Roncevellas August 31 2009

Today we were up early and walked with our packs to the bus station to catch the 10am bus from Pamploma to Roncesvellas. The receptionist at the hotel had given us a pectin shell for our backpacks and would not take any payment. On arriving in Roncesvalles an hour later, we checked into a small pension, La Posada.

We then emptied our pack and carried just a few items and water and headed up into the hills eastward toward France, where other pilgrims were coming from. Two hours later we were at the summit of the Camino pass through the Pyrenees, we climbed 500 meters to an elevation of 1450 meters, or roughly 5,000 feet. In talking to others sitting and enjoying the view after the long hike up, they said this was the highest point of the Camino. (David checked in our guide book and this is the second highest point, as it is 50 meters higher some 300 miles down the road through another mountain range). At the high point we were still in Spain but only a few miles from the French border, and of course had wonderful long-distance views of both countries.

The weather was again beautiful - mid 70s and sunny. As we got to the summit there was quite a bit of wind that you really felt you were pushing against. The scenery was beautiful with heather plants, ferns, and black-faced sheep with bells. The forest scenery was gorgeous.

Upon our return from the pass, we registered at the Monastery and got our sello. Peregrino dinner is served at 7pm and mass is at 8pm.

Our first laundry batch is drying on two spare shoe laces tied together. We saw a number of  large birds of prey or vultures, including some Griffin Vultures which have about a 10 foot wingspan. Tonight we willl be our first pilgrim dinner at 9 euros each. The room is 50 Euros plus taxes.
Can´t seem to post pictures at this point so will add later

France is behind me

Summit of the Pass through Pyrenees from France

The scallop shell is the symbol of the Camino and the trail marker. All the peregrinos (pilgrims) have scallop shells on their backpacks or bike saddle bags. See our backpacks with shells.

Pamplona

Last night we we're able to attend mass and have communion in a church in the old quarter of Bilbao which made us feel better about getting our sello in the tourist office! We had dinner using the available small plates (like tapas but they have another word for it in this area - pinchos) from 2 different bars. Along with the small plates we had small glasses of wine so we were able to try a couple of good red and white wines. Wine was cheaper than the food. Tapas dinner cost 27€. Left our empty suitcases with the hotel and took a tram to the bus station early so that we could catch cafe' there. Made ourselves a protein drink for breakfast.

Fashion note: Interesting clothes in the shop windows. The glasses frames are much different here than in the USA and also body piercing is more prevalent. We listened to our Spanish lesson while sharing a set of ear phones on the bus. The bus ride was 2 hours from Bilbao to Pamploma, so by 10:30 we were out on the streets trying to navigate our way to the Hotel Eslava, which was on the old wall ramparts in the old city. This hotel has wonderful old world charm just like the hotel in Bilbao but with new modern bathrooms. We love the location and the atmosphere and would recommend it to others.

Lunch was at Cafe Iruna, an art deco interior venue that Hemingway visited frequently. The menu of the day is very good value at 13€s a piece. I had a wonderful gazpacho soup followed by salmon and melon for dessert. Wine or water included. (had to pick the bones out of my fish --). David had salad mixed (mista), pork roast and fruit. We went back again for dinner just like Kay and Roger did. Sunday night did not really have many bars open for tapas. The rose' wine from this area is noted to be very good.


It is rather embarrassing but we have collected 3 sellos from Pamplona - the first at the tourist office in the old town. Then we found the peregrino auberge near the Cathedral Jesus y Maria, which was a church until 2007. The central knave is an art exhibition area and the side cloisters have been made into dormitories. We went to just peek inside and ended up with a sello. From the lady there we learned there was a special peregrino benediction done at 7:15pm in the Cathedral. So we went back at the allotted time and a priest came out and lead 40 perigrinos back through the vestry (all lovely ornate Rococco rooms) to another small chapel in the cloisters (beautiful). There we had a blessing and then received yet another sello.

I can´t do spell check from the BB nor from a computer here in Spain so I am sure I have many things misspelled.

