The Pieterpad

Today, I begin my first long distance trail in continental Europe: the Netherlands’ Pieterpad. After a decade (!) of long distance hiking — I finished the Appalachian Trail two days from now ten years ago — I finally have a chance to do a long hike on the European mainland. (I’ve been to Europe before, and in 2022, I hiked the Canary Islands GR131 with my partner, which was fantastic, but I haven’t done any long hikes on continental Europe.) The Pieterpad wasn’t originally what I’d planned for this year’s European hike, but it’s fitting. Now that my partner and I have moved to the Netherlands, it seems appropriate to start off with a trail here. Walking this trail will sort of continue a “tradition” of hiking across countries in which I’ve lived in: twice in the US on the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail, and in New Zealand on Te Araroa. The Pieterpad The Pieterpad is a roughly 500 km trail, running north-to-south in the east of the Netherlands, from Pieterburen on the…