Understand and follow the markup on hiking trails

The different tags

Each country has its own marker system. In France, the official beacons are set up by the French Hiking Federation, a team of volunteer arrangers, specialists in the trails. You may have to meet:

• Red and white tags : They indicate the high hike trails, paths practicable over several days, or even several weeks.
• Yellow and red tags : They are your benchmark on the walking and hiking trails.
• Yellow tags : They are present on the country’s hiking trails to travel by day.

Be careful, if you cross another GR on your way, refer to the GR number indicated on the panels so as not to get lost.

Other types of official signaling can help you find yourself:

• The yellow panels indicating the walking time, the difficulty of the route, the name of the path or the number of kilometers to go.
• The cards in the region and the area, starting from the trails allow you to locate yourself in space and visualize the other hiking trails that surround you.

THE Pilgrimage tags and historic trails As for them are specific to everyone. On the paths of Compostela for example, you will be brought to follow yellow scallops on a blue background or yellow arrows.

Via Francigena, is reported by brown panels, or not a drawing representing a yellow pilgrim on the move.

Finally, watch out for informal markupoften made by hikers themselves, it can sometimes indicate the wrong path. Cairns for example (small heaps of stones stacked by walkers), indicate the road to follow, of course, but are not official tags and can be misleading.

Learn to read and follow the tags

To find the tags on your road, look on the trees, the stones, the posts, they are generally at the eyes. Also take into account Panels at the start of the course which indicate the estimated time, the difficulty of your excursion and the mileage.

Several symbols are to be identified:

• The simple or double line: continue straight on your way. You are in the right direction.
• The cross: it indicates the wrong direction, the road not to be taken.
• The oblique / bifurcation line: it indicates that it is necessary to turn, in the direction of the tag.

What if I get lost?

If you are referring to the paths and you do not find the markup, do not panic, keep your calm and return to the last point you know, at the last tag encountered. Contact the emergency services if you need, especially if you are in the high mountains. You can also help yourself with a GPS application.

Before going hiking, prepare your route well. Ask about tourist offices, in paper guides and on the Internet. Do not hesitate to use IGN cards or other topos-guides!