Plug for Brands

Before I contemplated walking the Camino I had two sections of clothes to pick from...clothes for work and clothes to wash the car. No adventure clothes. I wear mostly fashion sandals for my carefully pedicured feet, so I had to make some changes. First the shoes. I read blogs, asked hikers, then started the grueling challenge of finding the best fit for my pampered feet. After a month of trial and error I went with a Merrell, thick soled low cut hiking shoe,water resistant. I purchased two different insoles and my feet were happy. From the advice of just about every hiker I went up a size. They say with long distance walking feet swell..and they did. After researching socks, I took four pairs of Smartwool, three different thicknesses.

Two pair TravelX hiking pants from Eddie Bauer, light weight , lots of pockets and dry easily fabric worked out great. I didn't like the feel of the zip off pants. These could be rolled up at two heights.
At the Columbia outlet I found a longsleeve turtleneck zip front to be my favorite. The fabric kept me warm in the cool mornings and cool as the sun came up. Some sort of wick-away property. And it was  turquoise ..a perfect color for the field guide to spot when I was deep in the forest.

Melissa suggested a sportsbra, I had tried before and thought they were very difficult to hook..until she showed that I was trying them inside out. :-)

I brought a fleece vest, and two jackets and a rain slicker...luckily there was no need. I brought 2 hats. A traditional wide brimmed hiking hat from Columbia, a Steeler ball cap. I bought a Buff..which serves as a headband, neck scarf or total head covering. And another headband Debbie bought me from Hawaii.

I became a little superstitious. I wore the same earrings each day ( the turquoise ones from Afghanistan. ), A hand crafted Camino bracelet,  a bandanna around my neck. A few items from others made the journey with me.  I carried a small pouch which contained a few things I got from Mom and Dad. A Madonna, St Christopher medal, a WV lapel pin, an American Flag/Italian Flag lapel pin. Debbie had given me a St Paul coin and I took a 1 Euro from a jar of Seth's coins.
This I put in a special zip area of the backpack. Tissues, lip gloss and my cell   went in the same pockets each day . Isha had given me a bracelet with the saints on it  and I wore it in honor of Aunt Marjorie.
I traveled with about 10 Euros handy the rest tucked in a hidden waist belt.

Through most of my journey I was alone, but I never felt lonely.
Nothing frightened me nor did I feel unsafe.
After a while the sounds and smells of the country side were comforting.