Risk no sleeping bag in November ?

[fortview]

A question for the winter walkers..
I'm taking the plunge, and am planning to walk from Logrono for just under 3 weeks, starting 30th October.
I've only ever taken a silk liner on previous caminos, and relied on the blankets in the albergues. Is this a crazy thing to do in November?
I've found the Eroski consumer site very helpful in finding which albergues will be open.
Hope to see some of you along the way. I'm super excited, and nervous, and am going alone this time!
Helen

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I have done it, and been fine. Municipal albergues in Galicia may not have blankets. I have found that all the others do. Buen camino.

 

[nidarosa]

I would not risk it, but then I feel the cold and find it hard to warm up and get back to sleep if I am cold. A lightweight down or synthetic sleeping bag can weigh well under a kilo and not cost the world, but it gives you that extra bit of insulation - blankets will still help, but they are not always readily available in Galicia.

 

[Mark Lee]

November? Sounds like an awfully chilly time to not have a sleeping bag on the Camino. Even the lightest, most portable one would be better than none.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Don't risk it , I have a sleeping bag that weight 720 grams, that is no problem i think, i wish you a Buen Camino.

 

[mikevasey]

I you do not take a sleeping bag make sure that you have warm clothes to wear at night ie. warm leggings, base layer or midlayer on top and gloves, scarf and hat to throw on as well. I took a down sleeping bag rated to -3 and slept on it(not in) most nights, but there will be some places that you can not avoid which will be cold, so just for those few nights you will need some kind of extra insulation in addition to the blankets.

 

[wayfarer]

Have a look at this one, very light and not too expensive and they deliver pretty fast. I would definitely take a bag and silk liner for November.

 

[lettinggo]

√ on bringing a sleeping bag.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

the weather is SO changeable in November -- I have seen Indian Summer sunshine, and blowing snow all in the same week. Take the sleeping bag, you will be glad you did.

 

[fortview]

Thank you all for your words of wisdom, (and for the link wayfarer) .
Looks like the sleeping bag wins!
Can't wait to get started

 

[Alyssa]

A question for the winter walkers..
I'm taking the plunge, and am planning to walk from Logrono for just under 3 weeks, starting 30th October.
I've only ever taken a silk liner on previous caminos, and relied on the blankets in the albergues. Is this a crazy thing to do in November?
I've found the Eroski consumer site very helpful in finding which albergues will be open.
Hope to see some of you along the way. I'm super excited, and nervous, and am going alone this time!
Helen

I would not risk it, but then I feel the cold and find it hard to warm up and get back to sleep if I am cold. A lightweight down or synthetic sleeping bag can weigh well under a kilo and not cost the world, but it gives you that extra bit of insulation - blankets will still help, but they are not always readily available in Galicia.

Great question Fortview. Like Nidarosa, when I feel the cold, I cannot go back to sleep. I ended up taking a 45+ REI sleeping bag with me on the Camino Francés in June and July this year and was happy to have it. When it was hot, I unzipped it and draped it over me and when I was cold, was happy to zip it up and snuggle deep inside with the hood over my head. (I also took a permethrin-treated Tyvek sheet as recommended by many people on the forum, so that was always between me and the mattress.)

 

[Deleted member 3000]

when I feel the cold, I cannot go back to sleep

For everyone with that problem, take a sleeping bag. Even in the summer, high elevations can have cool temperatures. Blankets may be in storage, so you will not be able to grab one if you need to. An actual survey in another thread has established as fact that virtually all albergues have blankets (and pensiones, hostales, and hoteles always have them) with equal agreement that Roncesvalles and xunta albergues in Galicia may not have them.

In general, questions about sleeping bags are too individualized to get good advice. Everyone needs to know themselves well enough to know if they need one. Reports from previous pilgrims are excellent input for self-realization, but each person needs to know the category into which they fall -- cold is fine, cold is intolerable, etc. No one can tell you how you feel!!

 

[fortview]

@falcon269 I understand your point. Thing is, I know how I am when it's warmer, and I'm fine with the liner and blankets. Did you find that all the albergues are heated? Because if they are, then I'd only take the liner. My concern would be staying in a freezing cold albergue . I won't make it as far as Galicia this time, so that's not an issue. Thanks

 

[jackgroenvold]

A question for the winter walkers..
I'm taking the plunge, and am planning to walk from Logrono for just under 3 weeks, starting 30th October.
I've only ever taken a silk liner on previous caminos, and relied on the blankets in the albergues. Is this a crazy thing to do in November?
I've found the Eroski consumer site very helpful in finding which albergues will be open.
Hope to see some of you along the way. I'm super excited, and nervous, and am going alone this time!
Helen

Hey my friend - I did not see many blankets in June this year in the Spanish Auberges - and June was pretty cold at night in particular on the Meseta. Sometimes down to 7 degrees in the morning. I bought a thin sleeping bag in Roncevalles and used it most nights all the way to Fisterra (Finisterre) One other thing - your face and hair can be completely inside your sleeping bag - I did not like the thought of being face down in blankets other people - hundreds of them had used.