BILBAO arrival

We arrived on time in Bilbao via air France from Paris. It did not appear that our luggage had made it though so we went and stood in the line to report lost luggage. It was a very slow moving line so I cruised around to see if I could find an Air France representative to ask about the bags. Found one and learned that our bags were in the customs clearance area. We were very happy and took a taxi to our hotel Le Petite Palace which is located in the old quarter (Casco Viejo). As we had arrived so early we could not get into our room which was okay as we had to head to the Post Office (Correos) to send our care packages out to the various city post offices along the route. Both the hotel receptionist and the Correos staff were very helpful. Total cost for the packages was 39€.

I wish I had spent more time on my Spanish! We took a tram to the bus station to buy our tickets to Pamplona. Our receptionist told us to be sure and validate our tram tickets which was helpful as we would not have known to do that otherwise. After checking into our room we asked Lorraina, the receptionist, at which church we could get a sello (stamp)for our Credential (spiritual passport). She sent us across the street to the tourist office and they gave us our first stamp shown here. We then walked through the old quarter with it´s lovely balconies, flowers and plants covering the railings and a few undersides of the balconies had tiles. We had a tasty lunch of salad mista, omelette with mushrooms and "green garlic", and beef stew. (cost 25€, the same as taxi ride in)

At Dulles airport we each had purchased a mastercard "cash passport" in euros. This cash card we had seen discussed on the yahoo Santiagobis threads and thought it might be good for us to get one as another source of cash in addition to our B of A debit card. Just in case the ATM card didn´t work.....this already happened to us when we were looking for money to pay for the postage so we christened the euro cash card.

Walk to Glenn Abbey Cemetary

Sunday, August 24, 2009 David, Liza and I took a short walk down the canyon behind Dad's house to Mom's grave site at Glenn Abbey. Walked the 2.3 miles in full pack and water (slightly over 20 lbs) and the hike took 1 hour moving with a moving average of 2.2 miles per hour and an elevation gain of 80 meters.

Scott's Run with full pack

Tuesday August 18, 2009
Today we decided to walk a shorter distance (my birthday present) but to add back some elevation to our hike so we did two shortened laps in Scott's Run with both our packs at 18 lbs. This includes 1 liter of water but no food other than a small bag of gorp. David used heel orthotics today and like me felt less discomfort in the knees. I have less discomfort in the hips and knees since I have the new orthotics in my boots. Temperature was again in the low 90s. Our stats were 3.75 miles in 2 hours and 3 minutes. Overall moving speed was 2.3 miles for 1 hr 40 minutes and 23 minutes stopped which pulled our average speed down to 1.8 miles per hour. Our total ascent was 131 meters. Both of us felt like we could easily do another lap which was a good feeling.
I had found a little $10 flashdrive MP3 player for David onto which I had loaded our Berlitz Rush Hour Spanish. As we walked today we each had our respective ipod/mp3 players with us and practised our Spanish lessons.

C & O Canal Lock 10 Again

Monday August 17, 2009
Our second day out with full pack was a little slower than yesterday - actually David was almost dragging me home :)We did 11.5 miles in 4 hours and 42 minutes with 4 hours moving at 2.8 miles per hour and stopped 42 minutes pulling overall average down to 2.4 miles per hour. Again a very hot and humid day but I did have my new camel back with 1.5 liters in it and I drank it all such that I had no water for the last 1 1/2 hours. Also both David and I got blisters. David's was just an expansion of his previous one and mine I think was a result of changing my orthotic. I have "super feet" in my boots and have had since day one along with a Dr. Scholl's tri-comfort orthotics. Well as I had had the Dr. Scholl's in for over a year I decided to put in new ones. I did not have any hip or knee pain so definitely a good move but I did get a blister on the bottom of my heel. David has changed his boot liners to a pair of "super fee" and thinks he felt better as well.

We continue to examine the weight of our pack and keep trying to get it lighter and be sure we will have what we need. In Kay's narrative of the Camino she talks about "We’ve noticed for evening wear the french men wear a light wool knit pullover sweater, Bernard wears an ascot with a nicely pressed (at least the collar and cuffs) shirt underneath. The women don their walking gear & wear a skirt, blouse & colorful scarves." This of course lead to a discussion that we have no evening outfit so again redoing packing and changing things around. We even went to the sad extent of buying a kitchen scale so that we can weigh the items we are choosing between! We have of course now increased the amount of mole skin we are going to carry as so far we have been able to walk with blisters using mole skin.

