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Vancouver, BC
Canada
272 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2006 : 9:53 PM
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GR20, or Grande Randonnée 20, is Corsica's long-distance haute route. The trail runs along Corsica's watershed. It starts in Calenzana in the north and ends, 180 km later, in Conca in the south. Most guidebooks describe it as the hardest, most challenging, long-distance hike in Europe. It certainly is a relentless up and down hike that many people do not finish. Although there are no reliable statistics it does seem reasonable to say, based on my observations, that half of the people leave the trail well before reaching the end. The rewards are grand views of the whole island, exposure to Corsican culture and a way of life that changed a little over the years. If you are lucky you will see the Mediterranean sea in the east and in the west at the same time and meet some amazing people who spent most of their lives in these mountains.
A slide show with information particular to our trip is available from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/runningclouds/281153391/in/set-72157594348104728/
This post has far more practical info on the GR20 than the slideshow. I wrote these points just in case I want to return one day. Some of them are responses to questions by people who are curious or planning to hike the GR20 trail. Some of these observations apply to all the long distance hikes in Corsica of which the GR20 is the longest, most remote and definitely most challenging. Do remember that all of the observations happened between September 20 and October 1, 2006.
GR20 Stages (etapes)
The GR20 is divided into 16 stages, each one ending in a refuge (mountain hut). The refuges and bergeries (shepherds' huts) are the only places where you are allowed to camp. Places marked with an asterisk (*) provide an alternative accommodations, usually a hotel or a gite d'etape (something similar to a hostel).
There is a lot of room for improvisations and doubling of stages; lots of people take the full 16 days or more, others take anywhere between 4 (ultra-marathoners) and 15 days.
1. Calenzana* - Refuge d'Ortu di u Piobbu
2. Refuge d'Ortu di u Piobbu - Refuge de Carrozzu
3. Refuge de Carrozzu - Asco Stagnu*
4. Asco Stagnu - Refuge de Tighjettu
5. Refuge de Tighjettu - Refuge Ciottulu a i Mori
6. Refuge Ciottulu a i Mori - Castel di Verghio*
7. Castel di Verghio - Refuge de Manganu
8. Refuge de Manganu - Refuge de Pietra Piana
9. Refuge de Pietra Piana - Refuge d'Onda
10. Refuge d'Onda - Vizzavona*
11. Vizzavona - E'Capannelle
12. E'Capannelle - Refuge de Prati
13. Refuge de Prati - Refuge d'Usciolu
14. Refuge d'Usciolu - Refuge d'Asinau
15. Refuge d'Asinau - Refuge de Paliri
16. Refuge de Paliri - Conca*
Climate
In one word: nice. Typical Mediterranean climate. We did go through the first significant storm of the fall, 48 hours of heavy torrential rain but otherwise it was mostly sunny and mild. Here is a section of the trail turned into an improptu stream:
Here is my record of 6 AM temperatures:
15°C - September 20, 275 m (Calenzana)
9°C - September 21, 1,570 m (D'Ortu)
9°C - September 22, 1,270 m (Refuge de Carrozzu)
10°C - September 23, 1,422 m (Asco)
12°C - September 24, 1,440 m (Bergeries de Vallone)
8°C - September 25, 1,743 m (Lac de Nino)
6°C - September 26, 1,601 m (Refuge de Manganu)
7°C - September 27, 1,430 m (Refuge d'Onda)
12°C - September 28, 965 m (Vizzavona)
9°C - September 29, 1,586 m (E'Capannelle)
9°C - September 30, 1,525 m (Bocca di Laparo)
7°C - October 1, 1,538 m (Refuge d'Asinau)
14°C - October 1, 252 m (Conca)
Prices (2006)
The refuges are run by the PNRC (Parc Naturel Régional de Corse) an equivalent of a national or provincial park in Canada. Additionally there are private bergeries that offer similar services for similar prices.
