CORSE I CAN
‘Long, steep, rocky descent.’ Four words to strike fear into the heart of any hiker. This threatening combination, repeated with worrying frequency in my guidebook, is an accurate description of roughly 45% of the 180km trail to which I’ve committed the next two weeks of my life. Replace the last word with ‘ascent’ and you’ve got another 45%. Such is the task awaiting anyone crossing of the corrugated granite spine of the humpbacked Mediterranean island of Corse, or as English-speakers know it, Corsica.
Mention the GR20—the 20th in France’s system of Grande Randonée walking paths—in any group of self-respecting walkers and you’ll hear the mantra ‘Europe’s Toughest Hike’ confidently repeated. When I first heard it, that was all I needed to know. Europe’s toughest hike? Pah! I stopped listening there and then, lodged it in my frontal lobe and waited for an opportunity. And now here I am, except twenty years have passed and I’m well into my fifth decade, boyish bravado overtaken by a grey beard, sagging skin, and a musculoskeletal system slowly taking on the consistency of jellied meringue. Not such a tough guy now, huh? Hell, I’ve even started using trekking poles!
I console myself by reasoning that the generalisation ‘Toughest Hike’ is plainly ridiculous. Each individual’s experience is influenced by a number of complex and interwoven factors: weather, fitness, schedule, pack weight, and company all contribute to a a long-distance walk’s ease or difficulty. A gentle week along Scotland’s West Highland Way is achievable by any reasonably fit hiker. A three-day, solo winter traverse of that same route—not so
