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Two weeks to go until boarding our flight. . . wow, how did the time pass this fast? Even when I have been expecting the Time Compression, it seems like things are just blowing past at light speed.
Aside from our regular workout routines, Jill and I have been doing a few leisurely 10 mile/16 km walks a couple of time per week. Doing these walks is not really for fitness or physical testing, it is more for the both of us to get used to walking together; checking out each others pace, looking at distance and time intervals between breaks and rest periods, just sort of doing an informal checklist of things to keep an eye out for as we walk together. Since Jill has never been backpacking with me, it is fun getting to know her during our distance walks.
And, no, Jill would not be comfortable walking on her own on Camino. . . at least for now
So the issue of us proceeding apart is not even up for discussion. And that is OK, because it is such a pleasant surprise for me to learn that she and I walk comfortably together.
Well, except for the fact that Jill likes to 'chat' while I like to NOT chat Out of all the issues that can arise from two people learning to walk together, it is most amazing to me that tolerance toward chat-talking - - and NOT chat-talking - - would be the biggest learning curve we faced. 
Another thing that was kind of interesting, and amusing at the same time to me, was Jill's adjustment to carrying a backpack. I ended up needing to spend a lot of unexpected attention to finding a backpack to match Jill. Getting the right size was easy. . . . it was getting the right 'feel' and 'comfort level' that proved to be a bit tougher to achieve.
Due to a previous controversy around naming specific brands and models of backpacks, I won't mention any specific manufacturer's names.
It turned out that the original backpack that I purchased for Jill had enough of a 'comfort' disparity, that I then proceeded to order and try out 5 other backpack brands and models. The 'rejects' were easy to return. For Jill, the biggest factor was the shoulder harness system. . . the way the padding and the straps 'interfaced' with her chest and near to the underarms. The hipbelts were generally just fine; it was the width of the shoulder harness attachment points on the backpack, combined with the length and width and placement of the shoulder straps padding, plus the ability to get a good fine tuning to the shoulder harness adjustments that was the primary issue.
But a good backpack-to-Jill match was found. Now with a good amount of practice, her ability to smoothly adjust and readjust the backpack has become an intuitive process. It is fun to see her do little tweaks to her pack's adjustments, without having to think about it, as we walk.
The other big issue was trying to differentiate what Jill described as an issue with a backpack's fit, from the issue of having never backpacked any distances with a loaded backpack. For a novice, the fact of WEARING a backpack and hiking over many miles is a brand new sensation; they do not know how it feels to wear a backpack while hiking, period. It takes a bit of time to get used to 'wearing' a backpack, just as it would take time for someone who has never worn shoes to get used to what wearing shoes feels like.
So part of the process of eliminating a backpack was Jill getting used to carrying a backpack. . .
Anyway, Jill and I are now done with packing. Yea!!!
☺☺☺
I will be doing a GoPro video of every step of our walk on the Camino Ingles which will be edited into a Hyperlapsed-timewarp-fast forward type of presentation by John Sikora. Each stage will be compressed from hours to minutes for viewing.
As with John's other Camino video step-by-step videos - and the one I did for John walking from SJPdP to Roncesvalles over Napoleon - this will be a video series of Ingles' trail-path-road-scenery from the perspective of the walker. The Camino is the focus, not people. There won't be video of Jill or I, or interactions with other pilgrims as there are tons of videos that have already done that kind of vloging format The objective of the video will be for those curious as to what it is like to walk Camino Ingles to actually view the walk as if they are doing it themselves. Without the huffing and puffing and sweating, of course
That means I will be adding about 2 additional pounds to my total backpack weight of 8 pounds/3.7 Kg, bringing it up to 10.5 pounds / 4.8 Kg. Jill's total backpack weight is 10.2 pounds/ 4.6 Kg. Yes, that includes water and expected snacks.
We are still pondering what weight reduction we can do, but that is just low-level fiddly stuff to think on since we have the big stuff done and ready to go.
Oh, and I did decide to leave my Leki trekking poles behind. I am doing an online order with Decathlon to have an inexpensive set of adjustable trekking poles delivered to our lodging in Ferrol. When we arrive in Santiago de Compostela, I will donate the trekking poles. It is far less expensive than paying to ship them home thru Correos ( I don't do any luggage checking, it's carry-on only).