C&O Canal Lock 10

Sunday August 16, 2009
Today we hiked 11.1 miles in a little less than 4 1/2 hours. 4 hours was moving time at an average speed of 2.8 miles and we were stopped for 28 minutes so the overall average was brought down to 2.5 miles. Elevation on the towpath was only 86 meters. We hiked with 19 lbs on our backs today. We hiked an hour north and came back to Lock 10 and then hike an hour south and came back to Lock 10. David's blister was patched with mole skin and he was able to do alright after the initial tenderness wore off. David was trying out his new "camel back" water container - now I want one! It allows you to drink water without having to stop and pull out your water bottle. This might seem like a small thing but when you stop walking your rhythm is broken and the more tired you are the harder it is to get started again. (Similar to when you are riding a bike everything goes smoothly but when you stop you have to pedal harder to get the bike moving again.)
It was close to 90 degrees today and very humid so I have prickly heat on my chest, lower back, legs, feet and one arm. David has a rash only where the backpack shoulder straps cross his chest. I was calling friends and family from the trail to distract me from how much longer I had to walk! No wonder Kay said her Dictaphone became her crutch.
Lock 10 on the C&O Canal was the final stopping point for our C&O canal bike trip for our 50 and 55 birthday celebrations. We biked down from Cumberland on the tow path over 3 days - each going the appropriate number of miles for their years. Good place to do our first walk with a full pack.

Reference Materials Used for Planning

We are going to carry 2 guidebooks with us and these are: A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago: The Way of St. James (Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago: St. Jean,) (Paperback but heavy) and from the Confraternity of Saint James in the UK we ordered The Camino Francés, 2009, William Bisset. CSJ, London, 2009. 76 + 20 pp. (Pilgrim Guides to Spain #1)This is their best-selling guide, updated every year on the basis of pilgrims' feedback, and re-issued each January. Details on the traditional route in Spain, refuges and other accommodation, and practical advice. (In English, despite the title) We also reviewed websites for the AmericanPilgrims.com who also issued our credential for us. The yahoo group Santiagobis has been an invaluable resources with daily emails of questions/answers and notes from those on the Camino. Another really good site is www.jacobeo.net however it is only in Spanish except for Holy Years when there is also an English version. Google translator works quite well slowly getting the information. For trying to learn spanish we are using Berlitz Rush Hour Spanish. Aniesa and I used Rush Hour Italian before a trip to Italy and found it was actually quiet good because the songs helped you remember the words and phrases.
We also have to thank Kay Heigel for transcribing the voice tapes she made of their pilgrimage as they walked along. I hope that I have been successful at configuring this blog such that I can update it from my blackberry as we go along - will have to be careful not to trip! Less than 2 weeks before we leave and so many things to do and so much training!

Big Schloss Great North Mountain VA - WV

Thursday August 13, 2009 Up and out of the hotel which had a hot breakfast buffet included with the room and at the trail head ready to go at 10am. (We will definately stay at the Woodstock Holiday Inn Express for any hiking needs in the area as at $81 it was excellent value.)We decided to carry a little more water than the previous day so packs were about 11 lbs. This hike was delightful even though the trail climbs steadily for the first 3 miles so that most of your 586 meters ascent is completed. But on the trail up there were all these amazing varieties of wild mushrooms!
Our walking speed at this point was 1.7 miles p/hr as we kept stopping to examine and photograph the mushrooms which were on a path of moss and rocks. We stopped and actually sat down on the Sugar Knob PATC cabin step to have our lunch. (The prior day's hike we never sat down.)The woods were full of azaleas and laurels. We did the hike over to the base of Big Schloss (named by early German settlers and meaning "castle") The top of this ridge is bisected with the Virginia - West Virginia line. The top ridge line has a long grassy meadow that makes that section "a walk in the park". we did not climb to the top of Big Schloss because I was definately feeling the second day's hike more than I had felt the first day. I was worried that the steep decsent we were to face was going to be like the previous days and I did not want to be totally exhausted by the time I had to face that section of the trail. David got a blister on his right heal so we stopped and put on moleskin and also adjusted our boots for the descent. The last 2 days we have been wearing our biking gloves so that we can use our trekking poles more effectively. Again though last minute panic because the last turnoff of the trail was to be at a certain milage point--- and it wasn't there! Hiking guide said a distance of 1.2 miles and in reality it was 1.9 miles!! We did 11.6 miles with an average 1.7 moving avg and our overall hiking average speed was 1.3 m/hr made up of 7 hrs moving time 1 hr 40 min stopped. We had dinner at the Cracker Barrel before heading home. It feels good on tired sore bones to put the car seat heaters on but doesn't eliminate the hobbling and moans that come as you get out of the car after a day's hike.
Attached video of butterflies in the meadows.
With these 2 days of hiking I have gone back to my packing list and removed a few things - 1 pr socks, that scarf for a more dressed look, the clothes pins (keeping the safety pins) and yes the Ipod and charger are out. From David's pack he has so far removed the carrot peeler and downsized his Swiss army knife.

