21 April 2024
Everything in one backpack

A year ago I started a Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route known as the Via de la Plata & Camino Sanabres from Seville in the south of Spain to Santiago de Compostela in the northwest corner of Spain. I had to stop at Granja de Moreuela because of severe and painful tendonitis in my left leg. Here is a photo of me walking last year between Casar de Cáceres and Cañaveral on the 15th day of the 26 days I walked. Since I am walking from one town to the next, and not returning, I have everything in my backpack.

I am preparing to return to Spain in a week and complete my unfinished pilgrimage walk. This year I’ll be walking with my brother-in-law Ron and his friend Dan. We have discussed what to pack often, and I’m about to load up my backpack with the items in my list:

I am taking my Pacerpole hiking poles. If used properly, hiking poles help distribute weight more evenly (to my upper body) reducing some of the stress on my ankles and knees. The TSA does not allow hiking poles in carry-on luggage, so I must check the poles. I found a small bag designed for carrying tripods in which my hiking poles fit very well. I’ll include in that bag my Swiss Army knives, my refillable water bottle, my after-walk sandals, and a few other items.

I also use a waist pack (sometimes called a fanny pack) for my phone, wallet, passport, and pilgrim’s credential so they are on me all the time.

Here are a few photos of everything ready to be loaded into my Osprey Manta 36 Liter backpack. I’m confident this will work because I used the same list and the same backpack last year.

The gloves may seem unnecessary, but when using the hiking poles, my hands are on the poles and exposed all the time, and the mornings are very cool. The gloves are very lightweight and prevent skin irritation.

The blue item with the green strap around it on the lower left is my rain jacket, really an all-purpose jacket with a Gore-Tex outer fabric to shed water in the rain. The green bag in the upper middle has toiletries, and next to that are my chargers and cables (that go into the black bag on which they are sitting). Just to the right of the cables and chargers is my Sony RX100-VI camera, a camera that has been with me on several trips to Thailand and my last Camino walk.

Missing is my phone (I took these photos with my phone), and my Samsung Galaxy Tab 8 tablet. I’ll use the tablet (with keyboard included) to update this blog.

And finally, here is the backpack into which all of that will be carried, currently empty. I’ll do a “test packing” tomorrow or the next day just to make sure everything still fits.

Next: Traveling to Spain