The most comfortable shoes we have ever walked in

 Hello, everyone.

Today I want to talk about our shoes. We walked in Hoka One One Speedgoats. These were new, and we loved walking in them.

We had chosen them in the first place because (1) they have the Mega-grip soles and won't slip on wet stone, and (2) being trail runners, they weigh less than our previous shoes did. 

They also breathe--this was wonderful--at the end of the day my feet were not soaking in a puddle of perspiration the way waterproof shoes always worked out.

We had no blisters on the entire pilgrimage.

At the central milestone in Madrid, at the end.

At lunch time on the Hospitales portion of the Camino Primitivo. (Yes, that is a toppled marker stone being used as a bench. It was toppled when we got there!)

First day's walking, May 17

Hello, everyone.

As promised, another installment on the Camino del Norte this year.

Y'all may remember, last year we started out in Irun and spent the first night in San Sebastian/Donostia. This year we started out in San Sebastian, repeating two days' walk from last year, instead of either starting where we left off--Deba--or where we had started--Irun.

We crawled out of our beds in the pension in San Sebastian and got moving about 6:30 or so. We didn't eat there, but we had gotten a couple of apples to eat on the way, because pretty much nothing is open at that time in most Spanish cities and towns.  Just call it part of the pilgrim's sacrifice to go without coffee until later in the day when cafes and bars are open and you are in the vicinity of them.

 Looking back at San Sebastian, around 0700. The weather you see here was pretty much the weather for the entire day.

 On the trail between San Sebastian and Zarautz there is this welcoming little spot. It's done by a local Camino supporter out of the goodness of his heart. There is a little sign in book, there is a stamp to put a sello on your credencial, and there is a bit of water and a chair if the pilgrim is in need. Thank you, Camino Angel!

About noon we walked through Zarautz. We didn't stop for lunch, because we were only about 5 km from Getaria and wanted to press on. And we were looking forward to the lovely promenade walk between the two towns, with its shell themed railing and water views (with chilly breezes but this time no rain) all the way from one to the next. As y'all can see, the tide was out. It rises quite a bit here if that green line is reliable.

I did get a blister that day, because I had tied my shoelaces wrong, but other than that all was fine. And there was tape and gauze in my kit already. Preparedness is good.

Training report: 1st 3 days

Hello, everyone.

Friday we went over to the Mission Hike and Bike Trail and walked 4 miles. (Approximately 6 km) Took approximately 1 hour. (The link goes to Trail Link, who claim a total one-way length for the trail of 4.8 miles. But if you park at one end and go to the other and then go back to your car, it's pretty near to 10 miles. And there are mile markers here and there for shorter walks.)

Saturday we went to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge and climbed the rope bridge twice and the tall hawk tower once. Possibly a mile in walking, plus the climbing.

Today we went to Bentsen Park and walked the main loop and strolled up the ramp of the hawk tower. Probably 4 miles.

Not much in pictures for the three days--the birds aren't in the mood to pose. And camera-hunting the birds takes up time without giving fitness benefits, so since we're trying to get back into walking shape we're doing more moving and less sitting in front of bird blinds and feeders.

Shoe report: the new shoes (Merrell with the Vibram Mega grip soles) are working out well, and when they get their new insoles they will probably be super-great. 😊

Sock report: it looks like liner socks--size Medium--for me. The medium thickness (size Small) socks last summer were a major contributor to toenail blisters. 😒 The thicker sock fabric between the toes meant that the toes needed more space in the toe box than they had. The thin liner socks are good. The thin running socks are just about the same thickness as liner socks, so I'll try them out on, first, the 7 mile loop at Santa Ana and, second, the 10 or 14 mile long walk (Hike and Bike the whole way and back, possibly with a loop into Bentsen, or twice around the 7 mile tram road at Santa Ana) sometime in the next month or so and decide if they go or stay. Injinji liner socks took me through Portugal in 2015, in a hot year for walking and only a few tiny heat blisters appeared. I don't know why I thought I should mess with success by trying out a new type of sock.

