HexaTrek 2022 : Answering popular questions after my thru-hike

[@messytravel]

Bonjour! Can't believe we're the first to mention the bathroom shot 🤣 It took us a few minutes to pause in the right spot, but we got it in the end. Love your videos, we're looking forward to doing Hexatrek in a couple of years.

[@cartapouille]

Ahahah well I'm sorry for all the fine-tuning needed to see it, and for the delivery you got! Hope you were not watching in family :D Seems not a lot of people have been patient enough to a) watch until the end b) pause at the right time :D Thanks for the nice comment though, and I'm super happy that the videos are also motivating you more for walking the HexaTrek !

[@tommiejack]

What do you mean, i missed it? Where can i find this shot?

[@tommiejack]

What do you mean, i missed it? Where can i find this shot?

[@tommiejack]

What do you mean, i missed it? Where can i find this shot?

[@kazbekki]

This is PERFECT! I’ve fallen into the PCT youtube rabbit hole and been looking for the right trail for a while. I’ve got five weeks this summer. Hoping to do the first section and maybe a bit more. This is extremely accessible and budget friendly. Exactly what central europes hiking needed. Amazing work!

[@cartapouille]

Thank you very much! I'm not entirely sure of the budget-friendly aspect, as France remains an expensive country, but definitely for europeans it saves the cost of the airplane ticket :) Hoping that you get to hike as much as you can on this trek !

[@LeSamSamm]

I just did the first 50km with two of my friends from the Appalachian Trail. It’s such a great trail, we loved it. Especially since we can camp in the indicated sections and rest assured that it’s allowed (something that we don’t have in Germany). Eventually I will hike more of it, but it was a great sneak peak. Thanks for putting this project together! 🏕️

[@sonnigreg5685]

Thank you so much for all your videos and podcast episodes of the Hexatrek! Funny, honest, entertaining - you made me laugh out loud a lot of times. 😅 I'm glad you took us with you on this journey...

[@cartapouille]

Owwww this comment warms my motivation, thank you very much for taking the time to follow along on my silly journeys. Right as I'm starting the editing of the next episode! Thank you soooooo much

[@sonnigreg5685]

Yay!! 🎉 I didn't dare to ask when... if... you would finish the next episodes (no pressure!).

[@RonnelB.]

Bro! As an American who's been living in France for 13 years, your English is super good. You did a great job at explaining why people should do this trail. Good luck with further developing it.

[@cartapouille]

Ahahahhaha thank you man! I'm glad the video was useful to you, not part of the hexa team anymore though, but I appreciate the sentiment :)

[@anneofbasswoodgrove6626]

Love it! We will be there next year. Thanks for being so different from the usual thruhike culture like in the states. :):)

[@cartapouille]

nice to know you'll try the HexaTrek adventure! And yeah after hiking it I realized we had fundamental differences that made hiking in Europe quite different, and I hope we can bring something new to the thru hiking culture :)

[@silviwildrose7885]

Thank you so much for your informations and the way you do it. Makes me laugh so much 😄

[@cartapouille]

Wouhouuuuuu being informative and entertaining was exactly my goal :) So it's cool when it works!

[@silviwildrose7885]

You definitely reached your goal 👍🏻🥳

[@1adamuk]

Thanks, it looks great. And so does the website. Whoever did that did a really good job, love to see a GPX file.

[@cartapouille]

Thank you, Kevin will appreciate comment on the website ahah! Yep, GPX is a must given :)

[@Andy-ku3jy]

Lovely ! Good on you guys. Bit worried about the navigation aspect, so you download a bunch of maps to your phone is that it ! And they work offline ? Also as a someone who would have to fly in to France from the southern hemisphere, is the trail start hard to get to ?

[@cartapouille]

Thanks buddy! So you can download the gpx file and follow all maps offline as there is no need for connection to use the GPS, saving your battery a lot. And France is one of the most developed countries in the world vis a vis its wilderness, you can access pretty much any point super easily, so clearly beginning and end are very easy to reach via bus/train/hitch hiking, etc :) No worries there!

