The past few days have been quite unsettling. I have researched the El Camino de Santiago forums for months, I purchased a "Camino Preparation Guide" and even spoke with a local woman who did the Camino last year. I ordered and purchased the items listed in the guide, I made sure I purchased extremely lightweight but durable products, and I've gone over and over the list. But my backpack is TOO HEAVY!! I culled many items from the list, even things that the forums and published guides recommended as "essential." But the final recommendation is that the pack should not weigh more than 10% of the person's total body weight. My pack is over this limit. I give up. I can't leave anything else out. If it gets so bad that I can't handle the weight, I'll just hire a portage service to take my pack from one town to the next.
One pilgrim on the forum told me this: "The people who get injured are usually the young ones. They try to carry too much weight and they try to walk too far, too fast in one day. The older pilgrims usually do well. They walk short distances very slowly. They pack very few things and they carry lots of money." Well, I guess I'm an "older" pilgrim. I'll walk slowly anyway!
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