GR20 Hike – 2013
In order to get some long distance hiking experience as I was saving my money for my Te Araroa hike, in 2013 I took advantage of a business trip to France to plan a hike on the GR20 in Corsica. The GR20 trail spreads across the Mediterranean island of Corsica (France) and is renown to be one of the most difficult hikes in the GR network of trails.
Corsica is a gorgeous island in the Mediterranean Sea where many hiking trails can be found. Main spoken languages are Corsican and French.
To get to and from the trail you have many options depending on where in Corsica you land. Having limited time, I organized my trip to land at the airport close to the southern terminus of the hike and to fly out of the airport at the Northern terminus, but flights are more expensive doing it this way. Another way is to try to work your way around the bus and train schedules in Corsica.
I hiked the trail from South to North as the flights schedule were more suited to my plans. Landing at the Figari Sud airport, I was able to make my way to the start of the trail by hitchhiking, which was relatively easy. I flew out of Calvi airport once I had completed my hike.
As this was my first long distance hike of more than three days, I was not sure of many kilometers a day I could do, especially since the trail is rated as difficult and therefore I planned more days than I needed to complete the hike. However, this allowed me to do shorter days, do side trips and stop early at the many huts along the way.
I used the following guidebook for my hike, which I thought was very useful: The GR20 Corsica: Complete Guide to the High Level Route (Cicerone Guides)
. The path to follow is obvious in most places, but some sections that are exposed or forested can be a little confusing. In June water was easily found, but I read that it can be an issue in August or September.
Corsica is a gorgeous island in the Mediterranean Sea where many hiking trails can be found. Main spoken languages are Corsican and French.
To get to and from the trail you have many options depending on where in Corsica you land. Having limited time, I organized my trip to land at the airport close to the southern terminus of the hike and to fly out of the airport at the Northern terminus, but flights are more expensive doing it this way. Another way is to try to work your way around the bus and train schedules in Corsica.
I hiked the trail from South to North as the flights schedule were more suited to my plans. Landing at the Figari Sud airport, I was able to make my way to the start of the trail by hitchhiking, which was relatively easy. I flew out of Calvi airport once I had completed my hike.
As this was my first long distance hike of more than three days, I was not sure of many kilometers a day I could do, especially since the trail is rated as difficult and therefore I planned more days than I needed to complete the hike. However, this allowed me to do shorter days, do side trips and stop early at the many huts along the way.
I used the following guidebook for my hike, which I thought was very useful: The GR20 Corsica: Complete Guide to the High Level Route (Cicerone Guides)
. The path to follow is obvious in most places, but some sections that are exposed or forested can be a little confusing. In June water was easily found, but I read that it can be an issue in August or September.
