The Hexatrek, a newly minted 3000km journey traversing the mountains of France, pops up in my Instagram feed just as we are coming up to two years locked in Godzone. The trail takes its name from the hexagon-shaped outline of the country, and connects 14 national parks. It starts (or ends) at the border with Germany and traverses the Vosges, Jura, the Alps and the Pyrenees to the Atlantic.
When we see it, the excitement awakens butterflies in our stomachs. We are both avid hikers, having completed most of New Zealand’s Great Walks and, in 2018, we climbed Kilimanjaro, pacing pole-pole (slowly-slowly) up its snowy flanks to the summit. Now in our mid-50s, we are determined to take on another significant challenge before our get up and go, well, gets up and disappears! We invest in the app that is to be our on-ground guide and start to dream.
Gathering the gear to get two almost over-the-hill hikers over a fair few more becomes our priority. Multi-day hiking requires a true less-is-more mindset. To our tried-and-trusted packing list, we add two significant pieces of equipment. Since the Hexatrek is set up primarily as a bivouac route (although there are also mountain refuges and village accommodation), we need a tent and sleeping mats. After some research we decide on one that is light, strong and long enough to lay down in, with the backpack at our feet. Before we leave, we test it out in the back garden. Lying prone on the corrugated foam sleeping mat, I look up at the fine stretch of canvas