[@LeSamSamm]

Hi Andy, we started in Wissembourg and got there very easily by train from Strasbourg (ca 55min direct regional train). Cheers and happy hiking 🏕️

[@Nynke_K]

Hahaha! I was on my way to write how weird it is seeing you without a beret, and then I saw the outro from the corner of my eye 😅. I'm unlikely to ever do the whole Hexatrek, but it's such a wonderful project! Good luck with the documentary as well!

[@cartapouille]

Ahah I'm glad some people stayed all the way until the end! And yeah I needed to smooth the transition from beret-me to city-me anyway, I found this way ! Thank you for the encouragements, it will be needed :D

[@ASTHECROWFLIESHIKING]

I have never heard of the HexaTrek. Very cool concept. Nice information. Great channel. New follower here. Crow✌️

[@cartapouille]

Wow I always thought people would discover the trek first, and come here to find more info, but never the other way around: I'm quite happy! Thank you very much for the encouragement buddy!

[@alexhs3795]

Great video! I just finished walking Te Araroa in New Zealand and planning on doing HEXATREK around 2025 or 2026. I love wilderness and camping but I love having nice meals in towns and picturesque towns to visit… plus cheese is my favourite food so seems like the perfect place. A question I didn’t see on this video which I would love to know is the best months to start the hike. Congrats on finishing and participating on the trail.

[@joel.wuestehube]

this video made me very interested in doing the hexatrek one day

[@cartapouille]

Oh man thanks, that's exactly what I was hoping for :)

[@mvanderhel-rb6rb]

Very nice initiative, it is on our list now. Thx

[@cartapouille]

Nice! I'm glad it made the list :)

[@mazman9355]

great video! i hiked in france for a month and people never failed to give a hearty 'bon appetit" if i was eating on the trailside enjoying my saucisson and baguette ( maybe i should have corrected them, non non madam, "food is fuel"...l' appetit n'est pas importante). baguette may dry out quickly, but i almost never went a day without finding a bakery. if i needed to, I'd run to make a village before noon, because you never know if they will close for part of the afternoon. oh great, now I'm hungry...the appetit is real....

[@cartapouille]

Ahah i know the struggle, but if the baguette dries out it"s because you didn't eat it fast enough :D it's made to only last for lunch. And then you find another bakery and eat another baguette :D Thanks for the comment, it's really a gourmet trail in France!

[@marybaele148]

Merci beaucoup for the information :) If one were to start this hike in early July and hike west over 2 months, would you recommend packing an ice ax and/or traction for an average snow year? I hope to get my feet on this trail one day, the thru hike of wine and cheese sounds and looks like a dream!

[@cartapouille]

My pleasure! Mmmm I'm not sure, to be honest, I'm not the best at hiking on the snow, never really had that opportunity (always went around or just fell). That being said if you start at beginning of stage 1, you should arrive end of July in the Alps, and it should be cleared by then. Also send yourself the necessary equipment in Thonon, if you really feel like having them, there's no use for them before. And prepare your stomach for an unlimited cheese supply ahahah :D

[@swixil]

How much of the 1000 Euros per month did you spend on cheese? 😃 Anywhere, great and informative Video. Sounds like the HT could be the next popular trail out there.

[@cartapouille]

Ahahahah a good half? Cheese is not THAT expensive, but good cheese can be. And the temptation to buy them 500g by 500g is big :D Thank you anyway, hope you are right !

[@milupaoutdoor]

Bonjour...:) Thank you for your Video. I like to go the Hexatrek in 4 an a half month (walking time). Witch time to start would you prefer? Best regards, Andreas

[@cartapouille]

Hey there Andreas! Well I would definitely more suggest end of May/beginning of June depending on the snow conditions for SOBO, even later is doable. In Nobo then beginning of July is better :)

[@milupaoutdoor]

@@cartapouille Thank you.. Then I think i start in the last week of may....

[@grifcole1]

Thank you for some good information.

[@cartapouille]

I'm glad if this video could help :)

[@levosgiendesforets]

hey ! pour une fois qu'on sait parlait anglais, je dis bravo et merci hahaha. Enfin !

[@cartapouille]

Ahah on fait ce qu'on peut, au moins ça tord un peu le cou au "les français savent pas parler anglais" :D

[@paulmctaggart3760]

Tres Bon, Merci.

