In September 2024, my dad and I hiked across Corsica on the famous GR20 trail. This beautiful and challenging thru hike took us ten days to complete.
This is the first of two posts recapping this amazing trekking adventure and giving the video above more details.
Hiking gear for the gr20
I brought the same equipment I had on the GR10 which you can see here, except for three very important changes.
Hiking shoes: Asolo Freney EVO GV. My Salomons XA Wild were completely destroyed after the GR10. The Asolos came in highly recommended. I liked their high top and comfort. So far they are the best hiking shoes I've owned.
Tent: Tarptent Scarp 2. I am in love with this tent. I dished out some cash for it which was well worth it. Light (under 2kg for a two person tent), sturdy and spacious, this four season tent is my new favourite.
Sleeping pad: Exped Ultra 7R. I bought this one years ago for camping around Vancouver in the winter. It's comfortable and warm but pretty heavy. I figured if I had good sleep I could carry a few extra grams.
Sleeping bag: Mckinley Trekker 10. I switched my Valendre sleeping bag which is a -15 winter sleeping bag. I didn't expect the temperature to drop that low in the GR20 camps and bought the Mckinley. I was twice as light which was nice.
These four items had given me grief on the Pyrenees hike, and I was eager to use these new items.
Disaster before the hike even starts
We were supposed to take a ferry on a Thursday. Assuming that ferries would not leave earlier than planned, we showed up on time, only to see the ferry leave the harbour without us. I had failed to read the whole confirmation email indicating the departing time had been moved up two hours.
The sad image of the ferry's rear end slowly sailing away from me while I'm cursing in French and English is forever seared in my memory.
Always thoroughly read the email sent by the ferry company because apparently time changes are not included in the email's title.
Now for the fun part.
Day 1: Successfully getting on the Ferry
After buying another ticket and quadruple checking the departure date, we boarded the following day from Toulon.
Toulon is a big port city in the South of France and has a good rugby team. We spent a few hours hanging out in a library where I read the DC's Injustice. We hung out on the port and had delightful mussels.
I was eyeing the ferries assiduously, scared by yesterday's misfortune.
The ferry travels at night. We boarded at 8 pm and left around 10 pm.
It was my first time sleeping in a cabin on a ferry, the experience was very pleasant. We had a comfortable four person cabin for the two of us.
Side note: The ferries are busy. I highly recommend booking your tickets a few weeks in advance. If you've never booked with the ferry company before I also highly recommend you do so by calling them. I found the website pretty confusing.
Day 2: Starting the GR20
We woke up at 8 am and enjoyed a few moments on the bow, watching Corsica get closer and closer. It was really cool to see the mountains we were going to hike in the distance.
The ferry arrived at l'Ile Rousse, where we took a small train to Calvi. This small beach town has a beautiful citadel, where we had our coffee and stocked up on cheese and bread for the hike.
We hitchhiked to Calenzana, where the GR20 starts. It was really easy, we got picked up 10 seconds after throwing up our thumb.
The start of the GR20 hike is a gently uphill trail that meanders in the hills. You get exceptional views of Calvi and the coast for hours.
After reaching the first mountain pass, we were introduced to the real GR20: extremely steep paths going straight up on the rocks.
We started hiking around 2 pm and only saw 4-5 other people on the trail. "Ok, this trail doesn't seem too busy" I thought. How I was wrong...
When we arrived at the Ortu refuge we saw the real number of hikers. There must have been at least a hundred of us. The atmosphere was very pleasant, everyone was in a good mood, happy to have done the first stage without a hitch.
The refuge along this hike are very different from the ones on the GR10. Most of these ones are tents that are already set up and can be rented out. In some of the refuge you can also sleep in dorm rooms but the capacity is much smaller than the ones I was used to.
On top of not having to haul your tent around, rented tents offer the advantage of being set up on flat wooden surfaces. There are lots of tent placements we could use, but arriving late meant that we got leftover slopped ones.
We had our first high carb, high calorie meal made of pasta, saucisson and cheese and slept like happy toddlers.
This 12km stage took us 4h25.
Day 2: Doubling the stages
11.5km, 9h4o
The GR20 is organized into 16 daily stages. We had planned to hike it in 10, meaning we had to complete two stages in one day on some occasions. On paper, the stages don't look that hard, but the second day showed us exactly why this trek is the toughest one in France.
The mountains of Corsica are very steep and the trails are rocky. I had to focus on each step of the way. You usually go straight up a mountain, only to go straight down the other side. Switchbacks are few and far in between but at least there are chains and handholds in the rocks to facilitate the journey.
To make matters worse, I woke up with intense knee pain. It was different from the one I had on the GR10 and I was bummed out that this happened, despite all the physical prep I'd done prior to this adventure.
One thing the GR10 taught me is that sh*t happens and you find ways to keep going. It also taught me to carry a knee brace just in case.
The pain was on the outer tendons below the knee and the knee brace seemed to help a little.
This stage was rough but offered some of the best weather and views we had over the whole adventure.