Euro 4.50 per person camping
Euro 9.50 per person sleeping in the hut
Euro 33.00 per person half-board at E'Capannelle Gite d'Etape (dinner + breakfast + hostel like accommodations with hot shower and running toilets)
Euro 46.00 per person/night at Hotel d'Oro (Vizzavona)
Euro 56.00 per person/night at Hotel Casa Vecchia in Calvi
Euro 2.00 per regular size Mars bar
Euro 4.00-6.00 per can of beer
Euro 9.00-15.00 per evening meal
Euro 4.00 Baguettes/Bread (Euro 1.50 at places reached by a road)
Euro 4.00 - 5.50 for 300g of cookies (canistrelli)
Euro 2.50 for 250 g of pasta
Euro 4.00 for a tube of tomato paste
GR20 Maps
IGN (Institut Geographique National, www.ign.fr) publishes excellent and very detailed line of maps called Carte Topographique TOP 25 (1:25,000). The whole GR20 is shown on these maps:
4149 OT Calvi: Cirque de Bonifatu; covers stages: 1,2
4250 OT Corte: Monte Cinto; covers stages: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (also second half of Stage 1)
4251 OT Monte d'Oro and Monte Rotondo; covers stages: 7, 8, 9, 10
4252 OT Monte Renoso: Bastelica; covers stages: 11, 12, 13
4253 ET Aiguilles de Bavella, Solenzara; covers stages: 13, 14, 15, 16
The maps were useful as our guidebook had only simple hand-drawn maps. I saw French and German guidebooks that had relevant sections of the above TOP 25 maps reproduced and that were absolutely sufficient for the hike, however, if you can read maps well the IGN sheets show the terrain far better than guidebook descriptions which tend to be quite personal.
GR20 Guidebook
We carried Trekking in Corsica by David Abram, First edition (2002), ISBN 1-873756-63-1, 320 pages, 400 g
I found this book OK, it is rather heavy on text and short on visuals (I got the sense the author was paid by the number of words). All maps for the GR20 are hand-drawn. It covers Corsica in general as well as the GR20 and the other long-distance hikes on the island. Three out of six phone numbers listed did not work, maybe there will be an updated version soon.
If you can read French or German there are many guides specific to GR20 that are lighter and more informative. The French ones (foe example: GR20 - A travers la montagne corse (Topo 067)) were widely available in Calvi and in Bastia.
After coming back I found this English guidebook www.cicerone.co.uk/product/detail.cfm/book/477/title/gr20---corsica (it has schematic maps only, no topos :(
GR20 Exit points
Many people do just the north part of the trail from Calenzana to Vizzavona or the south part from Vizzavona to Conca. Vizzavona has scheduled train and bus service and is a very convenient place to get off or on the trail. The road running through Col de Vizzavona is the main connection between the east and west coast.
Other exit points that sit right on the GR20:
Asco Stagnu, reachable by car, is the trailhead for climbing the highest peak in Corsica and sees quite a bit traffic, you should have no problem hitch-hiking from there.
Castel di Verghio sits on a road from Porto to Corte, some traffic (22 cars in 50 minutes) but no scheduled bus.
E'Capannelle sits at the end of road from Ghisoni but there did not seem to be a lot of traffic (1 car in 4 hours).
A road from Ghisoni to Cozzano crosses the GR20 at Bocca di Verdi (Stage 12), low traffic (3 cars in 25 minutes), no scheduled bus.
Another road from Ajaccio to the east coast crosses the GR20 at Col de Bavella (stage 15), this road is going through some spectacular landscape and sees a lot of traffic, hitch-hiking should be a snap.
Otherwise note that most of the refuges are few hours from a village.
South to North or the other way?
The North section is, by far, harder and more rugged. Some of the sections are impassable in bad weather, especially during thunderstorms (i.e lightning). The South is a bit more mellow, it is as exposed to incoming weather as the north but it does not seem to be prone to creating it is "own" weather. Both starting points, Calenzana and Conca, sit at approximately the same elevation so your elevation gain/loss will be the same in both directions. The major advantage of going North to South is that all the hard uphills are North facing; get an early start and you can get most of your climbing done in the shade. This is a significant advantage, especially in July and August.
Wild camping?
There are plenty of signs prohibiting camping here and there, even more signs that say you are allowed to camp around the refuges or bergeries only. At first I thought this was strictly an environmental issue, you know wilderness management as we know it from our national parks. As we went on I realized that this has more to do with money collecting than anything else. Read the caption here www.flickr.com/photos/runningclouds/281163180/in/set-72157594348104728/
Anyway we ended up camping "out-of-bounds" twice. We did it "leave no trace" style, of course, and I have no remorse for doing so. If there really was any concern for the mountain environment then the Corsicans would have gotten rid of all the domestic animals, which are these days kept more or less for the subsidies they bring, courtesy of EU, than anything else. Needles to say signs of overgrazing are almost everywhere.
Water filter
We had one but did not use it. We carried a 1L Nalgene bottle and a 3L and 2L hydration bags. All the refuges have source of potable water, so do all the working bergeries (shepherds' huts) and even those that have been abandoned usually had some spring or otherwise potable water. Plus there are additional springs and fontanas (drinking fountains) along the way. Personally if I did the GR20 again, even in midsummer, I would not bring the filter along; ability to carry 3L per person is all that is needed. However if you plan to drink surface water bring your pump as there are domestic animals wandering all over the place all the way up to some peaks; humans are not much better taking care of their own feces.
