The Downside of Lightening Your Load on the Camino
The Downside of Lightening Your Load on the Camino
by Karin Kiser | San Diego, CA
A beloved tradition of the Camino Francés is to leave a stone at the Cruz de Ferro or Iron Cross, located after the town of Foncebadón. Placing a stone at the Cruz de Ferro symbolizes a spiritual release—leaving one’s burden, sorrow, or prayer at the foot of the cross.
On a physical level, it is common for pilgrims to begin their pilgrimage with overburdened backpacks. Some lighten their load by sending excess items forward to hold in Santiago, others donate unneeded clothing and gear to albergues and fellow pilgrims.
However, there is a third type of “unburdening” that is taking its toll on the Camino. More and more, pilgrims are lightening their load by discarding worn-out boots, trash, and even human waste on the trail.
While pilgrims during the Middle Ages were said to burn their clothing upon reaching Finisterre, this was due to lice infestation and other factors not relevant today. Nowadays, we increasingly find discarded clothing attached to fences, boots left on top of stone markers, and dirty tissues and waste on the side of the trail.
We can lighten our collective load on the Camino by participating in a new pilgrim tradition. Just like we carry a shell on our pack or a stone in our pocket, this new tradition encourages pilgrims to pick up one item of litter each day of their pilgrimage.
There’s a reason for the expression “the Camino provides.” It’s a place where we can let go of our everyday obligations, release our pain, reconnect to our deeper selves, and find forgiveness for ourselves and others. Picking up one item of trash from the trail each day is a way pilgrims can give back to the Camino.
In 2023, 27,909 pilgrims started their pilgrimage from St. Jean Pied de Port (just 7.46% of all pilgrims). If each one had picked up just one piece of litter each day of their Camino, that would have resulted in more than one million pieces of trash collected by a small fraction of pilgrims. Just imagine what the Camino might look like if this new tradition takes hold.
The practice of collecting a daily item of litter is part of a broader “Camino Cleanup” effort to familiarize pilgrims with proper bathroom protocol on the Camino. Learn more about how you can lighten your load on the Camino and support Camino cleanup.
