Little Green Tracs

Via Podiensis - Le Puy-en-Velay to Lourdes France

In a few weeks, we will be embarking on another adventure, this time walking along an old pilgrim trail in France, called the Via Podiensis. Better known as the Chemin du Puy, the Via Podiensis, this is one of the four main pilgrim routes through France, used by French pilgrims but also by others coming through Switzerland and from points further back in Germany, Austria, Poland and the Czech and Slovak republics. It joins the routes from Paris and Vézelay on the French side of the Pyrenees at Saint Jean Pied de Port France. However, for this walk, instead of arriving in Saint Jean Pied de Port, we will divert south at Lectoure and head towards Lourdes, our final destination. 

Le Puy-en-Velay

Our walk with start in Le Puy en Velay France, approximately 3 hours southwest of Lyon. Pilgrims came to Le Puy throughout the Middle Ages and it was considered one the most popular destinations. Le Puy-en-Velay's most striking attraction is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy, dating from the first half of the 12th century. Pilgrims starting their journey to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, gather each morning to be blessed at the cathedral. The cathedral has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1998, as part of the "Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France."

Conques

We will be spending an extra night in Conques, staying at the St. Foy Abbey. Conques is located at the confluence of the Dourdou and Ouche rivers, built on a hillside with narrow medieval streets. The St. Foy abbey-church in Conques was and still is a popular stop for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela Spain. The original monastery building at Conques was an eighth-century oratory built by monks fleeing the Saracens in Spain. 

Figeau & Rocamadour

We will also spend an extra night in Figeau in order to use the day to visit nearby Rocamadour. Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogne, and especially for its historical monuments and its sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which for centuries has attracted pilgrims from every country. Rocamadour is famous for the Grotte Prehistorique des Merveilles. Discovered in 1920 and listed as a Historic Monument in 1925, the Grotte des Marvels opens onto the Causse of Rocamadour, a vast limestone plateau eroded by underground water. This remarkably cool cave of lakes and shimmering masses of crystals give a magical effect under the play of lights as do its wall paintings dating from more than 20,000 years ago. Rocamadour is also famous for its very young goat’s cheese that can be eaten after just 12-15 days of ageing, but which gets more intense after a few months.

Cahors

Cahors dramatic location is contained on three sides within an udder shaped twist in the River Lot known as a 'presqu'île' or peninsula. Today it is perhaps best known as the centre of the famous AOC 'black' wine known since the Middle Ages and exported via Bordeaux, long before that region had developed its own viticulture industry. It famous landmark is the Valentré Bridge, the symbol of the town. 

Auch

Auch is a very ancient town - its name comes from the Aquitanian tribe that inhabited the area at the time of the Roman conquest in the 50s BC. A key landmark in Auch is the Renaissance Cathédrale Sainte-Marie with its magnificent organ, carved stalls and Rose stained-glass windows

Lourdes

Lourdes a village on the Gave de Pau River in the foothills of the Pyrenees in southern France, is famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858. In that year, a fourteen-year-old peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous had a series of eighteen visions of the Virgin Mary who appeared in a niche in the grotto of Massabielle near Lourdes. Five million pilgrims visit Lourdes each year, however few few like ourselves make the journey by walking from Le Puy. 

The Ulster Way - Ireland

The Ulster Way is a series of walking routes that encircle the Irish province of Ulster. It was founded in the 1970s by Wilfred Capper (who subsequently became the first person to complete the old route), who was inspired by Tom Stephenson's Pennine Way. Most of it lies within Northern Ireland, the remainder being in the Republic of Ireland.

The original route was 560 miles long. Canadian author Will Ferguson in 2002 walked the route, describing it as “ancestral homeland" trek, an 800-km route that seemed to exist only in the imagination of local tourist bureaus.

Due to land access and signage issues, a new revised route was established and later on September 16 2009, it was officially opened. This revised route is 625 miles or 1,000 kilometers long, consisting of 411 miles or 658 kilometres quality way marked off road paths and the balance, 214 miles or 342 kilometres, link sections of connecting roads where it is recommended you take public transportation.

University student Keith Brownrigg has just completed the revised route in 2009. He started walking on June 17 – carrying probably the only English guidebook The Complete Ulster Way and finished on July 25.
Details on his walk can be found also at his blog Ulsterwalker. A video from his walk is below

 

Walking The Ulster Way (Extended) from U.W on Vimeo.

We're in the Mountains, Not over the Hill

I just finished reading the kindle version of Susan Alcorn’s book “We’re in the Mountains, Not over the Hill.” Targeted for women of all ages that are interested in backcountry hiking, it offers through the voices of three dozen women, personal stories of inspiration and first hand experiences and snippets of practical guidance and tips on where to start, what to take and so on. For any woman (and man for that matter) it is an excellent book to read and great place to start if you at least interested in staying healthy and active throughout your life, participating in one of the least expensive and most accessible forms of social and physical activity available to humankind.


Susan starts the book describing her personal experience of getting into backpacking at the tender age of 48 back in 1989, when she joined the Sierra Club, and how she met and later married her current partner Ralph, himself an enthusiastic backpacker. She also introduces a number of women, some pioneers of backpacking like Irene Cline (who was until 2004, the first woman the hike the entire Appalachian Trail), Emma Gatewood and Laurie Frost. She also introduces briefly the three dozen women, really co-authors, who for much of this book, describe their personal experiences, initial challenges and rewards, and likewise dole out advice, on various topics from equipment, clothing, footwear to safety, body care and health, and on bears and other wild animals.

Susan concludes the book with some suggested trails in America to try and some associations to join. She even offers up her own personal packing list of gear and equipment.

It is not a comprehensive guide to backpacking in America. It does not cover all the finite details of backcountry hiking in America. Instead, as one reader suggested it is really an Every Woman’s guide to where to start, especially if you have never hiked or backpacked at all. For somebody like me that spent most his younger adult life backcountry hiking in northern Ontario in Canada, the book includes all those things that most guidebooks leave out. Only through time and experience do you learn out about these other things. Susan’s book through the words of three dozen experienced women backpackers achieves this aim for the benefit of the reader.

A highly recommended read for any person of any age

Susan Alcorn is also author of Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago, also available on Amazon kindle