Stove
White gas availability is limited to the coastal cities. In the mountains the blue gas cartridges were available for sale at Asco Stagnu, Castel di Verghio, Vizzavona and Bavella. The refuges do not sell cartridges, but they all provide cooking facilities indoors for those staying the refuge and outdoors for campers. During the high season be prepared to wait or bring your own stove. We bought three small cartridges (225 g) in Calvi, used two for 7 days worth of breakfast and dinners. The rest of the time we used the gas range in the huts.
Boots
I hiked the whole trail in my running shoes, although I bought new insoles specifically for the hike. (Also I brought a pair of goretex socks which came handy.) If you are used to hike with a multi-day pack in running or trail running shoes than you will be OK. There are very short scree sections but most of it is just fine for running shoes.
Additional information (added on 9 August 2007)
This website has more information on hiking in Corsica.
http://corsica.forhikers.com/
That's about it. There is nothing like this in North America so if you are ready or looking for a change the GR20 is highly recommended.
Martin
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Edited by - runningclouds on 08/09/2007 5:10 PM
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 Maple syrup lovin', tree huggin', face paintin' relocated Québécoise who is VERY serious about having fun
Vancouver
Canada
2616 Posts |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
272 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2006 : 2:10 PM
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| Thanks for the link SnowSeeker! The trail is definetely a fun hike to do and I totally agree with Trailbum: bring as little as possible. In Canada we are used to the fact that once we leave the trailhead we have to be totally self-sufficient. It is exactly the oposite on the GR20: if you forget something you can get it at the refuge. That's what makes the GR20 so much fun, you can be far more care-free there than here. |
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Montreal, QC
Canada
586 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2006 : 3:54 PM
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* sigh *
Brings back nice memories...!   |
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Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
LOGAN LAKE, B.C.
Canada
8579 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2006 : 10:46 PM
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Beautiful photography, so vivid full of colour and life in your presentation.
Very nice.
Regards, |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
272 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2006 : 8:29 PM
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| Karvitk; thank you for your compliment. I am glad you enjoyed the slideshow. |
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Trail running, bike hucking, fast packing, beer drinking collector of pine cones on a day pass
AKA
Dances with Trees
Forest Gnome Cabin
Canada
10976 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2006 : 7:12 PM
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One of the better slideshows I've seen all year. You captured a lot of fine images 
Sure would like to try that route someday |
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New Westminster, BC
Canada
183 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2006 : 9:15 PM
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| My husband and I went to Corsica in April with the intention of doing the GR20 however we knew as soon as we flew there that this wouldn't happen once we saw the snow on the peaks. So we ended up doing some other multi-day hikes which we really enjoyed. We definitely plan on going back one day to do the GR20. Corsica's a great place for hiking. Thanks for your trip report runningclouds. I wondered about the temperatures especially. Looks like there were a lot of people. |
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Telkwa
1176 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2007 : 07:56 AM
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| I've never even thought of hiking in this area. Wow, what an incredible place. Thanks for all the slides (some very beautiful photos) and info. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
272 Posts |
Posted - 05/10/2007 : 8:08 PM
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telkwa, give it a try. The hiking is fabulous, you'll meet lots of nice folks (as is the case in mountains everywhere) and there are some spectacular beaches to relax on afterwards.  |
Edited by - runningclouds on 05/10/2007 8:08 PM |
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Best grilled cheese maker ever
Vancouver
Canada
1731 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 11:46 AM
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| I had never seen this thread until now. What kind of Trevisani am I? |
Edited by - darren on 07/28/2007 11:46 AM |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
272 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2007 : 12:07 AM
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| What kind of riddle is that? |
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New York, New York
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2007 : 4:27 PM
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Wonderful report notes and wonderful slideshow. Your pictures persuaded me to tackle the GR20 on my European holiday this year.
I am not sure what you mean by surface water (in your report above)? Do you think it is all right to go without a filter or chemical treatment?
Thanks runninglouds!
Helena of Troy |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
272 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2007 : 1:35 PM
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Helena, thanks for your compliment.
Surface water = lakes, ponds, rivers, creeks, puddles. Not safe to drink without filter or chemical treatment in Corsica (or for that matter almost anywhere else).
Drinking water is, however, available along the GR20 at reasonable intervals. All the refuges, gite d'etape and hotels provide water. In between you will find springs (usually marked on the trail, also mentioned in guidebooks and marked on maps) and the bergeries all have drinking water as well. 2-3 L bottle will last between these water sources.
Have a fun trip! |
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New York, New York
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2007 : 3:41 PM
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| I won't likely have enough time for the whole trail. Which sections can be doubled up? Would you recommend the north or the south section? How did you get to Calenzina? Is there a bus service? Thank you so much for your help. HoT |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
272 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2007 : 11:23 PM
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I think both sections, North and South, of the GR20 are beautiful treks. The North is more dramatic, jagged peaks, steep trail. THe South is more mellow, more like hill walking.
