We are off to hike the GR20 in Corsica in September, carrying everything with us in a rucksack apart from a hot meal at the evening mountain refuges. Just wondering if anyone else has done it and how did you find it/enjoy it. (Appreciate it's going to be difficult trekking/scrambling day after day, with mind over matter and everything).
The only conundrum I have is which tent to take, a sturdier but heavier tent (hilleberg akto) or a lighter, colder and more meshy tent (msr hubba nx)?
We'll be packing as light as possible!!
Or otherwise anyone done a mountain thru hike somewhere else want to share some tips?
Not hiked there, but have been there and camped in September. I would have thought the lightweight tent would be more than adequate. We were swimming in the rivers and rock climbing in shorts only quite happily at that time of year. Weight is always the enemy when hiking distances in rough terrain.
Haven't done it myself but know lots of people who have.
It depends how long you have.
If in a hurry carry as little as possible.
Why not stay in the mountain huts then you only need a sheet sleeping bag? When I looked at this last year I thought the camping opportunities where quite restricted - or did I get that wrong?
Edit: I have done this sort of trip in slovenia, italy, france and mallorca staying in the mountain huts. Carrying a sheet sleeping bag / very light sleeping bag and pillow case and ultra lightweight bivvy kit is what I would do so taking the opportunity to sleeping the huts if the weather was inclement or I wanted a shower with occasional bivvying rather than intending to camp every night.
multi day trekking is something I do a fair amount of. I think the key is not to set unrealistic distances so you can take your time. We do 10 - 12 miles with 1000m of climbing in a day max. ( but we are in our late 50s) Certainly for us walking in hot conditions takes more out of you. Camelback for water and be prepared to carry a lot. at least 3l each. If you get the chance to freeze a half full camelback then top up with water in the morning its great - cold water all day. sunhat can be very useful as well and lots of sunscreen - you can be out in the sun all day with little respite
How are you getting to Corsica? We were looking at doing this but couldn't find a way to get to Corsica that wasn't a pain. either 3 flights or fly to Nice/ Marseille and overnight ferry
Road biked out there in September . It was hot every day, well up in the 20's in the afternoons , bit less in the morning.
Great temps overnight , warm but not hot. It rained one night very heavily but not for long , the sun dried it in a couple of hours.
Its really hilly, the Haute Corse area is alpine teritory with snow in the winter . I averaged 12mph on alot of rides as it was so steep, rode one climb that was 9km pretty much all in my lowest gear.
One thing you may find that out of season alot of restaurants close . I used to ride thrugh ghost towns some days
and Goats ,lots of goats .
I did this 30 years ago and the holiday cost £170 all in! One of the best holidays I’ve ever had. We slept under the stars, I was in 2nd hand walking boots and we carried all our food for a week. At the time I was very much a city boy so it was a fantastic adventure, hope you have fun
Did the GR20 about 15 years ago. We didn't take tents as there were/are huts at suitable intervals, although as it was early in the season not all had a guardian. We did therefore carry food for the evening. A sleeping mat is a good idea if you are using huts (and unless anything has changed that's what I would recommend) as they can get full so you end up sleeping on the 'veranda'. The terrain is generally pretty straightforward (the only potentially tricky section is the Cirque du Solitude but I think this is now shut as there were some deaths, probably due to people relying on very dodgy VF; we ignored all the VF as it all seemed likely to fail). Enjoy.
Thanks for the responses. You have to pre book the huts now, so a tent at around 1.2kg gives the flexibility of a day off if it rains. If we pre book a hut then we have to hike. I also prefer the privacy of a tent than an overcrowded hut, if I’m honest.
We also did the majorca gr221 in march this year. Stayed in the hut on the leg before the monestry, which was a nice hut if I’m honest. Don’t think the ones in Corsica are as luxurious!
The Cirque has now been shut, but replaced with an equally hard section which runs close to Monte Cinto, which well also climb as well.
We are doing the northern section over 9 days, flying from manchester to brussells and then to bastia. There is a direct flight back on a sunday with easyjet to manchester.
I don’t think the route is hikable in winter because of the snow, there is a ski resort along the route.
Think I will take the msr hubba nx tent, and deal with any high winds if we encounter them.
Not done the Gr20 but have done the mare a mare north & south, if its early Sept it'll be hot, late Sept would be preferable and a lot less busy. When we crossed the Gr20 it seemed way busier than the mare a mare, which apart from the route out of corte was virtually deserted 👌 plenty of easyjet flights to bastia, figari and ajaccio for anyone interested in going to this beautiful place.
Fantastic trip!
