by Pieter@Overseashiker | Apr 13, 2024 | Day hikes, Italy
Lago di Braies (also known as Pragser Wildsee in German) is the famous starting point for the Alta Via 1 thru hike across the Italian Dolomites. But there are also various shorter trails starting at the azure blue lake. Here are three day hikes that I hiked at Lago di...
by Pieter@Overseashiker | Mar 10, 2024 | France, GR 5
Stage 4 of the GR5 was the last stage of this thru-hike that I would walk this year. It marked the transition to the Mediterranean Alps, where the weather was hotter and drier. The landscape turned more and more empty until I reached the city of Briançon where my...
by Pieter@Overseashiker | Feb 7, 2024 | France, GR 5
Stage 3 of the GR5: the Vanoise. A part of the Grande Traversée des Alpes/GR5 where all the different routes can make your head dizzy – if you’re not already dizzy from the high mountains all around you. This stage takes hikers from freezing cold mountain passes to...
by Pieter@Overseashiker | Nov 22, 2023 | France, GR 5
The second stage of the GR5 shares about 40 km trail with the Tour du Mont Blanc. I skipped a crowded part on an alternative, higher trail above Les Contamines. After two days I left the TMB, turning South into the breathtaking Beaufortin. There I crossed the Col du...
by Pieter@Overseashiker | Aug 27, 2023 | France, GR 5
The first 5 days of the GR5 involved a long and steep initial ascent into the Alps and unexpected and extraordinary scenery. I also met a number of other solo hikers. Within a few days a we formed a more or less loose group, hiking and camping together most of the...