If you finish Cirque of Solitude by noon it is possible to double up stage 4 and 5.
4. Asco Stagnu - Refuge de Tighjettu
5. Refuge de Tighjettu - Refuge Ciottulu a i Mori
Number 6 and 7 can be doubled up as well but it is a long long day.
6. Refuge Ciottulu a i Mori - Castel di Verghio*
7. Castel di Verghio - Refuge de Manganu
We doubled up number 8 and 9, 12 hours of walking in the rain 
8. Refuge de Manganu - Refuge de Pietra Piana
9. Refuge de Pietra Piana - Refuge d'Onda
We also doubled up the last two days, again very long day. 14 hours.
15. Refuge d'Asinau - Refuge de Paliri
16. Refuge de Paliri - Conca*
We took a bus from Calvi to Calenzana. It leaves from the corner of Avenue Christophe Colomb and Quai Landry. Not sure about the schedule, I think it is twice a day, morning and evening. THere is a transportation office there that sells tickets and has schedule. (Our bus was 50 minutes late, aparently quite normal)
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=104240738871196210260.00000112003f9c1f75f63&ll=42.562532,8.751125&spn=0.007744,0.01487&z=17&om=1
Happy trip! |
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New York, New York
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 08/14/2007 : 10:28 PM
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Thank you so much!  |
Edited by - Helena of Troy on 08/14/2007 10:28 PM |
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Calgary, Alberta
Canada
73 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2007 : 6:20 PM
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Hi Martin, we will be starting the GR20 on Sept. 15/07 and we have found your trip information from 2006 very useful. We have decided to leave our MSR water filter behind (first trip without it but we are trying like mad to reduce weight) after hearing that there was potable water at the huts. Couple questions:
1. Sleeping bags - how low of a temp rating did you go with?
2. Any bugs? I am so used to carrying DEET in the rockies and other parts of the world for sand flies, no see ums, marsh flies etc. Any bugs to worry about?
3. Any critters looking for food like mice when you were camping near the huts?
4. Did you have a chance to do some side trips? Any you would highly recommend? Any you would say to skip?
5. Toilet paper at the huts? We will be carrying some but wondering how much?
6. Getting from Conca back to Calvi seems a bit difficult, you guys took the train from Bastia to Calvi but how did you get to Bastia?
Thanks for any info you can pass on.
Nadine
Another spectacular long distance hiking route to do is the AV2 in the northern Dolomite mountains of Italy. Amazing high stuff, sometimes two mountain passes a day (we even had a friend meet us with ice axes and crampons and we hiked over the Marmolada glacier), we carried all our food but since there was no tenting we had to stay in the huts. |
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179 Posts |
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Calgary, Alberta
Canada
73 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2007 : 09:09 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by frenchie
I remember Trailbum also did this one last year, you might want to get in touch, and here's his link:
http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17550&SearchTerms=GR20
Yeah I should do that, I thought I would ask this Martin first as he hiked during the same time of year that we will be hiking and he sounds like he hikes super light (like we are trying to do!). |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
272 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2007 : 3:18 PM
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Nadine,
Sorry I did not respond in time I was away all of September and most of October, fist on holiday then on business. No time to check the board. I hope you had a great trip.
It is too late for you but here are my responses in case anyone else is interested:
1. Sleeping bags - how low of a temp rating did you go with?
3 season bags with full length size zippers; when it got too hot we used them as blankets.
2. Any bugs? I am so used to carrying DEET in the rockies and other parts of the world for sand flies, no see ums, marsh flies etc. Any bugs to worry about?
No bugs in September.
3. Any critters looking for food like mice when you were camping near the huts?
We kept all food in a stuffsack inside a backpack and had no problems with rodents. THey are there but they are not very aggressive.
4. Did you have a chance to do some side trips? Any you would highly recommend? Any you would say to skip?
No side trips for us, we were on a rather tight schedule which is something I regret. The highest peak in Corsica is a day hike from Asco Stagnu and the view is, I was told, spectacular.
5. Toilet paper at the huts? We will be carrying some but wondering how much?
Hit and miss: some places provided toilet paper but some did not. It seems to get worse toward the end of the season when the huts start to close down.
6. Getting from Conca back to Calvi seems a bit difficult, you guys took the train from Bastia to Calvi but how did you get to Bastia?
We hitchhiked from Conca to the main road on the coast to a small town (cant remember the name) and caught a bus from Porto Vecchio to Bastia. |
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GR20, Corsica, France - September 2006
