Category: health & safety

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GR20 Trek Corsica – day 1

trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles

» day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | cirque | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | advice |

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

A mountain range rising from the sea, Corsica holds the most arrestingly beautiful landscapes in the Mediterranean. From its cobalt blue gulfs and shell-sand beaches, hillsides of evergreen maquis give way to pristine oak, chestnut and pine forests, awesome gorges, alpine lakes and a spine of snow-streaked peaks and passes. Among the many trails that penetrate its remotest corners, the GR20, following the island’s watershed, is a high-level route that has won an international reputation as being Europe’s most challenging long-distance path.

I decided to hike north to south because both of the best guidebooks in English describe it that way:

• Trailblazer Corsica Trekking GR20 by David Abram (2008)
• Cicerone GR20: Corsica: The High-level route by Paddy Dillon (2010)

The best way to get to Corsica is by air, as inexpensive flights are offered by EasyJet and others.

But I took an enjoyable (relatively expensive) train to Nice. And from there a relatively inexpensive ferry (33EU) to Calvi, the closest port to the northern trailhead. (Leaving my extra luggage in the Nice Train Station lockers.)

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Conveniently, it set sail Saturday night.

departing Nice.jpg

I found a quiet spot under the stars and slept soundly on my air mat, the last person on the ship to wake next morning.

Sunrise Calvi

Sunday, June 26th, 2011

Here I am repacking for the trek, waiting on shops and Tourist Information to open.

gear on park bench

Morning coffee on the harbour.

coffee

I’ll be hiking up there, in the snowy peaks, in a couple of days.

Calvi Harbour

I picked up a few last minute items.

The last piece of the puzzle was stove fuel. In Calvi, Camping Gaz and white gas are available, but I couldn’t find the threaded cannisters popular in North America. Happily Mr. Costa Patrick of Hotel du Centre gifted me a couple that had been left behind by former guests. (That’s the best inexpensive place to stay in Calvi, by the way. It’s not in Lonely Planet.)

The only public transportation to the trailhead is the “school bus”, not operating on Sunday. I was forced to take a taxi charging an even higher rate on the Holy Day. (37EU for the 17km, or so, one way from Calvi to Calenzana.)

Here’s the official start, Oratoire Sant’ Antoine chapel. Say your prayers. You’re going to need all the help you can get.

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Calenzana, by the way, is a bit infamous amongst Corsicans. Some claim that Milieu gangsters from Marseille have homes here. (They ignore trekkers, happily.)

photo of Calenzana by Trek Earth

David Abram:

The first day’s walk on the GR20 can be a shock to the system. You leave Calenzana with everything on your back, probably in hot weather, with a question mark over the availability of water along the way. You learn which plants in the maquis are the thorniest. Lizards scuttle for cover as you approach. The ascent is unremitting – uphill all the way. You climb higher than anywhere in Britain, then climb even further, scrambling across a rocky mountainside with a big pack on your back. You carefully ration your water and wonder if it will last. When you finally reach the refuge, you take the accommodation and services as you find them, knowing there is nowhere else you can go. This day is a fine introduction to the rigours and the delights of the GR20 – it’s your baptism of fire!

12km (71⁄2 miles) 1550m (5085 feet) in elevation gain.
Calenzana is at 275m.

GR 20 is blazed with red and white paint.

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Water IS critical at higher altitudes. I was carrying 4 litres of liquid (4kgs!) to start the trek. This source will be gone in a few weeks.

Heat emergency is a big risk too. I was happy to be here in June, not end of July.

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… I didn’t reach Refuge d’Ortu di u Piobbu. Instead, I set up my tent in a discrete cow patch just above Bocca a u Bazzichellu (1478m).

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This seemed to be one of the hardest hiking days of my life, for some reason.

I was worried. Worried about pack weight. Worried whether my feet would hold up. Worried about ‘the toughest hike in Europe’. Certain that my plan to hike 180km (110mi) in about 8 days was IMPOSSIBLE.

… Chilled from overheating, I only had energy enough to munch some chocolate and dry Ramen noodles before crashing into deep sleep.

See more annotated photos of day 1.

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best trek in the world = GR20 Corsica

by besthike editor Rick McCharles

This past June I attempted the GR20.

… Corsica is a mountainous island in the Mediterranean and its GR20 is reputed to be the toughest waymarked trail in Europe. It is an ambitious route for fit and agile walkers, covering 190km in about two weeks as it makes a complete traverse through the high mountains, backpacking the whole way, sometimes with hands-on scrambling. …

Paddy Dillon

Starting tomorrow I’ll post my day-by-day trip report with annotated photos. It turned out to be the toughest hike of my life.

Lonely Planet:

1. GR20, France
2. Inca Trail, Peru
3. Pays Dogon, Mali
4. Everest Base Camp, Nepal
5. Indian Himalayas, India
6. Overland Track, Australia
7. Routeburn Track, New Zealand
8. The Narrows, USA
9. The Haute Route, France-Switzerland
10. Baltoro Glacier & K2, Pakistan

Best Treks in the World

Rick McCharles on the GR20

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Manaslu Circuit the new Annapurna?

