In this video I break down what it’s actually like to thru-hike in Europe—and yeah, it’s complicated. If all you’ve seen is PCT/CDT/AT content, it’s easy to assume Europe doesn’t have a big long-distance scene, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The biggest thing that trips people up is camping: rules change by country (and sometimes by region), and while some places are basically “camp anywhere” (like Scotland and parts of Scandinavia), a lot of Europe bans wild camping on paper. In reality, plenty of hikers still do it (including me), but you need to be smart about it: avoid popular natural parks, pitch late, leave early, go hidden, and don’t build fires or shelters unless you want a fine. I also explain refugios (free mountain huts in places like Spain/Italy/France) and why I still usually prefer my tent, plus how water and resupply feel different. In Italy and Spain I use my filter less because of public fountains (“fonts”), but I still carry a filter because some run dry or aren’t drinkable. Food-wise, small shops don’t have the same hiker junk-food selection, so you often improvise—my very normal thru-hiker breakfast was basically a big baguette loaded with cheese. Finally, I cover safety (wild boar and shepherd dogs are more relevant than bears in most of Europe), language/culture realities, how I kept my GR11 budget under €1,000 for 36 days, and I rattle off a big list of popular European thru-hikes to put on your bucket list.