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Swaledale Outdoor Club |
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Swaledale Outdoor Club |
| > Home > Newsletter > Walking > Walking the Corsican Mountains |
Walking the Corsican Mountains"It is probably the hardest long distance footpath in Europe. It climbs and descends relentlessly, crossing airy cols and pinnacled ridges. Its route clambers up and down the sort of steep rock that walkers seldom attempt, where chains are fixed to the crag walls for security. It makes you carry all your food for days at a time. It is astounding, thrilling and very beautiful. It is a challenge and if you complete it, a great achievement. It is the GR20" This was the opening paragraph of an article on the GR20 in the March edition of TGO magazine and it is all true. It was thanks to reading this article that I found myself slogging up a steep stoney footpath under the hot Corsican afternoon sun to the first refuge at d'Ortu di u Piobbu. It was the following day when, early in the morning, we reached the first col of the day and saw a breathtaking view of the mountains that lay ahead. The GR20 is approximately 130 miles in length. The first half is the highest and has the most spectacular scenery but the second half, where the route crosses several summits, has a charm and wildness of it's own. We stayed overnight in the refuges which are run by the Corsican National Parks and are cheap and adequate. Some had small stores of food for sale but generally expensive. Food is a bit of a problem and I existed mainly on bread, soup and goat's cheese sometimes bought from primitive (but very clean) "fromageries" in the mountains. Some of the huts provided a simple meal and wine was often available at 30 francs the bottle. We had an excellent dinner in the hotel at Vizzavona where the route crosses a road. The walkers that we met were mainly French with a scattering of Belgians, Germans and Italians, all very friendly. Towards the end of the route we kept meeting the same people at the huts and struck up a good rapport. Due to a day lost at the beginning, on account of a strike by air traffic controllers, we had to hurry a bit and completed in twelve days. Thirteen or fourteen days would be better and would allow time to climb the occasional peak at the northern end. There is some scrambling, especially in the superb Cirque de la Solitude, but it is all very easy and anyone with minimal scrambling experience should have no difficulty. However, it is a route for the fit and experienced walker and the ability to move quickly over difficult terrain is essential if one is not going to have some very long days. As we reached the end of the route, after two weeks of unbroken sunshine, some strong winds blew up and gave us a rough sea trip on the ferry back to Nice. The ferry was an hour and a half late and we made our flight with ten minutes to spare. All's well that ends well! Peter Dyson |