In Part I of my practical tips, I covered the issue of lodging and generally tackling the Camino de Santiago in winter. In Part II, l review packing. I had trouble finding tips for winter packing. All those people telling you to walk in sneakers? Not in winter, my friends.

Your pack will make or break you on the Camino, especially if you have never done a long multi-week walk with a pack before. Every single gram counts and you can’t afford to be carrying stuff you don’t use. (None of the pilgrims I coincided with ever sent the pack by car and I’m not sure these services even run in winter.)

The standard Camino wisdom is that your pack should weigh about 10% of your body weight and in any case a maximum of 9 kgs. I carried a 30-liter backpack with about 7 kilos of weight including a half-liter of water, and I had the smallest pack of anyone I saw. I could have shaved it down to 6kgs if I’d given some items up but in winter it’s difficult to get below that given the warm clothes you need to carry.

Everyone has different needs and wants while traveling so you need to decide how you want to use your weight. Think about what you want for walking and what you’ll want for the afternoon down time.

If you’re not a packing list freak and don’t want to read all the detail, here are 10 items that I was really glad I had:

Winter Camino essentials

1. Rain poncho, preferably one that can fit over you + backpack
2. Winter, waterproof jacket with lots of pockets
3. Waterproof gloves (neoprene or other)
4. Hiking boots
5. Backpack cover
6. Chimbo soap or any pH neutral soap that can double for hand-washing clothes and body-washing
7. “Esparadrapo” – paper surgical tape available in any Spanish pharmacy, for blisters
8. Ear plugs
9. Ziploc bags for all your clothes
10. Ibuprofen

My main piece of advice is to organize yourself to minimize stops while walking to open up your pack. Keep things you will need during the day (like a rain poncho) in outer pockets of your pack and snacks, phone, etc in your jacket pockets.

The only thing I packed that I didn’t need was a padlock. There weren’t lockers at any of the inns where I stayed.

 

Now for the nitty-gritty. I’ve divided my packing list by concept and explained all the whys and wherefores. I didn’t have to buy anything new for the trip but I’ve indicated when there’s a better choice than what I have.

I packed all my clothes in Ziploc bags for additional protection against rain and to stay organized. All of my stuff fit just one way in my backpack, which was helpful to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind. Even if you have extra room in your pack, I would recommend always packing exactly the same way. The heaviest items should always go at the bottom of the pack.

This disclaimer shouldn’t be necessary since the only person reading this is my mom, but here goes: all links are provided for information only and I don’t make any money from them. (Hi Mom!)

 

Clothes and hiking gear

1. 1 pair of hiking pants – any “quick-dry” pants will do.
2. 2 short-sleeved cotton T-shirts – 1 for walking and 1 for afternoon downtime/sleep. It’s really nice to have something clean (or at least something that you haven’t been sweating in all day) to put on after a shower. Most pilgrims had technical fabrics that dried much faster than my cotton tees.
3. 1 long-sleeved cotton T-shirt
4. 1 long-sleeved spandex top with fleecy interior
5. 3 pairs of wool socks.  Many pilgrims were wearing special “anti-blister” socks.
6. 3 pairs of underwear
7. 2 sports bras
8. 2 pairs of long underwear – 1 to layer on really cold days and 1 for sleeping only
9. 1 pair of shorts – to optimize weight I didn’t carry an extra pair of pants. I wore shorts over a pair of long underwear when my walking pants were in the wash or drying from the rain. As a bonus, I got to know what it feels like to be the town crazy for a few hours each afternoon. (See above photo.)
10. Outer layer of my ski jacket. The inner layer is a fleece that I decided not to take. Any breathable, somewhat waterproof winter jacket will work, preferably with lots of pockets.
11. Montbell UL down parka – this is the star of my gear. It weighs just over 200g and is super warm either on its own or as a layer.
12. Fleece neck warmer
13. Thin fleece hat
14. Gore-tex mittens – gloves would have been an infinitely better choice but I already had the mittens. You’ll want either Gore-tex or neoprene gloves so your hands stay both warm and dry.
15. Rain poncho that also covers the backpack
16. Backpack cover – this is the only piece of gear I bought on the way. I thought the poncho would be enough, but the sideways rain and high wind blew the poncho all over the place and my pack got all wet anyway. The backpack cover also kept my pack dry when it was not raining quite enough to merit stopping to put on the poncho.
17. Flip flops – I was only thinking of the shower and hanging out inside at the inn, but a better choice would be an adjustable, slip-on sandal to be able to walk around town in socks and sandals and take a rest from the boots.
18. mid-cut hiking boots – for January, February and possibly March, you definitely need boots or a sturdy hiking shoe. All the other seasons you could probably get by in a good pair of sneakers, but in winter you need to be prepared for a lot of rain, thick mud and snow. Whatever footwear you choose, it should be completely broken in before you start walking.
19. Walking sticks – this is totally personal choice. I almost always hike with walking sticks so for me it was a no-brainer. You can try going without and pick up a branch from the ground or buy walking sticks along the way if you are feeling like you need sticks.
20. Headlamp – I didn’t use this at all for the Camino but it was useful for walking around the inns in the dark
21. Reflective Velcro band – for extra visibility when walking on roads. I didn’t wind up walking on any highways in the dark but was glad to have it just in case.
22. Vaude Sioux 100UL sleeping bag – I get really hot when I sleep so for me, a summer bag rated as comfortable from 16-20ºC was enough considering I was always sleeping indoors. Very few of the inns have blankets so you will need to carry some kind of blanket or sleeping bag.
23. Silk sleeping bag – as an inner layer for the sleeping bag for extra warmth and also for hygiene (easier to wash and dry than the sleeping bag itself)

If you feel you’re missing something after you start, Decathlon is a big chain sports store in Europe with very good value for money and each of the cities along the Camino have one (Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León…). It’s usually outside the city center so you’ll have to ask how to get there by public transportation. Most of the bigger towns on the Camino also have a sports store of some kind, though the prices are much higher than Decathlon.

What I didn’t pack: 

I chose not to bring rain pants. Another pilgrim in my group swore by them but I find them to be hot, almost like cooking your legs sous-vide, and I was fine with my quick-dry hiking pants. Depends on what you hate more – having sweaty legs or wet pants. (This goes back to always having somewhere to dry my pants. On less well-equipped routes, like the North Way, rain pants could make sense because you may have 3 or 4 days without being able to dry anything, and putting on wet pants in the morning sucks.)

I also didn’t bring my gaiters. I didn’t miss them. Another guy in my group wore his gaiters every day just to keep the bottom of his pants clean. When he got to town, he would take off the gaiters and be able to walk around without dried mud all over his pants. Another matter of personal choice.