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Comment by jbgreer | Hacker News Reader

For alternate long distance French routes, check out Chemin St Jacques.

I note this trail passes through St Jean Pied de Port, and thus could be used as a natural connector to walk across France and Spain.

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It's very... civilized. I was riding my bike on part of it without knowing I was. It's not what I would call a backpacking experience to compare with the AT, CDT, etc. I'm sure this isn't either, as there's no real wilderness in France, but it sure is more appealing to me than El Camino.

Yeah the Ways of Saint James is a pilgrimage route (or a catchment thereof until you reach the Camino francés), so it's supposed to be accessible to most everyone, and would have way stations all along as pilgrims of the early middle ages could hardly be assumed to carry months worth of necessities.

No one carries months of supplies fwiw. Two weeks of food is the absolute max on the PCT and the AT is much less. 2-3 liters of water is the most you need even for the Mojave unless you are very late (or early if you’re SB). I imagine this French linkup is to the AT what the AT is to the CDT.

I think they meant in Medieval times - some I would assume would be on horseback/cart.

In medieval times people likely carried less. Pilgrim routes were like tourist attractions these days. Lots of people making money.

For those who don't know, the Chemin Saint Jacques (or Camino de Santiago, or Way of Saint James) is a pilgrimage route (or rather a network of pilgrimage routes) which goes all the way to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. Spanish "Santiago" = French "Saint Jacques" = English "Saint James the Great".

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago

Two popular starting routes are the towns of Irun for Camino del Norte and St. Jean Pied du Port for Camino Frances, which the Hexatrek pass by.

* https://caminoways.com/camino-del-norte

* https://caminoways.com/camino-frances

If anyone is curious, there are vloggers on YouTube documenting their travels for these.

The good part of this path is the logistics. A lot of people travel though it so there are a lot of cheap lodges, good signaling and places to buy food or have a meal

To add to that cultural tidbit, in France the pilgrimage is most commonly known as Saint Jacques de Compostelle or chemins de Compostelle.

Not really an alternate. I did the Camino de Santiago from vezelay and it was along roadways for the most part. Some beautiful, out of the way roadways, but still roadways. This trail network seems much more in the wilderness, considering they recommend bivouacing along it.

I walked from St Jean Pied de Port, France to Finisterre, Spain twice. It was a great experience and highly recommended.

Me too! Had a little less time than I'd have liked, so I started in Burgos instead of St Jean Pied de Port. Nonetheless, it was an amazing experience. Finisterre might have been one of the prettiest places I've ever been to.

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