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Episode summary

Marion Le Tanneur, a 28-year-old native of the Charente region of France, has embarked on a 2,000-kilometer solo trek across Kyrgyzstan, dubbed “Step by Steppes”. From her meticulous preparation to her two-week train journey from France, she shares her experience with La Sportive Outdoor.

From the Charente to the 4,000-kilometer Pacific Crest Trail

However, nothing predestined Marion to become an adept of long-distance roaming. As a child, she described herself as shy, not very sporty and even said she hated hiking. However, family vacations spent in tents on camping trips planted a seed and revealed her resourcefulness at an early age. At the age of just 8, she obtained her parents’ agreement to take the train alone from Angoulême to Paris to join her grandparents, a first adventure that opened up an infinite field of possibilities for her.

Much later, in March 2023, when she was going through an unfulfilling period of life during an internship in Paris, she decided on a whim to seek out the world’s longest treks and chose the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in the USA. Drawn at random to obtain her permit in November 2022, she took off alone to cover the 4,000 kilometers. This first total immersion in itinerancy definitively sealed her love of long-distance walking.

Genesis of “Step by Steppes”: A promise and an itinerary to be invented

The idea of crossing Kyrgyzstan in 2025 was born of a veritable butterfly effect. In the summer of 2024, Marion visited a museum in Chandolin, Switzerland, dedicated to Ella Maillart, a great explorer of Central Asia who was also a close friend of her grandfather. A month later, she listened to a podcast by Jérémie Vigier describing the beauty of the steppes and the hospitality of these peoples . The final trigger came at the beginning of 2025, when her grandfather died, and she made him a promise, just before his departure, to follow in Ella Maillard’s footsteps.

Unlike the PCT, where everything is marked out and documented, this time Marion has to create her route from scratch. To do so, she collected numerous maps, used Jérémie Vigier’s route and studied satellite images, in order to walk from the capital Bishkek to the Celestial Mountains, a 2,000-kilometer challenge. At the same time, she decided to combine her adventure with fund-raising for the Les Extraordinaires association, which works for the inclusion of people with mental disabilities. This cause is particularly close to her heart, as her own older sister is mentally handicapped.

The adventure before the adventure: two weeks on the rails

True to her early childhood adventures, and keen to travel with low-carbon values, Marion chose to travel from France to Kyrgyzstan by train. Accompanied by a childhood friend during the two-week journey, she planned the entire itinerary in just three hours, using specialized websites. This journey on the rails became an adventure in itself, marked by the gradual evolution of faces, food, landscapes and a multitude of memorable encounters.

Logistics, climate and nomadic hospitality in the heart of the steppes

Once in Kyrgyzstan, her friend leaves for France, and Marion begins her journey alone , facing the silent immensity of the steppes. She also has to deal with the language barrier, as the locals mainly speak Russian and Kyrgyz, forcing her to use the Google Translate application off-line and learn the basics of Russian vocabulary during her train journey.

In terms of logistics, she carries a 50-liter backpack weighing between 9 and 10 kilos when full. It contains the essentials for sleeping (tent, sleeping bag, mattress), a stove with a gas cylinder found in Bishkek, micro-crampons for the snow, a reading light, a small camera and a solar panel. She filters her water directly from rivers and lakes, and plans to buy supplies every five days from village mini-markets. The climate is extremely changeable, from temperatures close to 40°C in Bishkek to freezing nights at an altitude of 3,000 meters in the Celestial Mountains in August.

Each day’s walk is around 30 to 35 kilometers long, and is punctuated by the incredible welcome of the Kirghiz people. This semi-nomadic people, who live in yurts from June to September to graze their herds, constantly invite her to drink tea. Marion remembers a memorable encounter with a father and his two children, who invited her into their home. Against all odds, the family invited her to a friend’s wedding. The mother lent her her own clothes, did her make-up and supplied her with high-heeled shoes! She spent an unforgettable day and evening as the only tourist among the guests, accepted by all, before spending the night with her hosts.

Faced with doubts and physical pain

This three-month long journey was not without its difficulties. Marion first had to face an unexpected psychological challenge: the fear of the locals themselves. Concerned for her safety, many Kyrgyz tried to dissuade her from advancing by referring to the presence of wolves, bears or the absence of trails behind the mountain, which temporarily shook her confidence and legitimacy. With time, she came to understand that these fears were legitimate, as they were linked to predator attacks on their herds, but that the locals mainly stayed in their summer pastures (the jailos) without necessarily exploring the surrounding area.

Physically, the adventure became an ordeal during the second half of the route due to a violent foot pain. Marion continued to walk for miles and days, ending her days in tears. After a month of suffering, she underwent an MRI which revealed a completely broken toe. To complete this project, for which she had left her job and her apartment, she chose to adapt and shorten the end of her route after a teleconsultation with a French doctor. As a single woman, she says she has never felt the slightest sense of insecurity in three months, stressing instead the constant willingness of the locals to protect her.

Conclusion

After three months on the road, Marion Le Tanneur draws a more than positive assessment of her expedition, saying that the generosity and hospitality she encountered restored her faith in humanity. The project also raised the profile of the Les Extraordinaires association, as two of its members joined her on the journey. The two-week return by train proved to be an indispensable and beneficial airlock for writing, reading and smoothly digesting the transition to normal life at 100 miles an hour.

Although she’s getting ready to set off on the 15-day John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada in the USA with friends from the PCT this summer, she doesn’t yet have any immediate major itinerancy plans. For women who dare not take the plunge, Marion reminds them that they are totally legitimate, and invites them to deconstruct their fears by focusing on what adventure can bring. She concludes with this magnificent quote that guides her steps: ” by teaching us to fear the night, we have been deprived of the stars “.

Links

• Marion’s Instagram: https: //www.instagram.com/marionletanneur/
• Association les Extraordinaires: https://www.instagram.com/les.extraordinaires