Hi everyone,

The Stratos 36 is my absolute favorite pack for multi-day hiking. Recently, I booked a trip to Chamonix and had to pay an extra €160 just to check it in as hold luggage.

It’s 60 cm long when empty, which I can manage to keep it at. However, it has the metal frame/wires for the ventilated back system, so it doesn’t really fold down or compress much.

Do you think it would be possible to take it as a cabin bag next time and avoid the extra cost, or is checking it in the only realistic option?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm writing this post because I'm planning the TMB a bit last minute and I want to make sure everything goes smoothly. I'd really appreciate it if members of this sub with experience on the route could sanity check and correct my plan. Im planning on doing between late August and early September.

I'm doing the TMB with a tent, so I intend to bivy or stay at campsites. I based most of the sleeping spots on trip reports I found on Reddit and Wikiloc, and I'd love to know if these spots are generally fine, whether I need to ask permission anywhere, and whether you'd suggest other options.

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Day 1: Les Houches to Chalets d'Armancette [18 km, +1600 m / -1100 m]
I'd go via Col de Tricot. I know I could legally bivy at Refuge de Miage, but that would make for too short a day, so I've seen people sleep at Chalets d'Armancette, on the way to Lac d'Armancette. The next bivy area I found would be near Refuge de Nant Borrant, but that's another 8 km with a lot of climbing, and I think it would only be doable if I took the variant through Les Contamines.

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Day 2: Chalets d'Armancette to Lac de Mya [18 km, +1540 m / -665 m]
I'd take the Col des Fours route instead of dropping down to Les Chapieux. I saw I could bivy near Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme, but again that would be too short, so my next option would be Lac de Mya. I'm not sure how legal it is there, so if anyone can confirm I'd appreciate it, but I've seen several reports of people spending the night.

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Day 3: Lac de Mya to Campeggio Aiguille Noire (?) [23.7 km, +815 m / -1683 m]
For this day I have a few possible bivy spots along the way in case something goes wrong, such as Col de la Seigne and Lago del Miage, both places I've read people have slept. Ideally though I'd like to stay at either Campeggio Aiguille Noire or La Sorgente in Peuterey. If anyone knows which is cheaper, or if there's a bivy spot nearby, that would be really helpful.

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Day 4: Campeggio Aiguille Noire to Pas d'Entre-Deux-Sauts [20.2 km, +1946 m / -1067 m]
Via Mont de la Saxe HIgh Route (can i do it with rain?). This is the only solution to sleep I could find online for this section. It's a really demanding day, so I'd love to hear about closer alternatives in case something goes wrong.

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Day 5: Pas d'Entre-Deux-Sauts to La Fouly [23 km, +933 m / -1724 m]
I'd drop down to La Fouly and stay at Camping Les Glaciers, where I can pitch the tent early and rest my knees after a long descent. Also, is Col Petit Ferret variant worth it over the main itinerary?

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Day 6: La Fouly to Val d'Arpette [16.7 km, +643 m / -647 m]
This feels like too easy a day and I'd like to push further, but it might also be sensible to rest my legs. I've read most people stay at Relais d'Arpette, but pitching a tent there costs 20€ per night, which is a bit steep for my budget. If I have to pay it, I will, but I couldn't find another spot nearby.

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Day 7: Val d'Arpette to Col de Balme [15 km, +1756 m / -1242 m]
If the weather is good I'd take this variant and sleep near Refuge du Col de Balme, or if im not allowed, in Col des Posettes. I've read this route should be avoided in rain (can anyone confirm?). The alternative would be the Bovine route, and I'd still aim to sleep in the same place [20 km, +1680 m / -1121 m].

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Day 8: Col de Balme to La Flégère [16.5 km, +1234 m / -1551 m]
I'd sleep next to La Flégère, near the Retenue de la Flégère, which I've read is legal. I'd go via Lac Blanc, but i've heard theres ladders, so if it raining, maybe its better to follow the normal route?

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Day 9: La Flégère to Les Houches [16.7 km, +756 m / -1631 m]
I feel like I could probably fold this day into the previous ones, but I'm already juggling the bivy spots I found and it doesn't leave much room to reshuffle.

