Camino Pilgrim

Explore Camino de Santiago

Spring/Autumn gear list for Camino

The main difference from Summer season gear is that you need more protection from rain and cold. April and October are the rainiest months in Spain. Everything between those you can still manage with Summer hiking gear. Starting from October you will need to add or replace a few items. Good thing is that you will not need to carry as much water with you as in the Summer.

If you have specific bonus clothes that you want to wear just for airport travel, then I suggest you send those ahead to your end destination. A great option is to send the extra stuff to Casa Ivar and pick them up once you reach Santiago. Your knees will thank you later.

Shoes

I will be wearing trail runners as usual because most of the time it will not be raining and if it does then they will dry fast. I want to walk long distances in a day and getting moisture out of the shoe while walking becomes important. If you walk distances less than 20km a day then a pair of waterproof boots might be a good idea instead. The thing about hiking boots is that you really need to do several practice hikes at home before Camino to walk them in properly.

Please think ahead about the terrain of your Camino before making a final choice on the shoes. Road-to-trail type of shoes are good for all Caminos.

Backpack

These shoulder seasons people usually carry at least a 40L backpack. A good sleeping bag will take half of that space already, so I suggest to actually bring your gear to the store when choosing a backpack. You will often either need a bigger backpack or less volume of gear.

Since walking big distances daily is something I enjoy then I will be taking with me a 22L backpack that also leaves plenty of room for the back to breathe while hiking.

I did try adding a waist bag for convenient pockets and more carrying capacity, but quickly discovered that anything blocking the motion of movement over my hips will make walking so much harder. My leg muscles became incredibly sore only after two days of walking the Camino with a fanny pack. As soon as I removed the waist bag and put it into my backpack, I started to recover quickly and found it easier to walk longer distances.

Sleeping gear

You will not want a sleeping bag that will weigh more than 1 kilogram (35 ounces). Even though the nights will be cold in Spring and Autumn, then you are still sleeping indoors. Pretty much every albergue will have extra wool blankets that you can add for warmth if needed. The Via de la Plata has pretty much just municipal albergues only and all of them I visited had bonus blankets available.

If you are worried about being chilly in the evenings then rather than carrying a heavy sleeping bag, take an extra layer of clothes. Clothes have more uses than a sleeping bag and therefore deliver more value for weight.

Hiking poles

Via de la Plata itself is quite a flat Camino. There are very few intense hill climbs and only one real mountain climb but it goes up quite slowly to the northern border of Extremadura.

You will still want hiking poles to handle all the water obstacles that appear in Spring from rain. The trails get flooded quite quickly and then getting across will require you to jump or walk on random tiny stones. Once a day you might need to walk through cold water without shoes on. Poles will help you cross water without being worried of losing balance that easily.

My packing list for Via de la Plata in March

Daily wear (2205 grams / 4.9 pounds)

Extra layers in the morning

Backpack items (2870 grams / 6.3 pounds)

Sleep and evening stuff
Extra stuff
Hygene
Electronics

Total weight 5.1kg (11.2 pounds)

Summer gear list for Camino

madis.valja

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