…the excitement of planning a big event. I thrive on figuring out a course of events, and giving attention to every minute detail. So, it is no surprise that I’ve really gone down the rabbit hole of planning my Camino. One resource that has been invaluable has been the Ivar Camino Forum. There are discussions about every conceivable topic affecting pilgrims on their journey.

How it began

I first heard of the Camino de Santiago in the Spring of 2023 when I was researching hiking Wisconsin’s own Ice Age Trail a year hence. Do you know how when you first hear about something, then you keep hearing about it and seeing it everywhere? Well, that’s exactly what happened. References to the “Camino de Santiago” kept coming up, and I was curious. Upon looking into it, I came to realize that no camping was involved! To me, that was a HUGE advantage over the Ice Age Trail. As much as I love hiking, I dislike camping. Another big draw was the overlapping reasons why many people (the terminology of those who walk the Camino is “pilgrims”)…why many pilgrims choose to walk the Camino: a spiritual quest, a fitness challenge, an extended period of introspection, a midlife crisis (who, me?), and others. As someone who is an “outgoing introvert”, the notion of walking in solitude when I wanted to while sharing a communal mean and communal quarters in the evenings was incredibly appealing.

Thus began my planning. I read several accounts of other pilgrims’ Caminos. I purchased a couple of good guidebooks, the most well-known and comprehensive being A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino by the late John Brierley (something of a legend in the Camino community), and the other being Anna Dintaman’s helpful Village to Village Map Guide which has detailed maps and elevation guides for each stage of the Camino. Yes, elevation guides. There are hills. Mountains even; one crosses the Pyrenees on the first day or two of the Camino.

How much time to allow

After devouring guidebooks, I took at look at how much time I would have to do this. As an educator, I knew I had the luxury of time and could take anywhere from about mid-June to late August. I looked at the route I wanted to do (Camino Frances, plus adding on a few days at the end to walk beyond Santiago de Compostela to Muxia and Finesterre. 903 km in all, or 561 miles. With walking 12-15 miles a day, I decided on 50 days: 40 hiking days, 6 rest days, 2 travel days on each end. My next step was to put together a spreadsheet of how many miles I would walk each specific day. This was determined by where the towns and villages are located along the Camino Frances (they’re not always in neat 12-15 mile distances apart), and what the terrain is like, as well as which bigger towns might suit themselves to a weekly rest day. I plugged it into a spreadsheet so I have at least an initial plan of where/when. For obvious security reasons, I won’t share here, but it will be my roadmap (quite literally), and my motivation for walking just a couple of more miles.

Upon knowing that I would need 50 days, I looked at when I wanted to leave, and settled upon June 13, which is 2 days after my school year work obligations end. That puts me back home on August 1. I booked my plane ticket in October of 2023, and I made sure that the date of my return ticket could be changed if need be. This will give me a little flexibility if things go quicker or slower than planned. Another consideration is where to fly into and out of. Since the Camino Frances starts in St. Jean Pied de Port, France and ends in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, some people choose to fly in and out of different cities (this is called a “multi city” flight, and is usually cheaper than purchasing two separate one-way tickets). Other people choose to fly in and out of a city somewhat centrally located like Madrid, and take rail or bus to/from their starting/ending point. I’m choosing to fly into Biarritz, France and out of Porto, Portugal, as I didn’t relish the idea of an entire day on a train before and after my Camino.

Gear!

I had so much fun planning my gear! There are countless Camino blogs and message boards that cover this topic. So much so, in fact, that I have a separate post that talks about gear selection and what I’m taking.

Training

I’m an avid hiker, and can typically do 8 miles in most types of weather without much trouble, save for a crabby left knee. But, I will be working on increasing my mileage while carrying a full pack of 15 pounds, focusing on hill work. In addition to that, strength training for upper body, core, and lower body will be on the agenda. I will also continue to do cardio on my Peloton for general cardovascular fitness.