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A few other questions:

• Resupply: where can I count on restocking food? My guess is Les Houches, Les Contamines, Courmayeur, La Fouly, La Flégère (?), and Le Peuty if I take that route. What kind of food should I expect in each: full supermarkets, small shops, only restaurants?
• Sleeping bag: will a 5°C comfort rating be enough, or should I go with a 0°C bag?
• Campsites: are showers generally available?
• Charging: is it possible to charge eletronics in paid campsites / anywhere in the villages i mentioned to resupply?

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to help!

This is a trip report of my latest multi-day hike that may help others plan future trips in the Picos de Europa.

For any of you who read it and have any suggestions on gear improvements, especially consumables, please comment. I meant to do it on a budget, which is why I didn't buy dried food, and why I prefer DIY solutions. If there is any critical piece of gear I drastically need to improve, please let me know.

Where: Anillo Vindio + Ruta del Cares - Picos de Europa

When: 01/05/2026 to 03/05/2026 (3 days, 2 nights)

Distance: 74,37km / 46,21 miles, +4300m / 14k ft elevation

Gear: Lighterpack

Conditions: The first day was sunny. Second day: caught a lot of wind, rain, and snow; also a lot of snow on the ground, with some sections up to 2/3m (6.5/9.8ft). Last day: mixed, sunny and rainy, with wind.

Useful Information:

I actually arrived on 30th April to start hiking on May 1st. I started from Cain, and slept in Albergue 'El diablo de la peña', which cost 26€. I didn't know there was a small piece of land the owner specifically set aside for camping, so on May 3rd, I set up my tent there to drive the next morning.

I carried all my food and sleeping material. My friend, with whom I did this adventure, was meant to sleep and eat at the refugios. I used my watch with GPX files for navigation, plus "mariolas", which are stacks of rocks to guide me in the terrain.

Report:

Day 1: Cain - Poncebos - Vega de Ario (23.5km / 14.6mi):

We started hiking at 7:30 AM, from Cain to Poncebos, following the Ruta del Cares. Once done, we turned back, and instead of following the typical Canal de Trea, we started ascending towards Refugio Vega de Ario on a route that comes from Poncebos, which is usually followed in Anillo Extreme, but before that, we had lunch at 11:30 AM and filled our water bottles in the water "levada" that follows the Ruta. A few kilometers later, we came to a fountain where we refilled our bottles a bit.

During this route, my friend had some cramps, so we had to stop. It was a very steep route: 1200m (3937ft) of ascent over 4km (2.5mi), and it took us 5 hours to reach Vega de Ario, finally at 5:30 PM.

At 8 PM, I started setting up my tent close to the refugio. There are some marked spots with stones around from previous bivouacs.

In Vega de Ario, there is an electricity tower 100m away, with mobile data, and there is also a water fountain.

Day 2: Vega de Ario - Vegarredonda - Vega Huerta (21.29km / 13.22mi)

The initial plan was to reach Vegabaño, which i think it is manageable, at least if you're in good shape and with other weather conditions.

In the morning, we had a lot of rain, but it didn't bother us; the problem was the amount of snow we got on the track to Vegarredonda. We had to contour it and find other paths, which meant we arrived at Vegarredonda 4:30h later, at 1 PM. The group that went through the Lagoas Covadonga arrived 30 minutes later, and didn't catch any snow. Although they walked a few more kilometers, it seems worth it when there is snow on higher elevations, because that is a beautiful hike as well.

We knew that if we had already caught snow here, we would never reach Vegabaño, so we asked the lady in Vegarredonda to call the refugio and tell them we wouldn't reach it, and we'd probably sleep in Vega Huerta or Refugio del Frade.

We started ascending, a lot of snow appeared, no trail, it was so cloudy we couldn't see 10m in front of us. I was reluctant, my friend had no knowledge in snow progression, but i guided him until the moment we reached a 45ºC snow wall. I wouldn't risk it. I had no gear, but we managed to go around, do some descent on wet rock, and pass that wall. It seemed to be flat now, so we kept going. We could see the trail, and only some sections of snow.

Once again, we faced a snow wall. We could see the trail looked like a 'Z', but we couldn't follow it. We tried to go around, but we didn't find a path. I called it to go back, but once we went down a few meters, I seemed to find a manageable path. We did it, and we could see a lot of green for us to step on now. I thought this would be the last challenge, we were around 'Collada de les Merines', 2108m (6900ft).