[@cartapouille]

Avec plaisir :)

[@Iggylux]

Is the trail marked? Or do I need a device, telephone etc. to follow the trail.

[@cartapouille]

The trails in France are marked, as you'll hike mostly on GR trails, but not the hexatrek itself. There's a gpx available on the website though!

[@Iggylux]

@@cartapouille that's the big shit! Ofcourse you can download the GPS.... But you are always looking on your phone or device.Why not saying with GR they used so much easier

[@cartapouille]

@@Iggylux Because it's not lonly on GR sadly. Maybe you can just follow GR5 and GR10 all the way and actually be happy to walk almost the same. But Smartphone in plane mode is enough battery for a while, and as long as you avoid the non marked sections, you'll almost never have to look at your phone because France has amazing trails everywhere!

[@Of_Hermits_and_Hogs]

I spent quite some time in France this year (walking a 3800km boucle as part of the Via Columbani) though my cheese selection was not as varied. I pretty much ate my body weight in fromage blanc. But only now I learn that "bonjour" is etiquette! I thought I spice it up with an occasional salut or ça va. So that was wrong? dang.

[@cartapouille]

Oh my, I'm sorry you lost so much cheese time on fromage blanc buddy! And must have been hard to keep it fresh in the backpack no? Sounds like quite a trip this VIa, never heard of it ! Ahah le "salut" or "ça va" is ok don't worry, just more informal and not the exact etiquette, but far better than a greeting in any other language :) You created memories for other hikers !

[@Of_Hermits_and_Hogs]

@@cartapouille No worries. But it is interesting and good to know (as I walk in France a lot. Been more than 7000km so far). In Austria btw there is the opposite "rule". You abandon any formal greeting above 1000m for the informal one. You would be also switching from "Sie" (vous) to "Du" (tu). At least that is the traditional way. Nowadays with tourism things may vary. As for the fromage blanc. No reason to feel sorry. I love that stuff. Had it for the first time in the 90s when I crossed France on my way to Spain. With fresh strawberries and sugar. Never forgot it and been a fan ever since. Good luck with the Hexa Trek. It is a worthy selection (have walked in all 6 regions as part of other treks) and I would love to have the excuse to hike that particular collection of GR sections some day.

[@cartapouille]

@@Of_Hermits_and_Hogs Interesting how the greeting changes with altitudes, never heard that ! That's a really cool info! And yeah you seem to know enough of France to qualify as a thru-hiker without having to hike it entirely at this point :D Also try the Cancaillotte next time, might be the kind of cheese you like ;)

[@grisou3871]

Bonjour , les fromages incontournables sont ?

[@cartapouille]

Oh il y en a tellement! De la cancoillotte au brebis des Pyrénées, en passant par l'Abondance ou l'indétrônable Comté, c'est le festival! Je vais essayer de faire produire une carte de tous les fromages à goûter au long de l'HexaTrek :D

[@grisou3871]

@@cartapouille merci , une carte excellente idée

[@GaukharKubenova]

Llllllllove it 😂

[@cartapouille]

Yeaaaaaaah makes me happy :)))

[@RCHTKTN]

Quel bel homme

[@cartapouille]

Takes one to know one buddy!

[@melekovic]

Bonjour! ❤

[@cartapouille]

Bonjour ;)

[@vandoan7462]

How was the bug situation?

[@cartapouille]

I see you asked on the Discord as well, but let's put an answer here : it was ok! i know many people got annoyed by ticks in Vosges and end of the Pyrenees, but it wasn't a problem to me really. Just 2 ticks at the very end of my journey. But hiking in long pants probably had to do something about it. Mosquitoes were virtually absent and any other bug was insignificant. I did have an ant infestation in my loaf of bread one night but it was manageable :D

[@finnkroghnatur]

No, that's not the PCT .... it is MUCH better!

[@cartapouille]

Ahahaha can't judge by experience, but by cheese availability? Hell yeah!

[@levosgiendesforets]

Moi , je trouve dommage que l'on ne passe pas plus par .....le massif central

[@cartapouille]

Ahah je suis bien d'accord, et en vrai j'aimerai bien une version qui inclut au moins UN volcan. Mais c'est pas pour le moment :D