GR20 Trail Profile:
Trail: Grande Randonnée 20
Where: Corsica, France
Distance: 190 km, Calenzana - Conca
Days on trail: 11 (missed the last three days due to storms)
Grade: Hard+
Optimal season: June - September
Resupplies: 1 (Corte)
The trail in a nutshell: The GR20 is notoriously known as the toughest long-distance trail in Europe. While I certainly haven’t hiked them all, I bet my bottom dollar that it is. The GR20 is really hard. Don’t do it if you have bad knees, a fear of heights, don’t do well in the heat and you’re not into adrenaline rushes. I don’t usually recommend trails for certain people because I believe anyone has a shot at thru-hiking, but please don’t attempt this trail unless you are highly experienced and fit. Actually, I’m kind of hesitant to call it a hiking trail, because it implies that you’ll be doing an activity using mostly your legs. On the GR20, you will be scrambling and climbing for significant stretches. The northern section is the most rugged, and of the 8 days I took for this section, I could stretch my legs and really walk for about 1,5 of them.
Now that the BEWARE part of advice is done with, I will hand it to the GR20: it is a crazy beautiful trail. You will traverse some of the wildest, most rugged landscapes in Europe. Every day will bring astonishing views, and there are numerous lovely natural pools to swim in. The trail is divided into stages, all neatly described in Cicerone’s GR20 guidebook. Many hikers, myself included, carried this great little companion and had no need for other maps. The trail is extraordinarily well marked with double white/red stripes every few metres. However, I still lost the trail multiple times, especially coming down scrambles. It’s pretty telling of the GR20’s character that the actual trail is often impossible to distinguish from the surrounding rockface.
There are refuges/bergeries (basic mountain huts) on all stages. I carried my own tent, but the refuges have tents for hire, or you can alternatively sleep in the dormitories. It’s a calculation of cost vs. weight. Same goes for food – I prefer to carry my own supplies because I’m a picky eater, and the food at the refuges is very expensive and low standard (think pasta with tomato sauce, lentil soup etc for about 20€). Some refuges have fresher supplies available, just make sure you carry enough cash – I didn’t. I resupplied in Nice, but you can also get good selections in larger towns such as Bastia or Porto Vecchio.
Most people walk the GR20 SOBO. I’d actually recommend walking NOBO, that way you start off with the much easier and shorter southern section before tackling the wild north. The northermost part (stage 2 & 3) is decidedly the hardest. Just don’t fry me for my advice when you’re coming down what will be a hideous descent from the Monte Cinto crest. There is ice cream in Ascu waiting for you! My final tip is don’t rush. Doing double stages in one day may seem appealing, but the heat will hit you hard. Start as early as you can, no later than 06-07 in the morning. And enjoy those glorious sunrises!