Check out a new website edited by Richard Bull – ManasluCircuittrek.com

It’s about 170km hiked over 2-3 weeks.

… the Manaslu Circuit Trek takes you from just 700m altitudes at Arughat (or Gorkha Bazar) up to 5160m on the pass – a tremendous range of altitudes, temperatures and micro-climates. …

Manaslu circuit is now a tea-house trek. Camping is not required unless you go off the beaten track. Here is a rough outline of the route with some information about where the tea-houses and lodges are. …

Robin Boustead (Great Himalayan Trail pioneer) says:

“Many would argue that the Manaslu Circuit trail is the best general trek in the country, with colourful cultures and dramatic valleys against a backdrop of classic Himalayan peaks.”

manaslucircuittrek.com

Richard has mixed feelings about promoting this excellent alternative to Annapurna and Everest Base Camp. But I feel progress is inevitable. Best it be managed for the maximum benefit of the local peoples.

Andy Bryant posted a terrific trip report.

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10 Best Hiking Trails

Extreme-Exercises.com speculates on a list of the 10 Best Hiking Trails In The World each with a video.

Click PLAY or check out Angels Landing on YouTube.

10. Alum Cave Trail To Mount LeConte
Location- Sevier County, Tennessee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

9. Hike Up Mount Pinatubo To Crater Lake
Location- Phillipines

8. Breakneck Ridge Trail
Location- New York

7. Bright Angel Trail
Location- Grand Canyon, Arizona

6. Yosemite Half Dome
Location- California

5. Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Location- Peru

4. Haiku’s Ladder
Location- Oahu, Hawaii

3. Angels Landing
Location- Utah

2. El Camino del Rey
Location- Spain

1. Huashan Hiking Trail
Location- China

See VIDEOS and LINKS on Extreme-Exercises.com

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Corsica’s GR20 the toughest hike in Europe?

by site editor Rick McCharles

I hiked half the GR20 in June — trip report — and can confirm it’s bloody tough.

Guidebook author Kev Reynolds calls the GR20 high-level route across Corsica one of the toughest 3 treks in Western Europe.

GR stands for Grande Randonnée, which means big excursion in French. It is a network of long-distance footpaths in Europe, mostly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. GR20 is considered to be the most difficult of all the GR routes. Its Corsican name is Fra li monti (sometimes spelled wrong as Fra li monte), what means “across the mountains” in Corsican. …

The trail is well marked with red and white rectangles on rocks, boulders and trees. Feeder paths are marked with one colour. There are also small stone heaps along the path. It’s still easy to get on a feeder path or to lose the way, so having a good map is necessary.

photo from David Nobel’s trip report

Possible side trips

Monte Corona — ascent to the 2144 m high summit at the end of the 1st stage (or the beginning of the 2nd stage).

Monte Cinto — ascent to the highest summit of Corsica (2706 m) at the end of the 3rd stage.

Monte Rotondo (Monte Ritondu) — ascent to the 2nd highest summit of Corsica (2622 m) in the 7th stage.

Monte Renoso — ascent to the 2352 m high summit above the glacial lake of Bastiani (2089 m) in the 11th stage.

All those text grabs are from corsica.forhikers.com

The best section is in the north.

Cirque de la Solitude by uhasemann

Kev Reynolds compares it in difficulty to two other challenging adventures in Western Europe:

• Pyranean Haute Route
• Tour of the Oisans (GR54)

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Howe Sound Crest Trail to the Lions

trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles

The Lions are a pair of pointed peaks (West Lion – 1,646 m (5,400 ft); East Lion – 1,606 m (5,269 ft)) along the North Shore Mountains in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They can be seen from much of the Greater Vancouver area …

The city’s BC Lions CFL football team is also named in their honour. …

On the September long weekend, a friend dropped me off at Cypress Bowl Ski Resort, only 20min from North Vancouver.

Of several trailhead options to visit the Lions, I recommend this one. Check the elevation profile:

(Most hikers, instead, start closer to sea level on the Binkert Trail, a long slog uphill.)

Here’s my first view of the Lions:

The first hour or so climbing up out of Cypress is tree locked. But you soon find yourself on a wonderful ridge walk with vistas like this:

In early September the #1 question was still: “How’s the snow?”

No problem when I was there. In fact, where the trail crossed snow the footing was good, progress just as fast as on ground.

For lunch I decided to set up the tent on a warm rock.

I read my book. Listened to audiocasts on my iPod. And had a nap. The tent was essential to escape the voracious mosquitoes and bothersome noseeems, unusual on the west coast, especially in September. There were none at lower elevations.

Look closely and you’ll see people atop the west Lion:

There are helicopter rescues nearly every summer weekend. And hikers do fall.

On arriving at the base of the west Lion I instantly decided not to scramble up. It looks sketchy. And there were all kinds of inexperienced, unprepared idiots crowding the route.

