Founding Hexatrek - the 3034km mega-trail through France
Meet Kévin, a passionate walker and nature enthusiast. After a two and a half year journey navigating America's greatest mountain trails up to the North of the continent, a new idea would be born. Kévin is the founder of Hexatrek, currently the most extensive trekking route through France. This extravagant hiking adventure crosses France's most beautiful mountains. The epic 3034km route leads from the Pyrenees to the Vosges, and connects 14 of the most beautiful national parks in France.
We sat down with him to learn more about his experiences. From his incredible journey on the other side of the world to the birth of HexaTrek, Kévin's story is a truly inspirational one. Keep reading to find out why!
![Stage 3 - Vercors - Mont Aiguille](https://img.oastatic.com/img2/71709235/800x-s/variant.jpg)
"I was amazed to find that you could cross the entirety of France, passing only through mountain ranges! This fascinated me!" - Kévin Ginisty
#1 - What inspired your adventure on America's longest trails, including the famous 'Pacific Crest Trail'?
Indeed, I had an amazing adventure in the USA! Including trekking along part of the Pacific Crest Trail, a famous 4240 km trail that crosses the American West and passes through 27 national parks, from Mexico to Canada.
It was part of a trip I had undertaken 2.5 years ago from Patagonia. It was not initially my plan, but as I continued along the Andes Route, the 'Ruta Patagonia', following the mountain ranges of Chile and Argentina, I realized that there was a clear line to continue northward and it became my guideline for my entire trip. I lived by the motto 'never go back, always go north, without ever hopping on a plane'.
This is how I discovered the 'Pacific Crest Trail' when arriving at the border of the United States. My initial project was to reach Alaska but unfortunately at the Canadian border, a ranger stopped my journey because of the strict Covid rules. So I could not reach Alaska and my crossing of the Pacific Crest Trail ended.
#2 - You were born and raised in France, what gave you the desire to go on an adventure around the world?
I wasn't really born with the desire to be an explorer! I started to work from the relatively young age of 16, and by the time I got to 24 I felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction. I had never done anything crazy! I didn't want to waste my early years.
I started to discover a love for nature, I would always try to take my bike instead of my car. I started hiking in the forests of Fontainebleau, one of the only truly natural places close by where I lived in Paris. Then I started to travel. My first road trip was a 5-week adventure in the USA, in the West. I fell head over heels in love with this place, and that would become hugely significant to me.
Later I traveled to beautiful Iceland and I started to feel more of a desire to keep exploring more of the natural world. I decided to quit my job with the idea to rebuild my own van and go on a road trip to New Zealand.
After 6 months of adventure, I came back home to Paris and for the first time in my life, I felt really depressed about it! So I told myself that it was not the time to finish traveling and I continued on, hitch-hiking through Nordic countries which finally brought me on this crossing of America and the Pacific Crest Trail.
#3 - Do you ever feel lonely on these solo adventures?
It's certainly a subject you have plenty of time to think about when you're alone! (laughs)
When I choose to be alone and make a decision to do something in solitude, like going hiking... it's nice! I feel good!
When I spend a lot of time alone on a trip as was the case on the Pacific Crest Trail, it can get difficult. At one point, I went 13 days without seeing another human being. Even at the food/aid stations, I expected to see at least one person but there was just my food package waiting for me with 'Kevin' written on it. The first human I saw after this time, I ended up spending 10 days walking with and we built a wonderful friendship. When I experience long moments of solitude, and finally find someone to speak to and spend time with, I am always so grateful for their company, and I often end up forming important relationships as well as having some incredible experiences together.
Especially when traveling as I did, you are not always alone. You are reliant on the help and hospitality of the people you meet. I don't even know how many houses I was invited to and how many meals I shared! I often wanted to stay much longer but it was not always possible.
![Stage 6 - Pic du midi d'Ossau](https://img2.oastatic.com/img2/71709598/800x-s/variant.jpg)
#4 - Many people dream about this kind of adventure but never take the plunge. What made you go for it and say to yourself: 'This is the time, lets go!'
![The Hexatrek team](https://img1.oastatic.com/img2/71846807/370x-s/variant.jpg)
It's difficult to give a definitive answer. There were so many variables that came into play (work, family, luck, self-confidence, inspiration...). You also need a minimum level of funds and freedom to start such an adventure. I was lucky enough to be able to afford it and to seize the opportunity but its part of a life choice! I think that you need a good first experience. For me, it didn't start with the extremity of leaving everything behind in one go. I tried things out for a few weeks, then a few months and because I got the taste for it I put all the means that I could in place to be able to commit to more.
