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Shorter walk. Sleeping bag?

M

Merry

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
2015
My husband and I are planning to do this walk in April/May 2024.
It has been suggested that we need a sleeping sheet but not a sleeping bag. Any thoughts?
We want to walk about 450 kms and want to finish in St Jean Pied de Port. We’d welcome suggestions on where to start our walk,
 
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To see more details on the trail use the Gronze website. The Le Puy trail there has both stage and accomondation info.

About sleeping a setup for April/May. I would go for a mix of synthetic thermal underwear with a silk blanket. Or if you prefer a liner, then that would do good as well. The warmest liner I know is the Sea to Summit Termolite Extreme.

Here is the Summer gear list that I out together:
http://caminopilgrim.travel.blog/2023/04/12/gear-packing-list-camino/
 
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that’s right ... you should be fine with a [silk] sleeping sheet ... the vast majority of gîtes, especially in the back half where you will be walking, provide a bottom sheet, pillowcase and a blanket ... if the blanket is not on the bed when you arrive you can just ask ... if you take chambre d’hôte accommodation all bedlinen is supplied [by law]
------
as for your starting point 450km to Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port ... you might consider starting at Cahors ... a larger town and easily accessed by train from
Paris
------
Good luck
 
I've always used a sleeping bag when I stayed in the gites/albergues. If you stay in more upscale ones with maybe even single rooms, bedding might be provided.

Wool blankets are often available even for the dorm rooms, but you probably don't want to know how often they get washed... (or not).

On my april/may walk I've sometimes been cold even with clothes+lightweight sleeping bag+blanket.

It really depends on how warm/cold of a sleeper you are.

I'd never walk without at least a lightweight sleeping bag, not even in summer, but that's personal preference.

Anyway, Bon chemin!
 
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markie6 said:
I take a 2 season sleeping bag for September, packs down small and I have never regretted it. Weighs next to nothing and stuffs into it's sack nice and quickly.
Click to expand...
I also take a sleeping bag now! I walked the primitivo with a silk liner and froze. Only one albergue had blankets(for rent).
 
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From <info@cicerone.co.uk> in the UK you can get a book on the whole Le Puy to SJPdP.
With distances, elevation and whether the walk is easy to strenuous and accommodation and costs.
You will find it is so easy to use
 
I just finished the Le Puy in October 2023 with only a silk liner and had no problems at all. Unlike the Francais, where paper sheets are the norm and sleeping bags are recommended, in France all of the Gites where I stayed provided proper bottom sheets, pillow cases and blankets.

Cahors is a natural starting point for the back end of the Le Puy, but its a little further than you'd like to walk (about 500km to SJPP). Check-out Gronze.com for stages, Kms, elevation maps, Gites, and descriptions of each stage. It's a great resource and I found it invaluable for planning the Le Puy . Bon Chemin!
 
I walked in April/May and definitely needed a sleeping bag (I also carried a silk liner and sometimes used both with an extra blanket.) Some of the gites are freezing!
 
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As a rule, I always carry a very light sleeping bag and a liner. You can never be 100% certain of sleeping arrangements or the weather and, for me, a few hours of good sleep each night far outweighs the burden of a few extra grams.
 
Thank you BlackRocker57! Would this answer be different if I was to leave le Puy mid-May? With the Aubrac region's altitude I'm not sure a silk sleeping sheet would suffice...? (I really appreciate input from your extensive experience of this route!)
 
TassietoVP said:
Thank you BlackRocker57! Would this answer be different if I was to leave le Puy mid-May? With the Aubrac region's altitude I'm not sure a silk sleeping sheet would suffice...? (I really appreciate input from your extensive experience of this route!)
Click to expand...
No, I don’t think so ... unless of course you happen to cop some particularly cold weather but in any case your hosts are not going to let you freeze ... almost every if not every GdE will offer blankets or duvets and / OR the opportunity to hire additional bedlinen if needs be ... and if you decide to stay at a chambre d’hôte [small family guesthouse] all that bedlinen is supplied by law ... so given all of that you should be fine with just a silk liner also, a couple of other things to keep in mind : it is not always cold in mid-May; in 2022 the first of a number of heatwaves came at that time; secondly, in a shared room, with three or four other people, you should find it rather cozy should it happen to be of course there will exceptions but hébergeurs do not want to see their guests going cold or complaining about the cold so they will do whatever they can within reason to alleviate that e.g. turning on the heating.
 
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