12 ms·

The pictures are beautiful, but what about the logistics? Ideally, day stages with lodging and/or public transport at the ends, such as German trails often have

The pictures are beautiful, but what about the logistics? Ideally, day stages with lodging and/or public transport at the ends, such as German trails often have. Wild camping is not allowed in France, so a mere gpx trail through the middle of nowhere isn't that useful all by itself.

orwin 4y ago
Bivouac is allowed. So as long as you don't make fire and are up and packed before 9, you're good.
- boudin 4y ago
  There's an article about it on the website: https://en.hexatrek.com/hiking-trail/bivouac-rules-in-france https://en.hexatrek.com/hiking-trail/bivouac-rules-in-france
  - qbasic_forever 4y ago
    Wow even the rules for bivouac seem bizarre and arbitrary. Only one night in the same place allowed... what if you set out to climb some peaks in the Alps and need to wait a few days for the right weather window, do you have to move your tent every day (and tear it down after sunrise)? Very odd and arbitrary. It almost seems like it would incentivize dangerous fast and loose/sloppy outdoor behavior. For comparison in the US dispersed camping usually just has very general rules like can't stay in an area more than 30-60 days, have to leave no trace, respect fire bans, and deal with other local restrictions like on hunting, foraging, fire wood collecting, etc.
    - wongarsu 4y ago
      France has about four times the population density of the US, so it's somewhat easier to step on each other's toes. The idea behind the rules is simple: pick a spot where you don't bother anyone (including protected wildlife) and set up a tarp, not a camp. The latter is somewhat indirectly enforced by forcing you to move
    - PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
      > For comparison in the US dispersed camping Good luck with dispersed camping in the US east of the Mississippi (or for that matter, in Texas). It is totally reliant on federal public land, which essentially exists only in the western states. Out east [0], or in Texas, you will find yourself in a situation much more similar to the one in France (or England, or Germany, or ...) [0] and effectively, the east/west boundary is not even the Mississippi, but something like the 101st meridian. Dispersed camping in eastern Kansas is next-to-impossible.
      - jeffrallen 4y ago
        And in Texas don't be surprised to be woken up looking at the muzzle of the rifle of whoever decided they own that patch.
      - qbasic_forever 4y ago
        I'm in the PNW and national forests with dispersed camping are everywhere. It's glorious, I can drop everything and disappear into the woods and mountains at any moment.
      - nanidin 4y ago
        Mark Twain National Forest is in Missouri and allows dispersed camping.
        PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
        I tried not to say "impossible". Yes, there are some small bits of national forest in the east (I've stayed in some recently in VA, for example), but they tend to be small and very much the exception.
      - ghaff 4y ago
        >It is totally reliant on federal public land, which essentially exists only in the western states. You do have federal and state lands in the eastern US but, of course, nothing like the vast tracts out west. In any case, with the notable exception of the Appalachian Trail, there are fewer options for long-distance backpacking in the east though there are some hut systems and, subject to various rules, you can find places to camp in national forests in particular.
- nonethewiser 4y ago
