Marina Millar
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- April 2017
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Plan for rain and cold. Get the Miam Miam Dodo guidebook to see the kind of accommodations you can expect. It won't be like the Camino Portugues, and it will be far different from Spain. You do need to call ahead in France, particularly in March. Much will be closed until April, even mid-April. Hosts do not sit around waiting for drop-ins. I found sufficient blankets that my lightweight sleep sack was fine for me (I like to be a bit cold when I sleep). Heat will be reluctantly turned on, or non-existent in gites d'etape. Remember that everything is closed Sunday and Monday, so be prepared for self-catering and shopping. Bon chemin.
March is a problem. Most places are closed.
The high parts of the trail might be snowed and impossible to hike like Aubrac
Do you plan on snow/cold weather hiking?
You have to call NOW and find out which if any are open and if open will they turn on the heating.
In general you will need high boots,warm hiking clothes,rain gear.
The trail is well marked and there is no need for geolocation devices
Kitsambler, Thankyou for that! I don't think that between the two of us we would have thought of that! We had budgeted on 6 1/2 weeks away , with 5 or so on the walk and another week visiting Barcelona from where we return to Perth. It would mean a few more trains but it's worth a serious think about ![/
Plan for rain and cold. Get the Miam Miam Dodo guidebook to see the kind of accommodations you can expect. It won't be like the Camino Portugues, and it will be far different from Spain. You do need to call ahead in France, particularly in March. Much will be closed until April, even mid-April. Hosts do not sit around waiting for drop-ins. I found sufficient blankets that my lightweight sleep sack was fine for me (I like to be a bit cold when I sleep). Heat will be reluctantly turned on, or non-existent in gites d'etape. Remember that everything is closed Sunday and Monday, so be prepared for self-catering and shopping. Bon chemin.Thank you also Falcon! The French route sounds like such an enigma on the outset- so beautiful in its naturalness, yet the necessities are not so easily dispensed as the other routes. I have been at the Alliance Francais learning French for the past 4 months and will continue until we leave so I will at l sat have some basics down pat- it sounds like I might need to be asking for the heat to be turned on! being so cold worries me, and I like to be very warm when I sleep, so I think my ultralight down sac will definitely need to be in my pack! I will definitely start emailing some places at the outset so thanks for that. I have the Miam Miam Dodo book from 2015 ( hopefully not too much has changed - I was going to do this walk a few years ago and had to cancel - postage if the book to Australia was pricey!)March is a problem. Most places are closed.
The high parts of the trail might be snowed and impossible to hike like Aubrac
Do you plan on snow/cold weather hiking?
You have to call NOW and find out which if any are open and if open will they turn on the heating.
In general you will need high boots,warm hiking clothes,rain gear.
The trail is well marked and there is no need for geolocation devices
So much to look into! It was so easy being spontaneous in Portugal!
No - this is France, after all. Miam Miam Dodo indicates which gites are English-speaking, and it runs about 25%. But your gite host tonight, the Tourism Offices, and your fellow walkers (especially Normands, Quebecois, and Swiss) will be able to call ahead for you in French. Even if you speak good Parisian French, the accent in this region is tough to understand. You can also email (in French). I had a canned short paragraph in French I used, just substituting the business name, town name, and date of arrival.do most of the individuals running the Gites speak English?
The GR routes don't strictly follow the old pilgrimage routes because they tend to avoid roads. But pretty much the same.
The French association that lays out the hiking routes wants you to enjoy the views and the scenery. So they will climb unnecessary hills, and walk around three sides of a square rather than taking the short route. The actual old pilgrimage routes were mostly paved over to become roads and highways, but in a few stretches you will encounter ancient moss-covered stone walls and well-worn footpaths that are a meter or more below grade. It gives you a real sense of walking in the footsteps of history. But no, the Le Puy route has nowhere near the degree of road walking that is found on the CF.The GR routes do everything they can to avoid roads.
The French association that lays out the hiking routes wants you to enjoy the views and the scenery. So they will climb unnecessary hills, and walk around three sides of a square rather than taking the short route.
I remember that stretch! Leaving the bakery at St Come d'Olt that very dark and foggy morning, I followed the hiker in front of me. (It was dim. The markings in town are always a tad sketchy, especially when you leave the route to get services.) I was well along before I realized I was not on the marked route at all. Turns out to not be a bad thing, in that section, actually.the occasional quiet rural road (a good example is between St Come d'Olt and Espalion
The French walkers' federation (FFR) is responsible for devising the grands randonnees (long-distance paths) in France and, boy, do they like you to experience their hills!
That explains it then, last summer we had planned on walking the GR10 from SJPP to Hendaye to begin our Del Norte trip. A ridge trail is exactly that, a trail that follows the full contours of the ridge, spare none. Trails rarely benefited from switchbacks regardless of what was underfoot. I recall a rather treacherous descent on the second day through a scree field, that had us opting for plan "B", - hoping on a train to Hendaye. As a seasoned hiker who routinely hikes the mountains in and around Glacier National Park, this came as a bit of a surprise.
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