Well-marked hiking trails

Regarding “500 Miles in a Pilgrim’s Footsteps” [Sept. 26]: Several years ago, our French home-exchange hosts sent us trail-map guides after we wrote that we wanted to hike. They sent us not only the guide for the closest Grande Randonnee to Rennes but also map-pamphlets that describe many nearby Petite Randonnees. The country-wide “big trails” run from border to border, and their red-white-red bars can be seen on bridges over the Seine in Paris. The “little trails” are marked by small, colored discs -- blue or green or white -- sometimes accompanied by the red-white bar on stretches of a Grande Randonnee.

Remarkably, these trails were on unfenced land, and the next bright disc was usually easy to find at short intervals. We had no need for professional guides or organized groups.

Bob and Miggie Hansen

Carpinteria