What I Actually Carried on the Camino (and What I Didn’t Need)
A Barefoot Chica companion piece to “More Camino; Less Stuff”
There is the idea of what you think you’ll need for the Camino de Santiago…
…and then there is what you actually carry, day after day, across miles of trail in Spain or Portugal.
These are not the same thing.
Before I left, I did what most people do. I researched. I compared lists. I tried to anticipate every possible discomfort, every weather shift, every “what if.”
But the Camino has a way of simplifying you in real time.
By day three or four, your body becomes the editor.
By day seven, your nervous system starts rejecting excess.
By week two, you understand something clearly:
If it’s not used regularly, it becomes weight—physically and mentally.
This is the companion truth to an ultralight Camino de Santiago:
You don’t actually know what you need until you start walking.
* Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you choose to purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share gear I genuinely find useful for lightweight travel and backcountry adventures.
The philosophy behind my gear list
I’m not interested in minimalist aesthetics for their own sake. I’m interested in functional simplicity.
Everything I carried had to meet at least one of these criteria:
- I use it daily
- It supports my ability to keep walking
- It meaningfully improves rest, recovery, or hygiene
If it didn’t meet one of those, it was a candidate for removal.
This is especially important for women practicing solo travel later in life. We’ve been conditioned to prepare for everything, anticipate everything, and carry more than necessary “just in case.”
But the Camino Pilgrim experience gently challenges that pattern.
There are towns. There are pharmacies. There are other pilgrims. There is infrastructure.
You are not as alone—or as unprepared—as your pre-trip mind might suggest.
What I actually carried (the essentials)
SEE MY LIST (DOWNLOADABLE PDF)
Most Camino gear naturally falls into a few simple categories:
1. Movement
This is your foundation.
Shoes, socks, and anything that supports your ability to walk comfortably for miles each day. For many women walking the Camino de Santiago, this becomes less about brand and more about relationship to your gear.
Do these shoes work with your feet?
Not someone else’s recommendation. Not a trend. Not a blog post.
Your feet will tell you quickly what is right.
2. Clothing (less than you think)
Living out of a backpack in Spain, Portugal, France (or anywhere) teaches this fast:
You do not need outfit options. You need rotation and function.
Most experienced pilgrims settle into:
- One set worn
- One set drying
- One lightweight layer for warmth and rain.
That’s it.
Laundry becomes part of the rhythm, not a problem to solve in advance.
3. Sleep and recovery
Rest is not optional on the Camino. It is what makes the next day possible.
This includes whatever helped you:
- Sleep comfortably
- Recover your feet and joints
- Stay warm enough at night
What matters here is not luxury, but consistency.
4. Hygiene and health
This is where many people overpack.
The reality?
You need far less than you think.
Small, travel-sized basics. A few essentials for foot care. Anything specific to your personal needs.
But not an entire medicine cabinet.
Any Camino route has accessible pharmacies. If something comes up, you can adjust.
5. Personal items
This is the category where the Barefoot Chica approach becomes very clear.
Everything here should earn its place.
A journal, maybe. A small comfort item. Something meaningful but not heavy.
Not ten versions of “just in case.”
What I didn’t need (and why most people don’t)
This is where the real learning happens.
Because what you leave behind—or send home—is what shapes your Camino experience just as much as what you carry.
1. Backup items for every scenario
Extra shoes. Multiple “just in case” outfits. Redundant gear.
These come from a place of anxiety, not experience.
The Camino teaches adaptability. You don’t need to prepare for every version of the future.
2. Too many clothes
This is the most common mistake.
You will wear the same few items over and over. Not because you have to, but because it works.
Anything beyond that becomes dead weight.
3. Heavy “comfort” items
Full-size toiletries. Bulky extras. Items that feel reassuring at home but unnecessary on the trail.
Comfort on the Camino comes more from rhythm than from objects.
4. “Just in case I need it” gear
This phrase is worth examining closely.
Because often, it’s not about need.
It’s about control.
And one of the quiet gifts of the Camino Pilgrim experience is learning to loosen that grip.
The moment you realize you brought too much
Almost every pilgrim has this moment.
You’re walking uphill. Your shoulders are tired. Your pack feels heavier than it should.
And you realize:
I don’t actually need half of what I’m carrying.
This is not failure. It’s initiation.
Some people ship items home. Some donate them. Some simply carry them a little longer before letting go.
But everyone learns.
Ultralight as nervous system support
Carrying less is not just easier on your body.
It changes how you move through the day.
A lighter pack means:
- Less strain on joints and muscles
- More energy at the end of the day
- More mental space for presence
For women over 50, this matters.
Because the goal is not to prove endurance through suffering.
The goal is sustainable movement.
The kind that allows you to enjoy the walk, not just complete it.
Backpacking through Spain and Portugal with trust
One of the biggest shifts that happens on the Camino is trust.
You start to trust that:
- There will be a place to sleep
- There will be food
- There will be support if you need it
This doesn’t mean you abandon common sense.
It means you stop carrying your entire safety net on your back.
For those exploring backpacking Spain and Portugal routes or different sections of the Camino de Santiago, this trust becomes part of the experience itself.
Solo female travel and self-reliance
There is a specific kind of confidence that develops when you carry everything you need—and nothing more.
It is not loud confidence.
It is quiet, steady, grounded.
You know where your things are. You know how to take care of yourself. You know how to keep moving.
This is one of the most meaningful outcomes of a solo pilgrimage on the Camino.
Not independence for its own sake.
But self-trust.
The deeper lesson: you need less than you think
By the end of the Camino, most women don’t just have a lighter pack.
They have a different relationship to need itself.
You realize:
- You don’t need as many options
- You don’t need as much backup
- You don’t need as much control
And perhaps most importantly:
You don’t need to carry your whole life with you to feel secure.
Closing: what I would tell you before you go
Bring less.
Not recklessly. Not unprepared.
But thoughtfully, intentionally, and with a willingness to adjust.
Because the Camino is not a test of how well you packed.
It is an invitation to discover how little you actually need to move through the world with steadiness, clarity, and quiet joy.
And somewhere between your first step and your last, you may find that what you didn’t carry mattered just as much as what you did.
Take care, my Chicas!
❥ X, The Barefoot Chica