Instead I continued on the Howe Sound Crest Trail between the Lions. This traverse section was the trickiest of all. Considerable exposure.

The views of the Lions are stunning from every angle.

east Lion

Past the Lions there are very few hikers. The trail is indistinct, to say the least.

Here I glissaded down towards the lake.

… Unfortunately, the actual trail stays high on the ridge. I need to bushwhack back up to find it.

At this point someone had installed a chain and comfort rope, not needed in this ideal weather.

In a nearby cairn, I left a Summit Stone.

Soon after that chain, the trail gets very rough. One hiker with a dog decided to turn around. It was canine impassible.

I got fed up myself after one particularly steep, ugly down scramble. And decided to finally set up my tent for the night.

There was no suitable cliff nor tree limb for hanging my food, so I used the Ursack system for the first time.

… 45min later I could hear some animal clawing a tree. I assumed a bear had taken my food.

I stayed the night as it was impossible to find the faint trail in the dark. When morning dawned I went to photograph the damage, and found the food untouched. One small tree nearby had been broken though. (… I’m still not sure what animal had caused the ruckus I heard the night before.)

Due to too rough trail, I decided to escape the Howe Sound Crest Trail early. The nearest exit was via some new (wet) trail recently hacked out of the woods. It was flagged but poorly signed. People had created home made signage to compensate. This was the most artistic:

I ended up in Lions Bay after connecting to the Binkert. From there you can find a bus back to Vancouver.

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Leave a comment if you have a recommendation on the best trail back down to Highway 99. Is it worth continuing to the end of the HSC trail?

In the end, I’d still rank this as one of the best hikes in B.C.

On a clear day, the vistas are stunning.

I have 80 annotated photos posted from the 2 day hike.

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Alpacka pack-raft 2.1lbs

At the Expedition Idaho Adventure Race, Director Dave Adlard was surprised (and impressed) to hear that Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers carried a pack-raft:

… For Idaho, we got more serious about our “flotation devices,” and we brought pack-rafts from Alpacka. The company makes a line of small, packable rafts that weigh as little as 3.5 pounds. But for Idaho, Alpacka built our team prototype rafts that were even smaller and lighter. The one-off “Ghost” model pack-rafts weighed an incredible 2.1 pounds each, and they rolled up small. …

Ultimate Gear Test: 7-Day Adventure Race

Here’s how Pack-rafts inflate, are carried … and what happens when you get dumped into the river.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

NOW … If I only had the money to buy a 2lb Pack-raft. That one — when released — is likely to cost about $1000.

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ACR ResQLink personal locator beacon

ACR ResQLink is world’s smallest personal locator beacon

ACR Electronics has released ResQLink, which it claims is the world’s smallest 406 MHz personal locator beacon. The ResQLink’s small and light waterproof package can be held in one hand and clocks in at less than four inches tall and 4.6 ounces in weight. …

… The monthly service also allows you to send a check-in message to specified contacts via email or text message, without emergency activation. However, no monthly service fee is required for emergency use.

After receiving FCC approval this summer, the ResQLink is now available and retails for $325 (without optional subscription service).

read more on Trailspace

Click PLAY or watch a promo from OR Salt Lake City on YouTube.

Fedak has grave concerns regarding the SPOT devices. Will this be any better do you think?

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Black Diamond Ultra Distance Z-Poles

I used (and very much appreciated) a set of Z-Poles the other day. Dave Adlard let me try them out.

Long a critic of hiking canes, I think I’m finally won over to getting a set.

Backpacker calls this version the “best carbon poles we’ve ever tested“.

Editors’ Choice 2011: Black Diamond Ultra Distance Z-Poles (VIDEO review)

$149.95 USD

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Sierra Crest Route, California

Ben Egan sends a link to an Adventure I’ve not heard of before. It parallels these two great hikes:

• John Muir Trail, 211 miles (340 km), our #2 hike in the world.

• Sierra High Route, 195 miles (314 km), is similar, but higher and harder.

Now check out the Sierra Crest Route as documented by Leonard Daughenbaugh.

If the John Muir Trail is for the masses, Roper’s Sierra High Route is more of a mountaineer’s journey. Your Sierra Crest Route takes it to the next level.

—Bob Rockwell, Author and Sierra Mountaineer

I was definitely impressed with the concept and the research.

—Steve Roper, Author and Sierra Mountaineer

read more

The goal is to stay within a mile of the actual Sierra Crest, most often within a half mile.

Be clear. The SCR is not a “hike”:

Leonard Daughenbaugh:

Since the Crest Route is designed to be a mountaineering rather than a rock climbing route, the last requirement is that there be no individual move on the route that is technically more difficult than class 3.

Based on my evaluations, and, where available, ratings in various climbing and mountaineering guidebooks, all moves on the Route meet this requirement. There are, however, two crossings, “Jones Pass” and “Jones Traverse,” that, because of their exposure and route finding difficulties, travelers might feel are more difficult than class 3. …

Sounds great. But the Sierra High Route already is difficult enough for me.

If you are interested, the only place to get more information is SierraCrestRoute.org.