Big Blue - Cove Run Virgina - West Virginia

Wednesday, August 12,2009
We left the house at around 7:45 for the trail head at Waites Run near Wardensville WV. Found the trail head by 10am and then lightened our backpack loads to 10 lb packs which consisted of water, snacks, rain gear, and first aid kit along with faithful GPS trainer. We started hiking at 10:30 with a steady climb with switch backs through the woods that are filled with laurel, azaleas and blueberries. Most of the climb is at the beginning prior to reaching the Paul Gerhardt Memorial shelter and then there is a very steep descent that is on a slippery gravelly trail and things were going well for us up until that point.

We had gone 5 miles and we were using the GPS to confirm the trails we were turning on etc. At that point somehow we made a turn and got onto the wrong path and were continuing down it the required distance before looking for the next trail - which we could not find. We turned back up the trail and walked back to the last "gate" that we had seen to look for the trail again. At this point the sky has gotten very dark and we heard thunder very close, the wind picked up so we put the rain covers on the backpack and start looking around for some shelter. The problem is that it is around 5:30 pm and we don't have too much daylight left. In our dash to unload the backpacks we had both removed our mini flashlights. Our GPS has a tracking map that showed us where the car was and where we were - not near each other unfortunately. So we had to plot the GPS coordinates on the topo map we had brought and then navigate our way from there constantly checking our position. There were very real thoughts of overnighting in the forest or hunting for some cell phone reception and being rescued by a ranger. We did manage to get ourselves back to the car and were very thankful that our hike was only 12.7 miles, 553 meters in elevations, 6 1/2 hrs moving at an avg of 2 miles per hour and 1 1/2 hrs stopped. Overall average was 1.6 miles per hour. Our hiking speed definitely picked up at the end when we were on an old logging road going in the right direction!
We are not a quiet couple of hikers - from the lead male there is "Whoa" "Whooaaah" all referring to spider webs that he has either walked straight into, just avoided, or is facing the spider eyeball to eyeball. From the back you hear ongoing groans and moans along with squeals as the fear of snakes can be hard to subdue at some points along the trail. That, and the "bear watch", that happens after you see fresh bear scat and dug up trees keep the adrenalin flowing at the caboose of the couple. One particular section of the trail - a swampy area that we now realize was not part of our trail caused a not stop chant of "I am not enjoying this".
We left the trail head and then drove into Wardensville, WV and along 259 (a very scenic route through the George Washington National Forest) and then turned down route 50 which became a gravel trail pass over the mountains and down past Columbia Furnace, Va into Woodstock VA where we made a reservation at an excellent Holiday Inn Express. We had a big dinner at the Cracker Barrel - David's favorite restaurant while on the road. We were very happy to be spending the night in a hotel instead of the forest!

The Packing List

Yesterday we packed the backpacks (3 lbs) and threw into a box items to be shipped ahead as parts of various care packages. We took large containers of, for example, campsuds -our all purpose concentrated cleaner for body,hair, and clothes, and divided it down into smaller containers that should last 10 days. Will in a later post give a list of the care package compositions and where they will be mailed for collection along the trail. Below is my packing list. David and I have split the toiletries and the emergency/useful items and both weighed in at 16 pounds. When we add water (2 lbs and food 1lbs) and a few of the other items not quite in the bag yet (glasses etc) we will definitely add another pound. So it looks like a 20 lb pack!

