“You’re doing what?”

This is the most common reaction I receive when telling people I decided to go hike alone for a month.

Can’t blame them, really. I probably would’ve said the same were it the other way around.

So what’s the plan?

A one-month hike, why?

Why not, really? I never took on such a challenge. The feeling of excitement and adventure it brings with it is just a bonus.

I lately realised that you actually discover a lot more whilst hiking than you do by any other form of transport. That ability you get to zone out and absorb your surroundings has a very tranquil and relaxing effect which helps you appreciate nature that much more. That’s when an idea popped up in my brain: let’s do a solo hike. For a month. In a tent!

While discussing this idea with my wife, she pointed out that since I wasn’t currently working… the time to take this challenge was now. She would take care of the household and our 2-year-old son.

“If you want to do this, now is the time!”

My wife

Did I mention that my wife rocks ?

Planning the route

To make things feasible, the hike would need to take place in October. That kind of rules my original plan of hiking in the Alps out. Not that It isn’t possible but the temperatures and weather conditions aren’t something I feel comfortable tackling, yet.

While looking closer to home, I realised that we live near a relatively unknown gem: the Mullerthal Trail, in Luxemburg. 112 km of trails through the stunning nature of the Mullerthal region. This was what my hike would center around then.

Where to start? The Ardennes of course! And what a coincidence that one of my favourite breweries, Orval, just happens to be along the way?

With the help of a few hiking websites and the Komoot platform, I was quickly able to put a decent plan together.

I will travel from Bouillon, to Orval before climbing back up to Bastogne. From there, I will cross the whole of Luxembourg (all 68kms) to reach my base of operations to hike the Mullerthal trails, Echternach.

Once that’s done, I’ll improvise my trip back.

Sleeping accomodations

An extensive googling session was necessary to find hotels and campings located along my route. To figure out where the stops need to be, I am focusing on achieving 20km hikes on a daily basis.

Campings

I will be travelling light, but I want to be self-sustained. This means I will be carrying all the necessary gear to survive the trip on my back.

Campings are a great way to travel without busting the bank so this is my preferred choice. However, in october, most Belgian campings along my route are shut down. This isn’t the case in Luxembourg however, so I intend to make the most of them.

I’ll need the right gear! October can bring freezing night temperatures. I intend to do in-depth reviews of the gear I’m bring along to give you insights of what to look out for if you too decide to go for a long backpacking session.

Welcome to my Garden

Welcome To My Garden seems like a great Belgian platform for backpackers. It is a non-profit network of citizens offering free camping spots in their gardens to slow travellers.

I have found several people offering up their gardens as a place to sleep along my route so I intend to review it too.

Hotels

This being my first time doing this kind of trip, I’m definitely going to want a few comfy and warm nights to chill out, wash my clothes and ideally, take a hot bath.

Physical preparations

Lets face it, my feet, legs and back are about to suffer a tremendous amount of abuse. In order to minimise this, I took it upon myself to hike 10 to 20km routes every couple days for the last month. I learnt a lot while discovering a few interesting routes around Amsterdam.

Main point of discovery: your feet can take quite a lot of abuse, as long as you take good care of them. Take breaks, more often than not, air them out and change your socks if they get wet. Generally, just listen to your body. Pushing past the pain is not a sustainable way to go.

Am I ready?

The simple answer is: I do not know. But I intend to find out :).

If you have any feedback or questions, be sure to comment below or reach out to me on one of my social media channels.