 

[Felipe]

I don't know which is the rationale for your query. Is it about weight, cost, space in your backpack, or that you just don't like the feeling of sleeping bags?
Summer walkers can improvise, go more or less as they like, and fix problems as they come. But in winter, as the saying goes, you hope for the best, but should be prepared for the worst. And good, well tried equipment becomes crucial.
On the other side, November is a wonderful time for walking in Spain countryside, and I am sure you will have a great and memorable experience.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Did you find that all the albergues are heated? My concern would be staying in a freezing cold albergue .

You will almost always have to ask for heat. Energy is very expensive, and hospitaleros hate to heat a whole room for one pilgrim.

Some have no heat, though. All the begging in the world won't help.

Staying in hostales and pensiones would solve all the problems. I still take a nylon sleep sack (treated with permethrin) for cold treks. Hostales have bed bugs, too.

 

[wayfarer]

@falcon269 I understand your point. Thing is, I know how I am when it's warmer, and I'm fine with the liner and blankets. Did you find that all the albergues are heated? Because if they are, then I'd only take the liner. My concern would be staying in a freezing cold albergue . I won't make it as far as Galicia this time, so that's not an issue. Thanks

I have stayed in some freezing cold albergues in early May along the Camino so its hard to judge where you will encounter them, as Felipe said hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

 

[fortview]

I don't know which is the rationale for your query. Is it about weight, cost, space in your backpack, or that you just don't like the feeling of sleeping bags?.

Yes, it's about weight and space!
Thank you for your advice
Very much like the advice of hoping for the best and preparing for the worst !

 

[LesBrass]

Just throwing my two-penneth worth... I know everyone is different... I dont particularly feel the cold and took a liner.

I've just finished and on the whole the weather during the day was hot but cool/cold at night. Generally folks kept windows open in the albergues and more often than not I didn't see blankets. I was cold a lot. I often slept fully clothed and with my fleece on.

Due to the timings of when we hit the big towns it was Astorga before I could buy a sleeping bag. I added 800gms to my pack but hardly noticed... oh but I loved being warm

 

[fortview]

Just throwing my two-penneth worth... I know everyone is different... I dont particularly feel the cold and took a liner.

I've just finished and on the whole the weather during the day was hot but cool/cold at night. Generally folks kept windows open in the albergues and more often than not I didn't see blankets. I was cold a lot. I often slept fully clothed and with my fleece on.

Due to the timings of when we hit the big towns it was Astorga before I could buy a sleeping bag. I added 800gms to my pack but hardly noticed... oh but I loved being warm

Congratulations on finishing! And thank you for your VERY helpful advice!

 

[Marcel234]

In summer I always take my +15 sleeping bag, from November I take my -5 sleeping bag. A pound more but wouldn't change it. I'll be on the Frances from November 8 th til november 29th

 

[alexwalker]

Very much like the advice of hoping for the best and preparing for the worst !

We have a saying at sea: "If you are in doubt, act as if there is no doubt.". It has prevented countless accidents.

 

[grayland]

I have been looking for a lightweight down blanket for many years. Montbell makes (or made) a Spiral down Thermal Sheet that could be used as a bag or fully unzipped to make a quilt or blanket. The weight was less than 1 lb (-.45 kilo). This price was always more than I want to pay and have never run across a discounted offer or even used one.

I understand the question and the hope that a sleeping bag would not be needed.
I am starting to think of a Winter Camino (January..ish) and realize that the weight factor goes up considerably with the need for heavier clothing and more of it.
However...I am sure the silk bag alone would not do it. I have been on the CF in early March and found several albergues that did not have heat (if even opened that early). In my experience..blankets are "usually" available but are hit and miss. There are some blankets on offer that I would probably just be cold rather than use them.
Just another opinion...of course.

 

[Saramago]

I'm a little late here for the original poster. Im not sure when all the blankets are washed but I found the albergue wool blankets very clean in April and early May. In April there was some hail/rain mix from Orisson up and still snow on Napoleon but nothing heavy. I didn't find any albergue with heat. I brought a Deuter DreamLite 500 bag - it's hypoallergenic for folks like me that can't do down and weighs 1.2 lbs, folding down to the size of a water bottle. Alone, it wouldn't have been warm enough (for me) but I also had a silk liner bag. I slept in the next day's clothes, got into both bags and still needed the blankets to be warm. On a few days, the liner and bag were enough. There was a shortage at the Padres with blankets but I certainly wasn't miserable - rather the blanket go to someone without a bag.

 

[fortview]

Am home now .... So I can say beyond a doubt , that a sleeping bag is a good idea, and thanks again to all of you for persuading me to take one. The temperature dropped 10 degrees very suddenly, the albergues were mostly freezing! Even with a wood burning stove and gas heater in La Hutte in Atapuerca, the wind howled through the cracks in the door and two blankets were needed as well as the bag!
The Municiple in Burgos had no blankets , or heating. Both Hornillos and Fromista were very cold, and I was very happy to have the bag.