  For others who didn’t know bivouac is camping without any sort of tent or shelter. In terms of doing a long hike this seems completely unrealistic because you can’t rule out bad weather.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - Luc 4y ago
    > For others who didn’t know bivouac is camping without any sort of tent or shelter. Well that's not correct as far as the subject of the article goes. In France at least the term also covers camping in an light tent.
    - nonethewiser 4y ago
      Thanks for clarifying, that is not what the definitions I found via Google said
      - kergonath 4y ago
        I can confirm that Google is wrong in this case. Sleeping outside without a tent is generally referred to as “dormir à la belle étoile”, but it is not necessarily implied in “bivouac”. From my experience (which varies, the rules are local and not nation-wide laws) the difference is whether you can stand in your tent or not. I have seen whether you can carry your tent with your backpack used as a criterion as well.
  - Lio 4y ago
    This might sound like a daft question but is a bivi bag allowed? If (as the name would imply) it is then it’s not so bad. Lots of long distance cyclists use this approach in areas where camping is not strictly allowed. Personally I prefer a lightweight tent but hve thought about getting a supplementary bivibag for stealth. Either way this route looks magic. EDIT: having read the page on the site “bivouacking” looks pretty permissive. Since all the pictures show small tents that all looks vey sensible and better that we have in England and Wales (Scotland is very permissive too).
- a3_nm 4y ago
  This is not really correct -- it is not true, for example, in many of the national parks in which people typically hike.
mytailorisrich 4y ago
> Wild camping is not allowed in France Maybe they drastically increased monitoring but my memories of my teenage years are that you could do whatever you wanted, and that was in relatively urbanised areas... so wild camping in the middle of nowhere? No-one will even know.
- kzrdude 4y ago
  That's great but we can predict that more attention, more foot traffic and more people will bring the need for more rules around this.
justinator 4y ago
Not allowed, but certainly tolerated. I camped in many an apple tree nursery for months in France, with only a few drunken teens joining me. The gypsy camps were also very accommodating. You could find safe enough places in the middle of Paris to set up a tent.
silverfrost 4y ago
In my experience the French are very tolerant provided you are not making a nuisance of yourself.
kzrdude 4y ago
There's an app for this trail with more information. But I would have expected some info about lodging on the site, just to set expectations, do people walk with tents, or doable without?
- benguillet 4y ago
  I did a part of it last year. You need to walk with your tent, you won't reach a lodging site every night. I think the longest stretch without civilization (no village/town to buy food etc) is 5 days. So you also need to manage. your food and water supply. The app is very helpful for that as it gives you water, food and lodging information on the trail related to your current position (so for instance you can see that in 10km there is a river/water fountain/grocery store etc.)
  - j7f3 4y ago
    5 days without a resupply is not bad at all. What about camping? Someone here said you are not allowed to pitch your tent on the trail. That would make the whole thing expensive and a logistical nightmare.
kergonath 4y ago
> Wild camping is not allowed in France That is not true. It is disallowed in some cases (though these cases involve things like close to listed buildings, which can be quite difficult to know without some research). The country is also covered with camping sites, and refuges in the mountains.