The main thing is to have no regrets! You must not believe that the life you lead, and that other people lead, is a dream life every day of the year! There are times when you can't take it anymore, times when you'd rather be at work than alone, and times when you wish someone would tell you what to do today so that you don't have to make a decision. In short, as in everything, there is always a combination of amazing times mixed with tough ones.
I have created relationships with hundreds of extraordinary people, these connections often burn bright but are short-lived. Things are far more temporary on the road.
I want to say that it would be great for everyone to experience something like this at least once in their life but that doesn't mean you should live your whole life like this!
#5 - Let's talk more about HexaTrek. What is it? And what makes it so special?
HexaTrek is a long-distance trail of 3034 km, with 136,000 m of elevation gain. It takes 3 to 5 months to complete in its entirety.
The trail aims to connect the most beautiful mountains of our hexagon; hence the name 'HexaTrek'!
There are incredible places to cross like the Natural Parks of the Northern Vosges, the Ballon des Vosges, the Jura, the Northern Alps, the Vanoise, Chamonix - Mont Blanc, the Cerces massif (little known but sublime), the Hautes-Alpes with the Écrins, the Huez Alps and the crossing of Belledonne, the Vercors, the Ardèche gorges, the Grands Causses Natural Park, the Languedoc and the Grande Traversée des Pyrénées to arrive at the sea in the Basque Country, on the Spanish border. The HexaTrek follows the mountain ridges, crossing the most beautiful valleys and stopping in picturesque villages. It is an immersion in nature, an invitation to take time and reconnect with yourself.
In short, the definition of a 'Thru-Hike', comes from the American term given to hiking trails that cross an entire country, from one border to another. The HexaTrek goes from the North-East of France, at the French-German border, to the South-West, at the French-Spanish border.
There are 2 short trips outside of France, which were unavoidable in order not to lengthen the route. One of 4 days on the high peaks of the Swiss Jura and another of 4-5 days in Spain, in the Pyrenees since the HexaTrek follows the GR®10 and the Haute Route des Pyrénées (HRP) which alternates between France and Spain on certain passages.
#6 - How was the HexaTrek project born?
To tell you the truth, this project was in my head since the Pacific Crest Trail. In September 2020, when I came back to France, I started to develop the project. In March I launched it and told myself that there must be some people interested in an adventure like this and even if it didn't work, at least it would be a great experience to create my own trail and to have tried!
After several approaches, I said to myself, why not set up a crowdfunding campaign? I had never done this before but it could be a good indicator to see if people were interested in the project or if I was the only crazy one who wanted to do this! It was a great success, people were so generous and that's when it really started moving! I was then able to create an association, a website, and a dedicated mobile application.
#7 - How did you build the HexaTrek trail?
I built the HexaTrek from existing trails in France. France has the most hiking trails in the world! About 56,000 km of hiking trails. That's more than the USA!
I just had to connect the 47 GR® route with around a hundred other small hiking trails to be able to create the HexaTrek trail. The hardest job was to identify the most beautiful places that I felt were unmissable on this route and to coincide those highlights with areas where it is permitted to bivouac. In France it is forbidden to bivouac on the coastline. So the seaside was not an option for the route!
Because most of the mountainous areas are bivouac permitted, going through the mountains was the most obvious way to build Hexatrek and create this unforgettable experience in the middle of nature. I was fascinated to see that it was possible to cross France, passing only through mountain ranges!
![](https://img3.oastatic.com/img2/71709579/800x-s/variant.jpg)
#8 - Many more people will be trekking through the protected areas on the official Hexatrek route. Have you taken any action to ensure your participants are respecting the environment?
I am in close contact with all the nature reserves as well as the national & regional nature parks for the HexaTrek project. We work together to help ensure participants respect the rules of protected areas.
We decided to create our own Hexatrek mobile application, to achieve two main goals:
1) Make the entire route available with GPX files and an offline mode. Rather than physically marking the trails, which would have been an almost impossible task. Many of the nature reserves and parks would not have allowed this.
2) To clearly reference where bivouacking is forbidden and where there are protected areas with rules to follow.
We wanted to create a beautiful experience for people, but make sure that our participants know and understand the importance of protecting nature, and respecting the environment.
Within our mobile application, we have made it straightforward for our participants by clearly marking the route with green and red sections. Green outlines where you are in a Regional Natural Park or National Natural Park in which bivouacking is permitted, this makes up for 71% of the route. Red outlines where you are in a sensitive area or private land, and it is forbidden to bivouac.
Yes, Hexatrek will bring more people on the trails but it is not a family hike (e.g. a couple with 3 kids and a labrador). We are not talking about millions of people. This year 400 people want to walk the entire HexaTrek, which is more than I imagined but it is far from the 6,000 people who tackle the Pacific Crest Trail each year.
