According to my countdown widget, it is now 14 days until I set off for Spain again! The plan is to make it a trial run for my fit & kit before the St Olav’s Walk from Oslo to Trondheim this summer, and it seems both will be a lot colder than I had hoped. The recent cold weather front, or ‘Beast from the East’ as they call it here in the UK, has effectively delayed spring in Norway, and with that also the snow melting, so we might be looking at a very cool, boggy and muddy walk. Oh well. To quote a Norwegian saying: There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!
This means that we really need to pack for any and all weathers from cold, boggy, rainy (snowy?) to sunny Nordic summer. I have decided not to change my packlist too much – I am hoping that merino or walking tights with goretex rain trousers will be warm enough but have bought some decent trekking trousers just in case, and on top I will still layer merino, fleece and rain jacket.
The biggest change will be the footwear. Heavier mid or high boots mean that I have to consider taking only two pairs instead of three, which requires a lot of thought. Before The Beast arrived, I was quite happily considering taking hiking shoes, and preparing to change into quick drying sandals for deep bog, streams etc, but that sounds a bit frivolous now … looks like I will be needing at least a mid boot.
I won’t be taking the tent, pad etc to Spain, so I can make up the weight and volume in the pack by taking a few things to test out in the cold and wet. Can’t wait!
Somewhere Slowly 
Which camino are you taking? Here in the south of Spain we’ve already had a week of solid rain, with another week of wall to wall rain forecast. And there’s a lot of snow in the north. Be prepared for mud! Buen camino
We are walking the last part of the Francés, where my camiga and I met in September ’15, because the Galician hills are a good training ground. It was very muddy and chilly in April ’16, and also in March last year when we had snow!, but I am still hoping for some sun. Will definitely be testing mids with good mud gripping sole and all my raingear. Thanks for the heads-up!
Boots boots boots…what are you going to take? Any new finds? I’m about to order 6 new pairs to try at home! I have a few weeks in April and I’m still trying to decide where to walk. The Francis from Burgos? The Primitivo? The Madrid/San Salvador? My worry is that the last two might be a bit muddy mid-april… so perhaps it will be the CF again? I can only take 3 weeks in October on the Norte… what were you saying about best laid plans 🙂
I have just come back from Liverpool with a pair of Salomon Quest prime beauties! My biggest problem is the plantar fasciitis, but fingers crossed they feel perfect on the arches… May we all find the elusive perfect boots! I would love to walk the Primitivo, so I’ll vote for that (so I can read your blog and look at the pictures) and if that fails it’s fairly easy to switch? Look forward to seeing what you decide and hope you find some good boots, peregrina.
I’ve just found a pair of Altra Lone Peaks… a 3.0 that I walked the VdlP in… one pair left in my size… I ordered. I had foot pain with these but not blisters… I think these are the last pair for sale in europe… and now they are mine 😀 😀 😀
Congratulations! I hope they work for you though ‘just pain no blisters’ really isn’t a resounding victory … maybe with the right insole the foot pain will go away too?