I have done a fair number of multi day or thru hikes in the southern alps in september, days have typically been very warm and nights generally cool or cold - the last trip was the GR58 in the Queyras and we had -6c on a few nights. They were not surprisingly the highest nights. There was snowfall at 3000m, rain below. Days were ok in shorts or thin trousers, and frankly beautiful
We had a similar tent to the Hubba, 2 season sleeping bags (about 600g) and it was ok, although a bit nippy just before sun came up. I wouldnt have taken anything heavier though. Total kit base weight (without food+water) was about 5.25-5.5kg. I am fairly sure there is an issue with camping along the route now (allowed by huts) although this is common in French National Parks. Bivouacking is generally permitted although the interpretation of bivouacking is worth looking up.
Worth noting that mid september the huts all closed although the winter rooms are open of course. I am not sure if this is the case on the GR20 - I would probably carry a dehydrated meal or two as backup.
Some friends did a winter traverse of the GR20 but it is esoteric to say the least. Snow lays well into may/june. There is loads of useful info on Paddy Dillons blogs and also the Traildino site. If you haven't got it already get a copy of the Cicerone GR20 guide (paddy dillon wrote it). It is excellent.
5.5kg base weight is very impressive. At the moment mine is closer to 10kg!
I did it a few years ago in late sept/early oct, camping along the way. We had a wee vango single hoop tent with the wrong size pole in it and were OK. Weather was generally good, although we did have to miss the last couple of days due to snowfall.
I've thought about doing it again and decided that if I did I'd do as you are: take a tent but eat at the refuges. In fact I'd take my MSR hubba hubba 🙂
I have been trying to get our trekking weight down recently - best recent buys? Carbon fibre poles - saving 350 grammes on two poles for £50. New tent that is a 3 person tent thats around a kilo - ( trekkertent)
The most surprising one was the rucksacs. lightwave rucksacs - a kilo for a 70l Thats less that one of the 25l packs we have - and its 100% waterproof and comfy. Two rucksacs saved us 2+ kilos!
We have a base weight including full waterproofs, enough stuff to keep warm sitting around in sub zero conditions and to sleep comfortably and a big tent of around 8 kilos each now - and for warm climates a kilo+ less each
I did it in Sept 2004 with friends. It was great. Be prepared for all kinds of weather. We had 30deg, heavy torrential rain, sleet, sun, cloud, sun, 5Deg, huge storms and more sun. None of that is too scary but a lot of the huts are high up and the camping is basically pitch your tent in 50mm of dust on top of the granite. At the back end of the season the huts aren't always open. The management of the GR has changed a lot to protect it but I reckon a lot of things are the same. The first 4/5 days are like long backpacks in the Glyders. As you head to Vizzavona the terrain gets easier but the length of stage increases.
I hope you like chestnuts as they're in most dishes! If you're a veggie you might struggle.
Basic etiquette...they're Corsican not French. Don't try to speak Corse (strictly locals only). They don't like France. They don't like each other! The north sub-departement Bastia wants to be independent of the south Ajaccio. You'll see cars with 2A and 2B on the plates. You'll see road signs or French signs that have been shot. It's all quite entertaining. It's a stunning place, the locals are very mad but accommodating. Finally if someone says their brother is a butcher in Marseille, they probably mean he's a gangster
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You'll have a great time. Contact me if you need any photos.
I live in North Wales and was out getting some miles in last weekend on the Glyderau!!
Still a bit undecided with taking the MSR Hubba nx, the flysheet is quite high off the ground and with a mesh interior, it can get cold inside if it's blowing a wind on the tops there.
How did you find it physically?
If you do some hard backpacking weekends before you go and have a half decent level of fitness, you'll probably be okay. It was the heat, wind and heavy pack that knackered me out most days. There was also some challenges getting water each day but as they are now limiting the number of trekkers then that should have improved.
Re tent: if it's hot the mesh inner will be nice. If it's windy or heavy rain it won't be that pleasant
Just thought I would update this since completing the hike in September. Although I hiked a lot before going, I still found it very hard and tiring, especially when carrying around 13kg in a backpack. Technically it is no harder than Tryfan/Brystle Ridge, but there is nothing in the UK that quite prepares you for the terrain.
We would get up around 6am and be on our way by 7am to avoid the sun on the initial climbs.
The huts are very basic with ok ish food. We camped each night and only had a storm on one evening, when camping at around 1900m.
We also did the detour up Monte Cinto on day 4 which included a lot of scrambling.
(I’ll upload photos later, when I have worked out how to do it!)
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Well done!!
I'm looking forward to seeing your photos.
Photos.......
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Wow, fantastic stuff mate!