We weren't even close, once we passed that valley we could only see rock and white. First, we followed the rock up until there was just no more. It was getting late to go back, so I was mentally saving every little spot I could find to set up a shelter. We were following some yellow paint in the rocks that marked the trail to Vega Huerta, but we reached some very steep snow. I used my closed trekking poles as ice axes, and I was making the steps for him to come. The snow wasn't too hard, so this was manageable. A lot of technical and hard routes on snow, but after 7h, at 8:30 PM, we reached Vega Huerta.

I had some water left; my friend had none, and the fountain was covered in snow, so we couldn't reach it. Luckily i filtered some melting snow stream to make tea for us to warmup. At night, it reached -1ºC (30F). My friend had a 15ºC (59F) sleeping bag, and I had a 10ºC (50F) one. He slept in it with an emergency blanket, and I was sleeping well in my sleeping bag with boiling water in my Nalgene until it got cold, and so did I. I used my emergency blanket as well, and we managed to pass the night.

Day 3: Vega Huerta - Vegabaño - Cain (29.54km / 18.38mi)

Once we woke up, we had breakfast, and the goal was to reach Vegabaño, passing on Refugio del Frade on the way to have a snack. We reached Vegabaño at 11 AM, and I cooked lunch there. This day is pretty much only descending, my biggest nightmare, and a lot of kilometers. We reached Cain at 7 PM.

Gear Observations

I don't think I overpacked, but I could've done better.

• I didn't need the fleece; I only used it to sleep in Vega Huerta.

• Also, the pant liners were only used to sleep.

• I could've taken a smaller canister.

• Tuna was a meh choice, took way too much space, and I had to carry the cans, since I couldn't dispose of trash. Vega de Ario had a can crusher I used to compact the ones I used, but still.

• I could've taken a travel-sized toothpaste.

Hey all,

I'm looking for a sun hoodie for hot-weather hiking, average of 30°C (86°F), full sun exposure, and low to mid elevation (1-3km / ~3,300-9,800 ft). Not doing alpine trips with it, so I don't need anything optimized for that snow reflection.

I've read through a ton of posts on the sub already, but I'm facing the challenge of not being available in Europe:

• OR Echo: the usual top recommendation, but only 1 or 2 websites selling, only on S or XL.
• KETL Nofry: also not available in Europe
• Black Diamond Alpenglow: seems like it doesn't have thumbholes, and it's maybe on the heavy side?
• Mountain Hardwear Crater Lake: also out of stock.

So I'm trying to figure out what's actually buyable on this side of the Atlantic.

Currently eyeing the Columbia Zero Rules Sun Hoody since it's easy to find here and seems thin while offering UPF 30, but they don't really publicize weight, etc.

Higher UPF usually means less airflow, from what I've read. I think low protection, like 15-30, is enough, and I don't want to be slowly cooking inside the thing on a 30°C exposed ridge. What's the sweet spot people have found?

Other options I should be looking at? Decathlon (I've seen the fishing ones, but not the best reviews, the one for hiking doesn't have a hood, so I'm quite reluctant), Montane, Rab (is Rab Force too hot? I only read using it mainly for less warm conditions), Salomon, anything else available in EU shops is welcome.

Thanks!

Hey all,

I'm looking for a sun hoodie for hot-weather hiking, average of 30°C (86°F), full sun exposure, and low to mid elevation (1-3km / ~3,300-9,800 ft). Not doing alpine trips with it, so I don't need anything optimized for that snow reflection.

I've read through a ton of posts on the sub already, but I'm facing the challenge of not being available in Europe:

• OR Echo: the usual top recommendation, but only 1 or 2 websites selling, only on S or XL.
• KETL Nofry: also not available in Europe
• Black Diamond Alpenglow: seems like it doesn't have thumbholes, and it's maybe on the heavy side?

So I'm trying to figure out what's actually buyable on this side of the Atlantic.

Currently eyeing the Columbia Zero Rules Sun Hoody since it's easy to find here and seems thin while offering UPF 30, but they don't really publicize weight, etc.

Higher UPF usually means less airflow, from what I've read. I think low protection, like 15-30, is enough, and I don't want to be slowly cooking inside the thing on a 30°C exposed ridge. What's the sweet spot people have found?

Other options I should be looking at? Decathlon (I've seen the fishing ones, but not the best reviews, the one for hiking doesn't have a hood, so I'm quite reluctant), Montane, Rab (is Rab Force too hot? I only read using it mainly for less warm conditions), Salomon, anything else available in EU shops is welcome.

Thanks!