We'll Call It A Plan For Now
I’ve recently been in the nastiest of states: antsiness. I’ve been in this state for more than five weeks. I haven’t felt so antsy since I was waiting to graduate from college, and this unsettling constraint is starting to get to me.
It’ll only be a few more weeks is a small thought. But for such a small thought it has the horrible tendency to act as though it were a termite that was slowly burrowing its way with its beak, leaving only a whittled tunnel in its path.
So, in order to rid my brain of these thought parasites, I’ve gone back to what helped me back when I was needing something to keep me looking forward: Planning my walk.
So, here is a short rundown with links of the route that I’ll be following. Most of the information came from Traildino’s page on the E3, but I’ve decided to develop a more precise itinerary. However, nothing is set in stone.
Soon I’ll be back with the most significant relationship I’ve had in years. Jeepers I can’t wait. I know that she's going to be upset with me. I've been away for three months after all. She has her reasons for feeling betrayed, and I won't be surprised if she punishes me at first, but dammit. I love her.
I’m sorry that this isn’t a huge update, but this post is just the start. I’ll get back to writing the tale of the trail shortly. I only have another week in Morocco, and the rest of my time will be dedicated to updating this site.
So, this post is for y’all to consume and enjoy. If anyone happens to have hiking advice of these regions or these countries or might be tempted to rendezvous somewhere on the trail, PM me or post in the comments thread.
Also, I want to say a huge thank you to all of those who have reached out to me in the last several months as well as the folks who pitched into the tip jar. It’s been great to get some feedback and hear from you wonderful folks.
Cheers, and here's to the second half of the journey.
Chris.
Itinerary:
GERMANY (500? km)
I arrive in Germany March 27th and should be in Hot later that evening. My plan is to then return to the E3 walking trail and keep pushing forward. Finding resources online to help dissect the German portion of the trail are more confusing than worth getting into, but I have since learned to trust the German Natural Parks team to be vigilant in their upkeep of appropriate trail signs. Besides, I’ve found a GPX file to lead the way.
Cities or towns that I’ll be passing through:
-Wunsiedel
-Münchberg
-Coburg
-Mellrichstadt
-Fladungen
-Gersfeld
-Fulda
(I’ll be walking just outside of Frankfurt am Main and Wiesbaden)
Then end up in Orscholz to then cross the border to Luxembourg.
LUXEMBOURG (235 Kms)
Lets guess and say I arrive in Luxembourg April 30. Luxembourg should take no more than 10 days.
Arrive at the border, then get to the town Schengen.
-Schengen to Wasserbillig following the Moselle Path. 55 km
-Wasserbillig to Echternach following the Lower-Sûre path. 23 km (Or the e2 path)
-Echternach to Diekirch using the Maurice Cosyn Path. 15 km
-Diekrich to Hosingen using Our Path 9 km
-Hosingen to Clervaux Sentier Ardennes - Eifel ? km
-Clervaux to Each sur Sûre Charles Mathieu Path ? km
-Esch sur Sûre to Martelange using Upper Sûre Path ? km
note: Echternach to Martelange is known as the Sentier Ardennes - Eifel route, but this name hasn’t been adopted by all of the participating countries. I should be able to have an easier time finding the multiple trails and connecting the dots.
BELGIUM (205 Km)
I plan to arrive sometime by May 10, then exit Belgium in 8 or so days.
First part is the GR 15 which connects to the GR 16. The GR 16 is what will connect me to a village near Rocroi. I’ll essentially follow a river for 200 km.
FRANCE (2000ish Km)
I hope to arrive May 18th or earlier.
A general map of the paths in France.
GR12 — Should take 2 weeks. So finish the GR12 by June.
It breaks down like this:
-Rocroi to Amifontaine.119 km
-Mifontaine to Saint-Jean-aux-Bois. 120 km
-Saint-Jean-aux-Bois to Pairs. 60ish KM
I don’t really want to walk into Paris (it'll be 125 km to get there)… but it could be interesting. Chances are I'll hike the outskirts of Paris and keep heading south.
