Behind the Albergue Door: Inspiration Agony Adventure on the Camino de Santiago

the Camino, each and every time hanging off a backpack while their owner limped painfully along in stiff new hiking shoes they picked up in the last town.
    Wool Hiking Gear
    Especially socks. When it comes to ranking the relative importance of hiking gear , a good pair of socks follows hard on the heels of good shoes. Thick socks designed to withstand long days on rugged trails can make all the difference in the condition of your feet and go a long way towards preventing blisters. Have two pairs handy at all times and change back and forth every time you take a longer break. Wool socks dry much quicker than most and if you hang them from the back of your pack they are usually good as new again within a couple hours. You’ll be amazed at how good it feels to put on a dry pair of socks after a mediocre lunch and three large beer. I added a third pair for the Camino so that I could wash a pair in the evening without worrying about them drying by morning while hanging in a stuffy dorm room without a trickle of air movement.
    We are also completely infatuated with our merino wool shirts, both long - and short-sleeved, and their outstanding hiking qualities. They are lightweight, comfortable, warm if needed, and by some suspiciously magical trick of nature never seem to smell, even after a week on the trail sweating like an Estonian lumberjack. I was carrying a merino t-shirt which I hiked in and a long-sleeved merino which I would wear in the cooler evenings. As the average temperature continued to drop, though, I eventually found myself wearing it during the day as well, leaving me short one dry, clean evening shirt. Expressing this unfortunate dilemma one afternoon on about day 25 a friend of ours suddenly produced an almost identical one from his bag and told me to keep it since he had lots and hadn’t actually worn it yet…at all. Much appreciated, and an excellent example of over-packing.
    Quick-Dry Clothing
    While wool works for shirts, socks, toques and yoga mats, it is important to make sure that everything you bring is relatively quick drying. See, there is this unfortunate conundrum that always seems to occur when it rains all day – all your stuff is wet but there is no sun to dry it. Plus, you will want to wash things now and then and won’t always be lucky enough to have a bright sunny afternoon with a healthy breeze when you need it. Dank dorm rooms with lots of people exhaling wetly is much more common. So synthetic pants, jackets and underwear will make your life much easier, and at least marginally cleaner. Prior to the hike, against every fibre of my being, we each spent $80 on two pairs of Ex Officio underwear that are specifically designed to dry faster than your pubic hair, so we were able save a bunch of weight on underwear by taking only those and washing a pair in the shower every day. The only downside was constantly having moist, limp underwear draped on the bars of our bunk beds.
    Waterproof Rain Jacket
    I would say this is essential. Laynni and I both thought ours were waterproof but apparently we had never tried hiking for six hours in a downpour before (of course, one could wonder about the rationality of doing so ever ). We both ended up buying new gear in Carrion de los Condes (at the little camping shop off to the left as you enter town), a €45 ultra-light jacket for me and a €7 poncho for Laynni (which is completely symbolic of our respective approaches to shopping). We were both very happy with our choices, mainly because they were actually waterproof (fairly key, we learned), and that they were both built to go right over top of our backpacks so there were no worries about getting our meagre belongings wet. Backpack covers work fairly well but in some cases water pools near the top and slowly leaks in, or the entire cover will want to blow off in strong winds. Likewise, a regular rain jacket doesn’t provide quite as much protection but can still be a decent choice in that it can do double duty (dryness and warmth). Didn’t see many people sitting around in the evening reading in their rain ponchos. On the other hand, Laynni did find that her poncho was great for creating impromptu privacy for emptying her bladder along the trail (The Privacy Poncho™).
    Medical Kit
    It is good to have at least the basics in case of emergency although, on the bright side, there are literally hundreds of well-stocked pharmacies along the Way that do brisk business, especially in the areas of