't need them.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

If you go to the almanac section of Weather Underground, you can see the weather for the month for the last several years in cities that report the weather. Here is March 2011 for Pamplona:

http://www.wunderground.com/history/air ... story.html

You will cover a lot of altitudes and cities, and the weather is not uniform between them over the 450 miles of the Camino Frances. However, you can see from the weather in Pamplona that "cold" is not terribly cold or persistent across days. The low is around freezing, but always warms during the day. The weather in Pamplona is not the same as crossing the Pyrenees, but if it is raining in Pamplona, it probably is snowing in the mountains if it is cold there.

April become generally more temperate, but you could encounter cold and snow at high elevations.

 

[TrishAlexSage]

Many thanks for the link and info, falcon.

 

[quercus22]

Sorels seem way too heavy and warm for the conditions on the Camino Frances. I haven't hiked it (yet), but I have researched the terrain and climate and done lots of other hiking around the world. I also live in rural New England and wear Sorels sometimes when hiking through deep snow in the winter and for general outside chores in the winter. Most of the time in the winter for hiking where I want any kind of speed or want to go more than a mile or so, I now use lighter boots (Merrell Chameleon in my case) and add gaiters and/or a set of Kahtoola Microspikes if the conditions are icy or very wet. Sorels are heavy, don't breathe because of the rubber covered foot area, and are very warm. They're clunky and not nimble at all.

 

[TrishAlexSage]

Thanks -- we've worn Sorels on our mountain hikes for the past four years and are comfortable hiking 10-20 miles at a time in them. The girls like the way they feel and they're used to them, so fit or feel isn't an issue. What might be an issue, as you stated, is the -40 F rating....they might be too warm for the Camino. That being said, we just did three small mountains yesterday in 35 degree F weather and no snow, and the girls never complained of hot feet. They were perfect for the temps.

I appreciate your input. We might take the risk and bring them anyway, along with a separate pair of lightweight trainers for warm and dry days. I worry a lot about days of hiking in cold rain, snow and sleet -- the Sorels would be perfect for that kind of weather, they're bombproof and hypothermia will never be an issue. The real issue will be my having to carry three pairs of them on warm and dry days. You're absolutely right in that they weigh a ton.

 

[max44]

This is the time of year I am planning to go. This information is great.
I did look at
http://www.wunderground.com/history/air ... story.html

And noticed it said no rain for 12months...surely that isnt right.
I was looking to see how much rain i could expect.

Regards

 

[hotelmedicis]

Snow storms in April 2012 on the Camino.

http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/album/gali ... 166571.htm

 

[Deleted member 3000]

And noticed it said no rain for 12months...surely that isnt right.

It is not! When I look at the April 2012 statistics for Pamplona, there are only nine days when it did not rain. I don't see an option for looking at the entire year, but maybe you found it under Custom settings...

 

[30daystosantiago]

I walked the camino in the April timeframe and wore merrell mid boots- lightweight and water proof...was plenty and no blisters in 500 miles!

 

[max44]

And noticed it said no rain for 12months...surely that isnt right.

It is not! When I look at the April 2012 statistics for Pamplona, there are only nine days when it did not rain. I don't see an option for looking at the entire year, but maybe you found it under Custom settings...

1st march 2012 to 30 April 2012 (Custom setting
Max Avg Min Sum
Temperature
Max Temperature 25 °C 15 °C 7 °C
Mean Temperature 14 °C 10 °C 4 °C
Min Temperature 9 °C 4 °C -1 °C
Degree Days
Heating Degree Days (base 65) 24 16 7 951
Cooling Degree Days (base 65) 0 0 0 0
Growing Degree Days (base 50) 8 2 0 117
Dew Point
Dew Point 11 °C 4 °C -7 °C
Precipitation
Precipitation 0.0 mm 0.0 mm 0.0 mm 0.00 mm
Snowdepth - - - -
Wind
Wind 58 km/h 10 km/h 0 km/h
Gust Wind 80 km/h 43 km/h 24 km/h
Sea Level Pressure
Sea Level Pressure 1034 hPa 1017 hPa 998 hPa

Maybe I am doing it wrong

 

[TrishAlexSage]

I walked the camino in the April timeframe and wore merrell mid boots- lightweight and water proof...was plenty and no blisters in 500 miles!

My daughters wear Merrells during spring, summer, and fall -- we love that brand. The only thing that's stopping me from taking last fall's Merrels on the Camino is my worry about snow/sleet/cold.

Were your feet ever cold? Did you hike through snow at any point? As soon as the weather up here (NH, USA) hits the freezing mark, we switch to our winter Sorels because my daughters' feet tend to get cold quickly and we hike in mountainous terrain, often above treeline. Though we won't be crossing too many mountains in Spain, we will be greatly exposed (far fewer trees and woods-hiking than we're used to). We won't be able to count on forests blocking the wind, so I'm worried that their feet will freeze if they're not wearing something insulated. I understand that for most of the time insulation won't be needed....however, there might be at least a few days with snow and sleet, since we're starting in mid-March, and I want to be prepared for those days.

Funny, I was just searching online for lightly-insulated Merrels...thought perhaps I could find some mid boots that were a cross between their summer and full-on winter versions.