To Walk Far, Carry Less : Camino de Santiago by Jean-Christie Ashmore
Authors: Jean-Christie Ashmore
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Several weeks later, I heard that she (and her lighter backpack) had made it to Santiago. She’d walked about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles).
No matter what Camino route you take, know that you can easily replenish toiletry items on the Camino. Even small village shops carry the basics: shampoo, soap, toothpaste—and toilet paper.
Toiletries: Think Small
Take lightweight sample-size toiletry products. The idea is to eliminate weight and bulk.
I’ve found most of my sample-size products and small plastic containers at a chain grocery store. Apparently the market for sample sizes—especially of liquids and lotions—has increased along with air transportation security restrictions. Outdoor stores that sell backpacking gear also sell sample-size toiletry products and empty containers. If you can’t find the items you want in a sample size, buy small plastic containers and fill them with your preferred products. If you need to replenish something along the way, but can’t find a sample size, see if you can share the larger quantity with another pilgrim. Or, take what you need and ask the pilgrims’ refuge if you can leave the larger bottle or package behind for other pilgrims to replenish their own supplies.
Bringing only small amounts of toiletry items saves weight that might be better used on something else. An average-size tube of toothpaste weighs 226 grams (8 ounces). My sample-size toothpaste tube weighs 29 grams (1 ounce). Weight savings: about 198 grams (7 ounces).
That savings equals the weight of my down vest.
----
Packing Tips
Toiletries: A List for the Minimalist
Store the following in a ziplock bag; it’s the lightest-weight carrying option.
Toothpaste: a sample-size tube weighs much less than a regular-size tube.
Toothbrush: travel-size toothbrushes often have a cap that can be used to extend the length of the handle.
Dental floss: a sample size might last your entire Camino journey.
Comb or brush: take the smallest you can find.
Shampoo: get a sample size, fill a small plastic bottle, or use a multipurpose bar or liquid that also works as a body soap—and even as laundry soap for washing socks and underwear.
Bar or liquid soap : keep a bar of soap in a flimsy sandwich baggie. This somehow allows the bar to dry between uses. Sturdier or slicker plastic bags cause the bar to stay wet, so it eventually turns gooey. Hard-plastic bar-soap holders often create the same gooey problem (and they weigh more).
Deodorant: bar or liquid; choose the lightest in weight.
Toenail clippers: trimmed toenails keep feet happy on the Camino.
Pack towel: a backpacker or travel towel weighs less, is less bulky, and dries faster than a typical bath towel.
Toilet paper: take a partial roll and squish it so you can take out the paper tube for less weight and bulk. Or, buy a travel size, which comes in a tight roll of about fifty sheets. TIP: When you use a public facility on the Camino, stuff your pocket with a little TP to use along the trail—or at the next public facility where you’re faced with an empty roll. This is an international dilemma for women, though diplomats never talk about it.
Tissues: just one small packet. Can also double as TP. Replenish along the way.
Tampons or pads: can be bought along the Camino. Take enough for two periods at the most.
----
Shaving Beards, Underarms, and Legs on the Camino
Sometimes there’s not much privacy, or hot water, in pilgrims’ refuges. There’s often a line to use shower or sink facilities.
To simplify your toilette, consider going wild on your Camino journey. This way you’ll also save weight on razor blades, razors, and shaving foam or soap.
Men: if you’ve never seen yourself in a beard, or it’s been a long time, this is the chance to check it out.
Women: if you’ve shaved your legs since you were a teenager, you might be surprised to discover how pleasurable a warm breeze feels on hairy legs. Also consider going au naturel under the arms
Several weeks later, I heard that she (and her lighter backpack) had made it to Santiago. She’d walked about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles).
No matter what Camino route you take, know that you can easily replenish toiletry items on the Camino. Even small village shops carry the basics: shampoo, soap, toothpaste—and toilet paper.
Toiletries: Think Small
Take lightweight sample-size toiletry products. The idea is to eliminate weight and bulk.
I’ve found most of my sample-size products and small plastic containers at a chain grocery store. Apparently the market for sample sizes—especially of liquids and lotions—has increased along with air transportation security restrictions. Outdoor stores that sell backpacking gear also sell sample-size toiletry products and empty containers. If you can’t find the items you want in a sample size, buy small plastic containers and fill them with your preferred products. If you need to replenish something along the way, but can’t find a sample size, see if you can share the larger quantity with another pilgrim. Or, take what you need and ask the pilgrims’ refuge if you can leave the larger bottle or package behind for other pilgrims to replenish their own supplies.
Bringing only small amounts of toiletry items saves weight that might be better used on something else. An average-size tube of toothpaste weighs 226 grams (8 ounces). My sample-size toothpaste tube weighs 29 grams (1 ounce). Weight savings: about 198 grams (7 ounces).
That savings equals the weight of my down vest.
----
Packing Tips
Toiletries: A List for the Minimalist
Store the following in a ziplock bag; it’s the lightest-weight carrying option.
Toothpaste: a sample-size tube weighs much less than a regular-size tube.
Toothbrush: travel-size toothbrushes often have a cap that can be used to extend the length of the handle.
Dental floss: a sample size might last your entire Camino journey.
Comb or brush: take the smallest you can find.
Shampoo: get a sample size, fill a small plastic bottle, or use a multipurpose bar or liquid that also works as a body soap—and even as laundry soap for washing socks and underwear.
Bar or liquid soap : keep a bar of soap in a flimsy sandwich baggie. This somehow allows the bar to dry between uses. Sturdier or slicker plastic bags cause the bar to stay wet, so it eventually turns gooey. Hard-plastic bar-soap holders often create the same gooey problem (and they weigh more).
Deodorant: bar or liquid; choose the lightest in weight.
Toenail clippers: trimmed toenails keep feet happy on the Camino.
Pack towel: a backpacker or travel towel weighs less, is less bulky, and dries faster than a typical bath towel.
Toilet paper: take a partial roll and squish it so you can take out the paper tube for less weight and bulk. Or, buy a travel size, which comes in a tight roll of about fifty sheets. TIP: When you use a public facility on the Camino, stuff your pocket with a little TP to use along the trail—or at the next public facility where you’re faced with an empty roll. This is an international dilemma for women, though diplomats never talk about it.
Tissues: just one small packet. Can also double as TP. Replenish along the way.
Tampons or pads: can be bought along the Camino. Take enough for two periods at the most.
----
Shaving Beards, Underarms, and Legs on the Camino
Sometimes there’s not much privacy, or hot water, in pilgrims’ refuges. There’s often a line to use shower or sink facilities.
To simplify your toilette, consider going wild on your Camino journey. This way you’ll also save weight on razor blades, razors, and shaving foam or soap.
Men: if you’ve never seen yourself in a beard, or it’s been a long time, this is the chance to check it out.
Women: if you’ve shaved your legs since you were a teenager, you might be surprised to discover how pleasurable a warm breeze feels on hairy legs. Also consider going au naturel under the arms
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