I am carrying a couple of sentimental items that are not included in the weight - the index prayer cards from the children's first communion, my mother's Memorial card, and a Superman medal, "Go Forward" from the Christopher Reeves Foundation for our dear friend Athena.

CAMINO PACKING LIST
Full pack plus water and food should not exceed 10% of your body weight. – max 20 lbs

Everything is stored in plastic bags, essential as it can rain a lot.

CLOTHING & /EQUIPMENT
2 pair pants – 2 pr zip off shorts (1 pr used as sleeping gear)
2 long sleeve T-shirt
1 short sleeve T-shirt
3 pair thick socks
4 pair sock liners or thin socks
3 panties/underpants
2 bras
1 fleece jacket
Bandana- for various uses
Bandana – cooling gel
Rain jacket - gortex
Backpack rain cover
Sandals
Sleep sheet
Collapsible titanium walking poles
Hiking boots (gel inserts/orthotics)
Extra pair shoe laces
Sun hat - Tilley
Travel towel- medium sized
Water bottle
Heart monitor

ELECTRONICS
Camera charger
Blackberry charger
Flash drive USB (for putting camera pictures on)
Camera to computer cord
Vonage flashdrive for calling USA
Ipod charger
Electrical plug adapter

TOILETRIES
Foot care
Needle & cotton thread for blisters
Corn Huskers for feet
Foot Powder
New Skin liquid bandage
Moleskin
Band-Aids
Nail clipper

Daily care
Hair Brush
Deodorant
Emery board
Moisturizer
Nailbrush – for washing clothes and cleaning boots
Campsuds – for shampoo/ soap and laundry detergent
Sunscreen (SPF 30)
Toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss
Prescription medications/vitamins
Ear plugs
Advil PM
Sweetner

Useful or emergency care
Diaper pins for clothes line on back pack
Flashlight (LED-type)
Ziploc-type bags, various sizes
Antibiotic/Z pack
Insect repellent
Antibiotic cream
Compass
Plastic case on lanyard for putting map in
Guidebooks and notes
Knife with sheath for cutting bread, cheese, fruits
Small light weight flexible cutting “board”
Metal “ball” for mixing up protein drink in water container
Swiss army knife
Plastic spoons
Gum
Hand Sanitizer/ moisture towelettes

WAIST BELT PACK, WORN IN FRONT W/ VALUABLES: NEVER LEAVE IT!
Blackberry
Passport
Driver’s license (you never know!)
Air and train tickets, hotel confirmations
Pilgrim passport (Your most valuable possession!)
Pen/pencil
Small diary
ATM/Debit card for cash
Credit card
Sunglasses/reading glasses
Camera
Ipod
Cash
Lip balm/gloss
Wear your boots on the plane. If baggage is lost, you can buy everything else in Europe, but the boots should be broken in to your feet. Don’t lose them!

To travel overseas, put backpack and send ahead clothes in duffel bag/suitcase. Before hitting the trail, go to the post office and buy a box there to hold the duffel and send-ahead clothes. Mail to yourself “lista de correos” in Santiago. Mail other smaller care packages to other correos along the trail

GORP – sent ahead to a couple of post office
Protein Powder – sent ahead

Another Day at Scott's Run but with friends to lighten the time

Saturday, July 8th was a 7.27 mile day with an overall moving average of 2.3 miles but overall average of 1.9 miles (our goal is 2 miles per hour overall). Total assent was 312 meters and we carried a 16 pound pack. Two pounds more that the previous hikes - I felt the difference. It was wonderful to have Bob and Nancy hike with us as they know the park trails very well from their annual bird survey for the Audubon society is there. So we were hiking on some different trails and had some good friends to talk with to while away the hours!

Finally - a full day's hike but with only 14 lb pack

We are delighted to report we survived our 12.6 mile hike with an overall moving average of 2.2 miles per hour and overall average of 1.9 mph (our goal is to have that at 2 miles per hour but not there yet). We were walking for 5 hours and 44 minutes and 55 minutes of stopped time. Total assent was 498 meters and we kept our 14 lb packs on the whole time. We had some rain so had a little drill of putting on our backpack covers. We did not put on our own rain jackets as the rain was not that hard and the humidity was high. Overall the temperature was much better than the other day and the Real Feel was only in the mid 80s. For snacks we have our gorp and then also we are making protein shakes and keeping them in a cooler in the car. We don't expect to have an opportunity to hike over the next few days but next week will plan a trip to Harper's Ferry and there is some real elevation there.