We stopped at the Corrazu refuge for lunch. We were a little tired but pushing on towards the Asco refuge seemed very feasible, plus it was only 1 pm when we reached this camp.
The final descent towards the Asco refuge was brutal, it was very, very steep and our legs were so tired after going up and down the previous passes. I find these moments to be challenging mentally. Of course, it feels like a very intense leg workout, but our minds can dictate how we perceive those challenges.
Part of me wanted to complain about my sore muscles, the length of the day's hike or even that my knee brace was shaffing the back of my knee.
I slowed down my pace, chatted with my dad and other hikers (who were going through the same gruelling descent) and focused on the beauty of the surroundings.
When I hear that little voice wanting to complain, I immediately make a conscious effort to notice all the positives surrounding me.
The Asco refuge is in a small ski resort, it was very easy to find a flat surface for our tent and the open kitchen was very well equipped. We were able to rest our bodies and had another great sleep.
Day 3: Mount Cinto, the tallest summit of Corsica
9km, 9h
We were very excited about day 3. We were only doing one stage that day due to it's difficulty. The plan was to go throught the Pointe Des Eboulies which is the tallest pass of the GR20 and then do an out and back detour to the Mount Cinto summit.
This is the tallest summit of Corsica and well worth the detour on a clear sky day. When the sky is relatively clear, you can see both the East and West coast of the island.
You can skip it if overcast or overly cloudy.
The first couple hours of the morning were a little crowded, everyone left Asco around 7 am. As the ascent progressed the density of hikers dropped and we were soon by ourselves again.
The temperature dropped a little near the top, especially in the shade. We saw snow and ice near the top. A few days later, we learned that this pass was completely snowed in and the trail closed.
Once you reach the pass, you can drop your hiking back on the side of the trail to ascend the summit unencumbered. The thought of people stealing our bags crossed our minds but realistically, who would want to steal a 15 kg bag on top of their own?
Going to the summit and back adds on average two hours to the hike.
The descent toward the Ballone farms was long but not as steep as the previous day's. We took our time and reached the farm around 5 pm.
Accommodations on the GR20
There are two types of lodging on the GR20.
The refuges. These are public refuges owned and operated by the regional park.
The farms. These are private properties in the regional parks. Although called farms (bergeries in French), they look just like the refuges, with a main house with a restaurant and camping spots.
Both of these are well equipped and the staff in each are nice and friendly.
The big advantage of the farms is that you don't have to reserve your spot ahead of time. The refuges charge 9 euros per person if you have a reservation. If you just show up unannounced, the price doubles to 18 euros.
The farms charge a flat rate of 9 euros regardless of reservation.
18 euros for a tent placement is too much for me, and that's why we spend most of our nights in farms.
Day 4: The GR20's longest stage
28km, 11h
Day four was supposed to be the flattest, after the first couple hours of hiking.
We left the farm at 7 am and hiked up towards the Ciottulu refuge. We encountered our first fog of the adventure. There's a steep portion 30 min after the farm and then it mellows out for the rest of the day.
The descent after Ciottulu is gradual, and you hike beside a lovely river for a while. We had lunch right beside the stream.
That day's hike can be cut into two smaller segments if you stay at the Castel de Vergio, halfway between the Ciottulu and Manganu refuges.
There's also a campground beside the hotel. It was drizzling and foggy so we decided to keep walking. The second part of the trail was very flat compared to what we'd seen the past few days.
We reached the Lac Nino just before nightfall. It started pouring rain shortly after the lake and we reached the Vachaggia farms soaked and in total darkness.
We set up the tent and had dinner inside it, listening to the rain battering our tent.
Day 5: Another long haul
21km, 10h30
We were very happy that our tent was completely water proof. When you buy this tent you can choose to water seal it yourself to save a few dollars. It was fun to do but next time I'll pay the company to do it. It was rewarding to see we'd done a good job of it though.
Our itinerary had us double up the stages again today. We had on and off rain with some sun throughout the day.
The first part of the hike brought us to the Pietra Pienna refuge, one of the oldest on the GR20.
There is a shortcut you can take to the Onda refuge by hiking up and down a ridge, instead of hiking down and up a valley.
Unfortunately, there was a thunderstorm warning, and wanting to play it safe we took the long way. It was a nice stroll through a forest and we saw lots of salamanders!
We had a heated conversation about doping in sports, whether it should be legalized or not. We both had strong opinions about both options and it made the last couple of hours go by easily.
Day 6: North and South part of the GR20
10km, 6h
The GR20 track can be broken into two distinct parts: the North and South part.
People say the North part is much tougher and more mountainous. I definitely felt battered on the 6th day, and thinking about reaching halfway at Vizzavone was envigorating.
We woke up with sore legs and made our final climb of the Northern part. The morning clouds gradually cleared throughout the day and we enjoyed a scenic hike to Vizzavone.
We arrived early, around 1 pm and got a perfect tent placement. We were able to completely relax. We loaded up on groceries and I reserved our return ferry tickets.
Next week we will recap the Southern part of the GR20.
Beautiful pictures! It's nice to see thee beautiful landscapes without having to go up and down rocky slopes!