First real day of walking

Hello, everyone.

In the last post, we arrived at the albergue in Irun.

Once there, laundry was done, and hung on a line on the balcony. User tip: if it's already 5 pm, your clothes may not get dry before bedtime. Also, they do have a second balcony there, if the first one is full of clothes. (Drying laundry on the balcony is normal in northern Spain, nobody thinks anything of seeing it.)

We wandered out after a bite to eat. We should have found a grocery and gotten water bottles and maybe some nuts, but we were tired and didn't think.

The next morning, we set out. The trail leads up a very "nature-y" way to a chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe, then goes left and into the hills. Not that the previous walk leaving the city was flat! But it gets hillier. We were fortunate enough to have dry conditions for this.

These are a sample of the "road" surfaces we walked. There were some actual asphalt surfaces as well, with no shoulder, but those didn't get photographed. These are as wide as actual car-type roads because occasionally people drive on them. And some parts had been improved with a load or three of coarse sand. (Thank you, somebody!) As y'all can see, one's eyes need to be kept peeled. (That's "be alert!") Also, no matter if it does seem that one can go at a good pace, those rocks aren't quite as far apart sometimes as they look. More so on the places with ancient paving stones. I got toenail blisters on this day, either on this part or in the afternoon. I have now learned that just because it seems like the toes are sliding around in the boot a little, that doesn't mean you should tighten laces. In my case, had I loosened the laces and slowed down things would have been better.

This in various permutations was the morning. We did descend down tiny paved lanes and steps into Pasajes/San Juan (also called Donibane I think) about noon. There is a little tiny shop on the first plaza you come to with a full chiller of water bottles. After almost chugging the water, we got onto the little water taxi-ferry and rode across the harbor to the other side.

Once across, we wandered until we found a bar and ate bocadillos with cafe leche for lunch.

Time is rushing up at us

Hello, everyone.

I had promised to say something about the socks that are going with me on the Camino del Norte.

Here they are.

A blue, a white, and a pink pair.

As y'all can see, they are all toe socks. (Injinji socks, actually)

Not everyone is suited to these socks. In my case, in 2014 I walked in regular hiking socks. Even aside from the boots being about a half-size too small for the job, the socks were wrong for me. My toes were all over each other and there were loads of blisters.

In 2015 I took some regular socks and Injinji liner socks--with the same boots. (New insoles though!) The shoes did not accomodate double socks. They did go well with just the liner socks. They weren't too thick, I had almost no blisters, and my feet were happy campers.

Now it's 2017 and I  have new, larger boots. Thus the new, regular-thickness Injinji socks.

Socks

Hello, everyone.

I was trolling around through the photo files on the computer, moving food pictures to "cooking" and flower pictures to "flowers" and I came across one that I don't think has been discussed here: my new favorite hiking socks.

My toes have always wanted to crawl on top of each other and rub. This makes painful, hard-to-bandage blisters. But these socks, which I wore almost non-stop on the Camino Portugues, solved that.

This particular pair is the Injinji Liner sock. I was still wearing the same boots as in 2014...with new insoles...and after trying unsuccessfully to wear two pairs of socks, abandoned the outer pair and just wore these. I had 4 pair of them! They did accumulate ticky-tacky from adhesive tape on the front of the soles...it was really hot, and the adhesive tape tended to melt the glue out onto the sock. It didn't matter. These socks kept the toes from making the kinds of blisters that had been so difficult the previous year.

Of course, since then I've acquired a larger sized boot. Probably could wear the regular Injinji hiking socks now. But this year it hasn't been in the cards for us to go on the Camino again. (Wipes away a tear. Sniffs.) But soon! Soon! We hope that next year we will be able to take the pilgrimage trail again. And I intend to wear socks like these when we go.