GR12 to GR 1 Tour de Paris
I meet up with the GR 1 around 60 or so kilometers on my way to Paris. I’ll be close to Chantilly.
GR1 — This should take 1 week. I’ll finish GR1 by June 8.
From here I walk to Crecy-la-Chapelle, 70ish KM.
Crecy-la-Chapelle to Fontainebleau. 90 Km
The GR1 doesn’t go to Fontainebleau, but I end up 6 or so km away from the town. From here I hook on to the GR13
GR13 — 7 days. I’ll try to finish GR13 by June 15.
-Fontainebleau to Saint-Maurice-sur-Averyron. 130 Km
From here I have to break away to connect to the GR3. I doubt that there is an official trail to follow.
-Saint-Mauric-sur-Averyon to Ousson-sur-Loire 90 Kms.
GR3 — 3 weeks. Finish by July 6.
-Ousson-sur-Loire to Parigny-les-Vaux. 86 Km.
-Parigny-les-Vaux to St. Aubin-sur-Loire. 129 Km.
-St. Aubin-sur-Loire to Chabreloche. 113 km
-Chabreloche to Retournac. 119 km
-Retournac to Le Puy-en-Velay. 60 km
From Le Puy-en-Velay, I’m on the GR65, or the French Way.
GR65 (FRANCE) Arrive July 6, Be done with France by August 6.
-Le Puy-en-Velay to Nasbinals. 117 km
-Nasbinals to Montredon. 118 km
-Montredon to Labastide-Marnhac. 118 km
-Labastide-Marnhac to Marsolan. 123 km
-Marsolan to Aire-sur-l’Adour. 105 km
-Aire-sur-l’Adour to Larribar-Sorhapuru. 128 Km
-Larribar-Sorhapuru to Roncesvalles (Spain). 56 km
SPAIN (900 km)
GR65 (SPAIN) Arrive by August 6. Complete by September 6.
Soon After the GR65 is complete, it’s time to go to Lisbon. the Portuguese Way, which is 610-630 Kms.
-Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela. 800 km
-Santiago de Compostela to Tui 117 Km
PORTUGAL (610 km)
Arrive in Tui before September…whenever. Finish…whenever I finish I suppose.
Following the Portuguese way, which should be easy enough to follow. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a lot of walking on or beside the road. If I keep up the pace, I could be in Lisbon sometime before October.
-Santiago Compostela to Tui 117 Km
-Tui to Porto 116 Km
-Porto to Coimbra 110 Km
-Coimbra to Santarém 125 Km
-Santarém to Lisbon 91 Km
-Lisbon to Cape St. Vincent ~300 Km*
*bonus round*
So, roughly in total? Somewhere around 4,450 km, or around 2,781 miles. And that's just a safe estimate, so I may end up walking for 2,800 miles by the end of this section.
I've already walked somewhere around 4800 kilometers, so I'm not even halfway finished with my hike. Good lord... I'm going to walk over to 9200 kilometers (>5700 miles) by the end of this bloody hike. Hooah!
BONUS ROUND EXPLAINED: According to the fine gentleman at the Blog Coastal Walking, there isn't a single physical trail that connects Lisbon to Cape St. Vincent. It'll have to be even more road hiking. According to the European Rambler Association, the official E3 ends in Santiago de Compostela, but there were thoughts of extending the trail all the way to Cape St. Vincent.
Fun Fact: I began my walk on May 5th and had to leave the E3 long distance walking path on November 25th. I have already been on this trail for a total of 204 days. If I start March 28th and finish on September 5, it will be 365 days of walking with a 90-day stint in Morocco.
Another note. By my recent calculations, the E3 is over 9000 km. I do have to add some kilometers because I did start in Istanbul and also had to make my way through Serbia, but the sheer total of km I have to hike from Eastern Germany to Lisbon is well over 4000 kilometers.
Anyway, we’ll see if I decide to venture all the way down to the tip of Portugal or stay in Lisbon. Going further is more mileage, but Lisbon seems like a much more appropriate town to celebrate the completion of the journey of a lifetime.
The Walk so far.