Aside from our regular workout routines, Jill and I have been doing a few leisurely 10 mile/16 km walks a couple of time per week. Doing these walks is not really for fitness or physical testing, it is more for the both of us to get used to walking together; checking out each others pace, looking at distance and time intervals between breaks and rest periods, just sort of doing an informal checklist of things to keep an eye out for as we walk together. Since Jill has never been backpacking with me, it is fun getting to know her during our distance walks.
And, no, Jill would not be comfortable walking on her own on Camino. . . at least for now
So the issue of us proceeding apart is not even up for discussion. And that is OK, because it is such a pleasant surprise for me to learn that she and I walk comfortably together.Well, except for the fact that Jill likes to 'chat' while I like to NOT chat
Out of all the issues that can arise from two people learning to walk together, it is most amazing to me that tolerance toward chat-talking - - and NOT chat-talking - - would be the biggest learning curve we faced. Another thing that was kind of interesting, and amusing at the same time to me, was Jill's adjustment to carrying a backpack. I ended up needing to spend a lot of unexpected attention to finding a backpack to match Jill. Getting the right size was easy. . . . it was getting the right 'feel' and 'comfort level' that proved to be a bit tougher to achieve.
Due to a previous controversy around naming specific brands and models of backpacks, I won't mention any specific manufacturer's names.
It turned out that the original backpack that I purchased for Jill had enough of a 'comfort' disparity, that I then proceeded to order and try out 5 other backpack brands and models. The 'rejects' were easy to return. For Jill, the biggest factor was the shoulder harness system. . . the way the padding and the straps 'interfaced' with her chest and near to the underarms. The hipbelts were generally just fine; it was the width of the shoulder harness attachment points on the backpack, combined with the length and width and placement of the shoulder straps padding, plus the ability to get a good fine tuning to the shoulder harness adjustments that was the primary issue.
But a good backpack-to-Jill match was found. Now with a good amount of practice, her ability to smoothly adjust and readjust the backpack has become an intuitive process. It is fun to see her do little tweaks to her pack's adjustments, without having to think about it, as we walk.
The other big issue was trying to differentiate what Jill described as an issue with a backpack's fit, from the issue of having never backpacked any distances with a loaded backpack. For a novice, the fact of WEARING a backpack and hiking over many miles is a brand new sensation; they do not know how it feels to wear a backpack while hiking, period. It takes a bit of time to get used to 'wearing' a backpack, just as it would take time for someone who has never worn shoes to get used to what wearing shoes feels like.
So part of the process of eliminating a backpack was Jill getting used to carrying a backpack. . .
Anyway, Jill and I are now done with packing. Yea!!!
☺☺☺I will be doing a GoPro video of every step of our walk on the Camino Ingles which will be edited into a Hyperlapsed-timewarp-fast forward type of presentation by John Sikora. Each stage will be compressed from hours to minutes for viewing.
As with John's other Camino video step-by-step videos - and the one I did for John walking from SJPdP to Roncesvalles over Napoleon - this will be a video series of Ingles' trail-path-road-scenery from the perspective of the walker. The Camino is the focus, not people. There won't be video of Jill or I, or interactions with other pilgrims as there are tons of videos that have already done that kind of vloging format The objective of the video will be for those curious as to what it is like to walk Camino Ingles to actually view the walk as if they are doing it themselves. Without the huffing and puffing and sweating, of course
That means I will be adding about 2 additional pounds to my total backpack weight of 8 pounds/3.7 Kg, bringing it up to 10.5 pounds / 4.8 Kg. Jill's total backpack weight is 10.2 pounds/ 4.6 Kg. Yes, that includes water and expected snacks.
We are still pondering what weight reduction we can do, but that is just low-level fiddly stuff to think on since we have the big stuff done and ready to go.
Oh, and I did decide to leave my Leki trekking poles behind. I am doing an online order with Decathlon to have an inexpensive set of adjustable trekking poles delivered to our lodging in Ferrol. When we arrive in Santiago de Compostela, I will donate the trekking poles. It is far less expensive than paying to ship them home thru Correos ( I don't do any luggage checking, it's carry-on only).
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