Billed as Europe’s “toughest trail”, whether that is true or not, hiking the GR20 is one tough trek.
My daughter Emily and I tackled the GR20 from North to South in August 2018. It was a very challenging trek, but worth every drop of sweat.
Day 1 Calenzana to Refuge d’Orto di u Piobbu (Stage 1)
Day 2 Refuge d’Ortu di u Piobbu to Ascu Stagnu (Stages 2 and 3)
Day 3 Refuge d’Asco Stagnu – Refuge de Tighjettu (Stage 4)
Day 4 Refuge de Tighjettu to Bergerie Radule (Stage 5)
Day 5 Bergerie Radule to Refuge de Manganu (Stage 6)
Day 6 Refuge de Manganu to Refuge de Pietra Piana (Stage 7)
Day 7 Excursion Ascent of Mt Ritondu
Day 7 Refuge de Pietra Piana to Refuge de l’Onda (Stage 8)
Day 8 Refuge de l’Onda to Vizzavona (Stage 9)
Day 9 Vizzavona – Bergeries de Capannelle (Stage 10/11)
Day 10 Refuge de Verdi to Refuge d’Usciolu (Stage 12)
Day 11 Refuge d’Usciolu – Refuge d’Asinao (Stage 13/14 Variant)
Hi Ian,
it was a real plesure to read Your blog!
I and my boyfriend are going to GR20 this summer in the middle of July. We are also planning to take our own tent. I wanted to ask You, did You had any problems with not booking a place for tent ahead? We heard that sometimes there are not enough space to sleep near the refugees and then You must go to another one. Is that true?
Thanks in advance 🙂
We never had an issue getting a tent space, and do not know of anyone who had to leave and keep hiking to the next refuge. Some of the refuges were definitely very full. We did leave early and generally arrived between 1pm and 3pm, and always found a spot.
Best of luck, its a wonderful experience.
Hi
Thanks for your blog post – I loved it.
Did you have any trouble pitching your tent? I’m planning on doing the hike in July from South to North – and my tent is not freestanding? Also what’s the likelihood of getting coffee at the refugios with breakfast or is it best to take your own?
Jen
Jen
I was able to stake my tent at all the campsite, even though my tent is free standing, i staked it anyway. We had a challenge at Refuge de Palari, since we picked a site overlooking the Mediterranean, but there were some other campsites in the woods that would have been easier. I saw people having to tie their tent lines to rocks to support their tents, sometimes you will have to get creative.
Coffee and breakfast are available at all the refuges we stayed at. But we brought our own coffee, and would treat ourselves to a fresh coffee upon arriving on cooler days.
Best of luck, if you have any other questions, please ask.
ian
Hi Ian,
Thank for sharing your experiences. We did GR20 in 2010, the Cirque de la Solitude was still accessible then. I can’t believe you doubled stage 2 and 3… and a backpack of 22 kg… OMG. I really enjoyed your blog!
Thanks for reading. We both really enjoyed the hike, and are happy to share the journey and what we learned.
It was a big deal to double stage 2 and 3. Emily did just fine, I suffered quite a bit. But it just seemed to stop at the end of stage 2, there was so much of the day left.
I am happy with the weight of the backpack, and I did prepare for the weight in my training for the hike. I would not leave anything out, but add a light jacket and a pair of long pants (I only had one pair of pants). The backpack quickly got lighter as we ate the food.
Thanks again for reading, and happy hiking.
ian
Hello,
Glad to see that you enjoyed the trail. Thanks for your fine images of the walk. I enjoyed the route so much that I returned to the island and travelled from S to N during the return. I guess that we had a liking for walks in Corse and came back for five other multi day walks.
Apart from one of the walks we came to the island in June…on just one day when there was rainfall when walking from col de Verde to Capannelle.
Many thanks for your report.
Roger
The GR20 was an amazing experience. I would like to return to Corisca, many other trails to explore. The world is so big, and so many great places to experience.
Ian