The yahoo group Santiagobis has been a wonderful source of information to us. I sent an email asking how to send care packages to ourselves along the way and below is the reponse I got!

"Every Correos - Post Office - (excepting the small agencies) has a Lista de Correos Service where you can post things to yourself. If you go onto the Correos website you can find out the post office and postal code to send your stuff to. They will sell you a packet or a box and you write your name (as it appears in your passport) and the address of the post office. EG:
Jones M. A.
Lista de Correos
15780S antiago de Compostela
A Coruña

Here are a few Postal codes on the Camino Frances:
31080 Pamplona (Navarra)
31100 Puenta la Reina (Navarra)
26080 Logroño (Navarra)
09080 Burgos
24080 León
24700 Astorga (León)
24400 Ponferrada (León)
27600 Sarria (Lugo)
15780 Santiago de Compostela (A Coruña)

Most Post Offices are open from 8h30 – 20h30 on working days and 09h30 – 14h00 on Saturdays. Parcels sent ahead take 3 – 5 working days.

Some costs:
Small box 230 x 140 x 80 mm €1.55: Medium box 317 x 215 x 125 mm €1.95
Large box 390 x 280 x 190 mm €2.45: Extra large* box 590 x 390 x 390 mm €3.05
Trapezoid box €2.45: Adjustable box €2.40

Postage: Up to 2kg €5.29: 5kg €6.15: 10kg €7.25: 15kg €10.08: 20kg €12.30"

We couldn't ask for better information! I have also reserved our pension in Pamploma and also Roncevalles (which is the start of our journey). The reservations I requested in Bilbao have not come back confirmed yet so we may have to look for another place in the old town.

Scotts Run Preserve 6 hrs 15 minutes 10.6 miles

Today was another heavy training day in weather of 82-87 degrees. Accuweather's RealFeel index however put the day at over 100 degrees because of the high humidity. We carried 13 lb packs for the first 8.4 miles and then left them behind for the last 2.2 miles. Total asset for the day was 405 meters with an average moving speed of 2 miles per hour but overall average speed of 1.7 miles per hour. We ache all over needless to say after 6 hours and 15 minutes (1 hr 5 minutes stopped)

We also hiked after neither of us slept well so we didn't get started till 10:30am. Yesterday when we hiked later in the day we had been consuming Zipfizz - "transforms water into a healthy energy and performance drink". I checked the products website had yes it does have caffeine -It has 100 mgs of caffeine from natural sources of green tea and Guarana. That’s about one-fourth the caffeine in a Tall Starbucks coffee (375 mg) and less than two Excedrin tablets (130 mg). Any way Zipfizz kept us up until 4am. We drank Zipfizz this morning and don't expect the same effects tonight.

We have also, thanks to Kay and Roger, improved our trail GORP (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts) to include chopped dates, dry roasted edamame, salted peanuts, dry roasted almonds, cried cranberries, dried raisins and oat ring cereal.

I am thinking of carrying in my suitcase some prepackaged "care" boxes to send to different towns along the Camino so I don't have to carry so much of what has become "necessary" - e.g. good gorp.

Tomorrow's plan is an hour of weight training in the gym.

Scott's Run in McLean VA

Our training ground continues to be Scott's Run park in McLean. The last week has not lead to much real outdoor training just a few sessions in the gym so we are working to correct this. Today we did 9.5 miles with a total assent 420 meters in about 4 1/2 hours. My pack weighed 15 pounds and David's 16 pounds.

We are actually training in weather that is warmer and more humid ( 85 degrees and above) than we anticipate having in Spain. If one believes the weather patterns we can expect the following:


Daily temp Avg Max

Sept Pamplona 64 76
Sept Logrono 66 78
Sept Burgos 60 73
Oct Leon 53 62
Oct Ponferrada 55 64
Oct Leon 53 62
Oct Santiago 56 64

So we have now also revised our packing list as far as clothes go. We plan to start hiking from Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees on September 1 and our plane home from Bilbao is on October 18th.