A common question on Camino discussion forums involves the relative challenge of different routes. This is a difficult question to answer! Even if the responder has experience with the different routes involved, each is walked in a distinct context–different age, potentially different levels of conditioning or health, perhaps varied weather. A hard walk in a good mood can pass quite easily, whereas an easy walk on a miserable day can be a true ordeal.
I’ve been tinkering around with the Chemin Le Puy / Via Podiensis route lately and I realized I now have good data for a number of different routes. I thought it would be interesting to make a more formal, apples-to-apples comparison of the relative challenge of each of those routes. To have a more universal case, I also ran the numbers for the Camino Francés, using Sandy Brown’s lovely new Cicerone guidebook.
Here’s what I found:
Here’s how the sausage is made: for each stage, I divide the total elevation gain and loss by kilometers walked. The vast majority of the time, the number generated falls between the 20s and the 60s. This tidily sorted itself into the five tiers of challenge outlined above. An Easy stage ends up scoring less than 30 (think Güemes to Santander), a Moderate stage scores 40-50 (Santillana del Mar to Comillas), and a Strenuous stage exceeds 60 (many of the stages in the Basque Country!).
Is that the optimal way to do it? I have no idea! At the very least, though, it offers some shred of consistency as I compare these different routes.
As for findings, there are at least a few takeaways that stand out to me. The Primitivo is confirmed as the most challenging, with half of its stages in the two most strenuous categories. I’m surprised, though, by how equivalent the Norte and Francés appear to be, as the former is often regarded as a greater challenge. Finally, the Le Puy route emerges as the easiest of these options, thanks to a very, very flat second half.
