Walking from Le Puy in April

[peaco]

HELLO FELLOW PILGRIMS,

I AM GOING UP FROM NIMES ON TRAINS AND HOPE TO START WALKING FROM LE PUY TO LOGRONA 05/APRIL/11 AFTER THE 7 0'CLOCK MASS, I HAVE A FEW QUERY'S WILL THERE BE MANY PEOPLE STARTING ON THIS DAY AND HAS ANYONE WALKED THIS ROUTE AT THIS TIME OF YEAR IN PREVIOUS TIMES, TIPS ABOUT SIGNS ETC, ANY PROBS YOU MAY HAVE ENCOUNTERED THANKS

Patrick

 

[Sagalouts]

Hi Patrick
I walked this way last year also in April,below is a link to my blog and a few photo's which will give you an idea of what to expect.
last year not so many people at this time of year-never no problem finding a place for the night very rarely did I book ahead, and plenty of signs-the first 10 days can be quite hard with lots of ups and downs and maybe a little snow at the high point of the Aubrac ( see pics on blog) but a very rewarding walk.
bonn Camino Ian

 

[Deleted member 3000]

By April the weekend walkers in France will be out, so calling ahead is always prudent, even for the municipal gite d'etapes. On two occasions we had beds in gites only because we called ahead. For the chambre d'hote calling also is wise. The hosts do not wait around for drop-in pilgrims. After you have made reservations, call to cancel them if there is a change in itinerary. The number one complaint about foreign pilgrims is that they do not show up for reservations! No shows are considered to be quite rude, and often cause other pilgrims to be denied a bed.

 

[karenhypes]

Hi, My wife and I walked from Le Puy to Moissac in Oct. 2010. We are retruning Apr 23rd and walking from Moissac to Estella, Sp and serving as Hospitaleros there from May 15-31. Our best advice is to get the Miam Miam DoDo book. Invaluable, lists all gites with ph #'s etc. You can book ahead and are encouraged to do so. It is in French and has pretty good maps/sketches that can easily be followed. We had the Hospitalero/owner of the gite call ahead and reserve each day. It worked most of the time. You should be fine given the time of the year. It will be much busier in May. Route is easy to follow..red/white blaises...very few shells or yellow arrows. You could run into some cold weather or snow but should be fine. Most pelerins/pilgrims are French, just walking for a weekend or weeks holiday. Much different from Camino Frances (we walked from SJPD to Santiago and Finisterre in Apr/May 2009). We flew into Lyon and took the train to Le Puy. Be sure to attend the 7:00 am Mass. Great send-off and Pelerin/Pilgrim blessing by Bishop. We had about 30-40 Pelerins at Mass and we met and walked with quite a few of them... We have lot's of additional info if needed.

Dayton and Karen
London, Ontario, Canada

 

[Magnara]

We are in Aubrac tonight 7 days into the Le Puy route after a fantastic day walking across fields and hills with long views. But it is very cold, sleet and freezing wind and even some patches of snow lying in folds in the hills.
Maggie. Ramsay
( The Italian Camino - Amazon)
(Desert and Dust Down Under - oAmazon)

 

[Hal]

We are in Aubrac tonight 7 days into the Le Puy route after a fantastic day walking across fields and hills with long views. But it is very cold, sleet and freezing wind and even some patches of snow lying in folds in the hills.
Maggie. Ramsay
( The Italian Camino - Amazon)
(Desert and Dust Down Under - oAmazon)

In such conditions, how many layers would you wear?