Bagnolais Stephan Llorca recounts his tour of France on foot one year to the day after his departure from Carme

The walker publishes a report of his days in the evening on his social networks. Stephan Llorca

On May 29, 2023, Stephan Llorca began his tour of France on foot from Carme, near Bagnols-sur-Cèze. A year later, the Bagnolais traveled 8,800 kilometers crossing nine regions. It still has nearly 2,300,km to discover.

A year ago today, Stephan Llorca left Carme, a small hamlet in Sabran a few kilometers from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, to discover France on foot. Midi Libre had met him just before his departure. 365 days later, the Gardois had accumulated 8 800 kilometers in the legs. And since miles wear out shoes, this former tobacconist changed his shoes last week for the sixth time in a year. He is currently walking in the Jura. "The days pass faster and faster. It’s intense but it’s going really well. I'm starting games with more elevation, between 500 and 600m per day. The steps are longer and more complicated."The hardest part awaits him in the coming months as he will walk the paths of Savoie with stages totaling 1,200 meters of altitude difference towards the Swiss border.

His itinerary changes "day to day" depending on the weather. "Right now, there are a lot of storms. I am often forced to shorten my days." While he had to pass through Hérault before returning to Gard, the Hikers should ignore the neighboring department. "I prefer to enjoy Savoie, the Hautes-Alpes and the Verdon. I will then be on the Côte d’Azur and in the creeks in September to avoid the extreme heat of summer."

40 000 people follow his adventure on Facebook

His journey sparked excitement in the different departments he crossed. The local media are relaying his story and Stephan is now accumulating articles devoted to him. On his Facebook page "Steph Road Llorca", his community  continues to grow. It has gone from 19,000 to almost 40,000 subscribers since December.

It’s this same community that walks a short distance with him during the day and welcomes him in the evening. "The people  follow my adventure and kindly offer to host me. Nine times out of ten I stay with a local. These are just great encounters." The Bagnolais often leaves with a few extra grams in his bag. "It's well stocked with the flags and key chains that people hang on." This winter, the scale showed 15 kg. With the big stages to come, Stephan Llorca has relieved himself. "There were days when my back really hurt. So I sent some winter stuff home to get it down to 12kg."

A return to Carme planned for next October

After having already crossed nine regions, there are still two left to explore: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region . The time has not yet come to an end, but the Bagnolais fell in love with Brittany, which he explored for three months. The objective for the athlete will be to reach 500 days of walking. Even if he doesn't prefer "not to think about it and enjoy the present moment", his return is planned around Next October 10.

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