In my experience, the type of people who take on HexaTrek are people who are already aware of the rules and are careful to respect nature. Often keeping their food in small jars that they reuse. They don't throw waste into nature, everything they take with them stays with them on the trail. In short, it's a philosophy, a culture, a way of traveling in its own right.
Besides that, we also created 'L'Hexatrek Association' in order to make people aware of and respect the rules and to act appropriately when on the trails. For the moment, we are only at the beginning of creating this, and we still have a feedback and rebuilding process to undertake to achieve what we want. But the more the 'HexaTrek Association' grows the more we will seek out the important work of further informing our participants of the rules and regulations. We have already created a 'charter of good conduct' that we try to communicate as much as possible. We have also set up an online information exchange group where we talk about these subjects (authorization of bivouac, authorization of dogs, good conduct, advice, etc).
#9 - Are people trying to break records on the HexaTrek?
Most people do not see the HexaTrek as a sporting challenge. The vast majority are people who have touching personal stories. For example, a woman from an association that helps abused women and wants to bring 4 of them on the HexaTrek to give them back their confidence. A former soldier who was injured and ended up in a wheelchair and then on crutches, and is now walking again! He would like to do the HexaTrek to prove to himself that he can do it. Another story is of someone who was overweight, weighing 180 kg, and lost 50kgs and now wants to walk the HexaTrek to reach their 100 kg goal!
But yes, there are about ten people who want to break records on the HexaTrek. We have been contacted by "FKT" (Fastest Known Time) and we have officially registered the HexaTrek on the FKT. There is one person who wants to complete the HexaTrek in 56 days!
![Stage 2 - Massif des Cerces](https://img1.oastatic.com/img2/71726752/800x-s/variant.jpg)
#10 - Taking your time and enjoying the ride seems to be fitting for most who take on Hexatrek, is this how you see it?
I think so, yes. You don't really run, you hike, you take your time! For example, at the end, I was walking 50 km a day and people thought that was completely crazy, but not at all! Many do the same.
After 3-4 weeks of walking, your body changes and adapts. You start walking at 5 am with the sunrise, you are in your thoughts connected to nature. Before you know it, it's 10 am and you have already done about 20 km. Then you say to yourself 'well maybe I'll have breakfast', your day is just starting!
And yet, I adopted the philosophy of taking my time, taking lots of breaks, stopping as soon as I saw something pretty, meditating, listening to music, and meeting and chatting with other walkers.
#11 - For the inauguration of the route, you launched a Pioneer Walk, what is that?
Yes, I called it 'The Great Pioneers' Hike' and it is the first edition. From June 15 to October 20, 2022, I invited people in groups of 6 to join me on the different stages of the HexaTrek, from the Pyrenees to the Vosges. And it was a great success! It's full!
We selected 16 of the most beautiful sections of the HexaTrek, each 25 km long, and I have 16 groups of 6 people to pick up along the route and on specific dates.
We have limited the number of people per section to 6 to protect the environment and the trails as much as possible, but this Pioneer Walk is not a closed event, the HexaTrek is open to everyone, even during this edition.
We hope that there will be another edition in 2023 and why not in 2024? The idea is to help Hexatrek grow and become more established.
![Stage 2 - Lac Blanc - Chamonix](https://img1.oastatic.com/img2/71709617/800x-s/variant.jpg)
#12 - If you had to do just one part of the HexaTrek, which one would you choose?
In my life, I have been asked some questions! But this one is much too hard! My chauvinistic side would push me to say: the Chamonix - Mont Blanc crossing of course! I live there and it is my temple. The South Balcony with the Bossons lakes up to Les Houches, it's an incredible experience of 70 km with a view on all the needles but frankly, it's too hard to choose, there are so many!
I just spent 3 days in the Ballon des Vosges and in the Vosges du Nord, it's just exceptional! There are sublime viewpoints, with so many truly wild places! The crests of the Jura are also magnificent. I spent my teenage years in the gorges of the Tarn, the Ardèche and the Aveyron, especially the Dourbie, it's just too beautiful, there are plateaus with canyons more than 500m deep, the water is completely transparent.
In the Pyrenees, I only know the Catalan Pyrenees but I can't wait to discover the rest and I think I'm going to be really amazed because it seems to be everything I love: wild and with a lot of mountains!
We are so lucky to have a country where it is so beautiful all the time and super varied! From the Vosges to the Pyrenees, the landscapes change drastically but also accents, cuisines and wines, architecture etc. The diversity of the cultural and natural heritage is simply sublime!
If you are curious and want to learn more about the HexaTrek, visit the official website.
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HexaTrek is a 3034 km thru-hiking trail and 136.000m of ascent linking 14 of the most beautiful French natural parks and crossing France from the ...
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