orwin 4y ago

Bivouac is allowed. So as long as you don't make fire and are up and packed before 9, you're good.

boudin 4y ago
There's an article about it on the website: https://en.hexatrek.com/hiking-trail/bivouac-rules-in-france https://en.hexatrek.com/hiking-trail/bivouac-rules-in-france
- qbasic_forever 4y ago
  Wow even the rules for bivouac seem bizarre and arbitrary. Only one night in the same place allowed... what if you set out to climb some peaks in the Alps and need to wait a few days for the right weather window, do you have to move your tent every day (and tear it down after sunrise)? Very odd and arbitrary. It almost seems like it would incentivize dangerous fast and loose/sloppy outdoor behavior. For comparison in the US dispersed camping usually just has very general rules like can't stay in an area more than 30-60 days, have to leave no trace, respect fire bans, and deal with other local restrictions like on hunting, foraging, fire wood collecting, etc.
  - wongarsu 4y ago
    France has about four times the population density of the US, so it's somewhat easier to step on each other's toes. The idea behind the rules is simple: pick a spot where you don't bother anyone (including protected wildlife) and set up a tarp, not a camp. The latter is somewhat indirectly enforced by forcing you to move
  - PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
    > For comparison in the US dispersed camping Good luck with dispersed camping in the US east of the Mississippi (or for that matter, in Texas). It is totally reliant on federal public land, which essentially exists only in the western states. Out east [0], or in Texas, you will find yourself in a situation much more similar to the one in France (or England, or Germany, or ...) [0] and effectively, the east/west boundary is not even the Mississippi, but something like the 101st meridian. Dispersed camping in eastern Kansas is next-to-impossible.
    - jeffrallen 4y ago
      And in Texas don't be surprised to be woken up looking at the muzzle of the rifle of whoever decided they own that patch.
    - qbasic_forever 4y ago
      I'm in the PNW and national forests with dispersed camping are everywhere. It's glorious, I can drop everything and disappear into the woods and mountains at any moment.
    - nanidin 4y ago
      Mark Twain National Forest is in Missouri and allows dispersed camping.
      - PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
        I tried not to say "impossible". Yes, there are some small bits of national forest in the east (I've stayed in some recently in VA, for example), but they tend to be small and very much the exception.
    - ghaff 4y ago
      >It is totally reliant on federal public land, which essentially exists only in the western states. You do have federal and state lands in the eastern US but, of course, nothing like the vast tracts out west. In any case, with the notable exception of the Appalachian Trail, there are fewer options for long-distance backpacking in the east though there are some hut systems and, subject to various rules, you can find places to camp in national forests in particular.
nonethewiser 4y ago
For others who didn’t know bivouac is camping without any sort of tent or shelter. In terms of doing a long hike this seems completely unrealistic because you can’t rule out bad weather.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- Luc 4y ago
  > For others who didn’t know bivouac is camping without any sort of tent or shelter. Well that's not correct as far as the subject of the article goes. In France at least the term also covers camping in an light tent.
  - nonethewiser 4y ago
    Thanks for clarifying, that is not what the definitions I found via Google said
    - kergonath 4y ago
      I can confirm that Google is wrong in this case. Sleeping outside without a tent is generally referred to as “dormir à la belle étoile”, but it is not necessarily implied in “bivouac”. From my experience (which varies, the rules are local and not nation-wide laws) the difference is whether you can stand in your tent or not. I have seen whether you can carry your tent with your backpack used as a criterion as well.
- Lio 4y ago
  This might sound like a daft question but is a bivi bag allowed? If (as the name would imply) it is then it’s not so bad. Lots of long distance cyclists use this approach in areas where camping is not strictly allowed. Personally I prefer a lightweight tent but hve thought about getting a supplementary bivibag for stealth. Either way this route looks magic. EDIT: having read the page on the site “bivouacking” looks pretty permissive. Since all the pictures show small tents that all looks vey sensible and better that we have in England and Wales (Scotland is very permissive too).
a3_nm 4y ago
This is not really correct -- it is not true, for example, in many of the national parks in which people typically hike.

mytailorisrich 4y ago

> Wild camping is not allowed in France Maybe they drastically increased monitoring but my memories of my teenage years are that you could do whatever you wanted, and that was in relatively urbanised areas... so wild camping in the middle of nowhere? No-one will even know.

kzrdude 4y ago
That's great but we can predict that more attention, more foot traffic and more people will bring the need for more rules around this.

justinator 4y ago

Not allowed, but certainly tolerated. I camped in many an apple tree nursery for months in France, with only a few drunken teens joining me. The gypsy camps were also very accommodating. You could find safe enough places in the middle of Paris to set up a tent.

silverfrost 4y ago

In my experience the French are very tolerant provided you are not making a nuisance of yourself.

kzrdude 4y ago

There's an app for this trail with more information. But I would have expected some info about lodging on the site, just to set expectations, do people walk with tents, or doable without?

benguillet 4y ago
I did a part of it last year. You need to walk with your tent, you won't reach a lodging site every night. I think the longest stretch without civilization (no village/town to buy food etc) is 5 days. So you also need to manage. your food and water supply. The app is very helpful for that as it gives you water, food and lodging information on the trail related to your current position (so for instance you can see that in 10km there is a river/water fountain/grocery store etc.)
- j7f3 4y ago
  5 days without a resupply is not bad at all. What about camping? Someone here said you are not allowed to pitch your tent on the trail. That would make the whole thing expensive and a logistical nightmare.

kergonath 4y ago

> Wild camping is not allowed in France That is not true. It is disallowed in some cases (though these cases involve things like close to listed buildings, which can be quite difficult to know without some research). The country is also covered with camping sites, and refuges in the mountains.