It'll be absolutely freezing ...
jeffnd said:
Here's what I've pieced together so far. Let me know if any of this information is inaccurate.
1. The walk out of Paris is a march through boring suburbs. That's fine with me.
It's possible to avoid the worst of it if you ignore the "official" route, as it's the traditional one and it is extremely suburban.
Exit via Porte de Vanves, head south-west through the outskirts of Issy and you should hit the Bois de Meudon reasonably soon after leaving Paris -- keep same direction through the woods.
Re-enter the suburbs at le Plessis-Robinson, walk through these towards the motorway intersection and take the pedestrian crossings to the other side, then head south skirting the military airfield to your RIGHT, following the Chemin de Gisy first South then veering WEST. This will take you back into the country, and at one point back into woods and a footpath, that you will come across after the CRS barracks IIRC -- continue WEST until Jouy-En-Josas which will be a VERY good place to take your first long break (supermarket, bar, restaurant, and a country atmosphere).
Southwest from there takes you through fields towards the ugly Toussus ; continue Southwest, through foelds and woodlands, towards the far nicer Chateaufort, and I doubt you'll get any further than that -- that's about a 40 KM stage.
YOU *could* try and seek accommodation in Jouy, which would be pleasant but expensive ; in Toussus, not so pleasant but likely cheaper ; or try the Priory in Chateaufort (though I'd REALLY recommend calling in advance, though I myself didn't -- which made the Father unhappy with me
, as the parish organises retreats there).
South to South West from Chateaufort will take you towards Chevreuse or Saint-Rémy lès Chevreuse, and from there onto Rambouillet and etc. on the official route towards Chartres, which is
perfectly fine from Saint-Rémy onwards.
The Orléans Route is certainly more pleasant than the Chartres route once you're past Orléans, but getting there will be very very suburby until you're past Etampes or wherever.
Plus -- the arrival in Chartres is just ...
magic
(I've done the Paris centre - Jouy-en-Josas route about 50+ times back in the 90s, it's basically THE quickest route from Paris to escape from the suburbia)
jeffnd said:
2. Winter is the off-season, and many resources like albergues (I guess they call them gites in France) will be closed. Also, I've read that the period from Christmas to New Years (when I'll be starting) a lot of services and shop close down.
Shops and stuff will only be closed on the holidays themselves, and often in the first days of January for stock-keeping -- but this will be a relatively minor problem.
More important will be to cleave to the Parishes and occasional monasteries on the way, to get your credencial stamped -- and to seek advice/help for accommodation etc.
jeffnd said:
3. Compared to Spain and the
Camino Frances, France does not have nearly as much infrastructure as far as things like albergues or gites or whatever you want to call them. The ones that are available are typically more costly compared to Spain as well.
The more accurate adjective is liable to be "non-existent" until you're past Tours ... though admittedly, my own knowledge from experience is VERY much past its sell-by date
But I've heard that more pilgrims leave from Tours these days than from Paris, Chartres, or Orléans...
... you're unlikely to have my experience of being the first Compostela pilgrim they'll have seen or heard of in decades.
jeffnd said:
4. Odds are there will be hardly any other pilgrims on the route until I get close to Spain. (I checked Johnnie Walker's blog and only 1 pilgrim arrived in Santiago after starting in Paris. and only about 70 for the whole year of 2012.) This doesn't bother me much. In a way, it's sort of exciting.
There's a possible chance you may start bumping into some compañeros after Tours ...
jeffnd said:
5. It will be cold. I'm from North Dakota. I live for the cold.
LOL -- but are you used to the damp at the same time ?
jeffnd said:
How many campsites stay open in the winter?
Realistically : NONE.
If you could budget for it, in your shoes I'd alternate between trying to get help or assistance from the Parishes, and trying to find Gîtes Ruraux. You may stumble across the odd dirt-cheap hotel (always an "interesting" experience, but very down-to-earth and I'd say pilgrim-ish), but DO avoid the generic chain hotels, they're pretty ghastly and inappropriate for the pilgrim experience generally. Just DON'T eat any hotel menus unless you can tell that they'll be good in advance, or unless it's just plain old unavoidable hehehe.
jeffnd said:
I would prefer not to stealth camp out of respect for land owners, unless this is generally accepted.
Stealth camping is usually tolerated in Western France, but it's also generally a very good idea to go and knock on people's door and seek their permission to do so
You WILL get the occasional "no", but just smile, give a polite "bonne soirée", then move on.
jeffnd said:
How much snow does this area of France get during the winter months? Again, I'm used to snow and cold, but if I'll be trudging through snow for days on end, I want to know if I should bring actual winter boots.
It is extremely variable, and my crystal ball is on the blink again.
But the snow _can_ pile up reasonably deep (not so much as in Dakota though, I'd guess).
If I were you, I'd save this particular decision for November, when there will be some indications on the European Winter.
As for crossing the Pyrenees and the Meseta in Winter, doubtless some people who have done so will be able to advise you on those.