GR20 CORSICA - THE HIGH LEVEL ROUTE
By Paddy Dillon (read excerpts from this book at Google Books)
Published by Cicerone Press (read more about this book at Cicerone)
ISBN 1-85284-477-9
Price £12.95

Alan Castle wrote about the GR20 for Cicerone Press many years ago. The route changed and the book was revised, but a new guide was needed. Connie Roos went to research and write the new guide, but was struck dead by lightning. Accepting a contract from Jonathan Williams late in the year, I went to Corsica to check low-level stretches of the GR20, as the mountains were covered in snow and ice. The high-level GR20 was checked in the summer, along with nearby mountains. The guide therefore includes the main route of the GR20, alternative routes, and ascents of some mountains. The whole route, and more links with nearby villages, have been checked again for the current edition. The GR20 has the reputation of being the toughest waymarked trail in Europe, and anyone attempting it needs to plan well. In a review in TGO (The Great Outdoors) magazine, Martin Salter-Smith said "Paddy Dillon's detailed route descriptions, realistic timings and an acknowledgement of the mental, as well as the physical challenge to be overcome... is well phrased and should be read and carefully digested by walkers... a handy reference... helpful details... the colour photos capture some of the atmosphere of the journey... this is a well-researched and practical guide which will be drooled over on wet winter evenings, and thumbed again in remote refuges where the summer scent of the maquis drifts in from the tangled hillsides of the Mountain in the Sea."

WALK CONTENTS

Stage 1: Calenzana to Refuge d'Ortu di u Piobbu (high level)
Stage 1: Calenzana to Refuge d'Ortu di u Piobbu (low level)
Ascent of Monte Corona from Refuge d'Ortu di u Piobbu
Stage 2: Refuge d'Ortu di u Piobbu to Refuge de Carozzu (high level)
Stage 2: Refuge d'Ortu di u Piobbu to Refuge de Carozzu (low level)
Stage 3: Refuge de Carozzu to Haut Asco
Ascent of Monte Cinto from Haut Asco
Stage 4: Haut Asco to Auberge U Vallone
Link from Auberge U Vallone to Albertacce
Stage 5: Auberge U Vallone to Hotel Castel di Vergio
Ascent of Paglia Orba from Refuge de Ciottulu di I Mori
Stage 6: Hotel Castel di Vergio to Refuge de Manganu
Link from Refuge de Manganu to Soccia
Stage 7: Refuge de Manganu to Refuge de Petra Piana
Ascent of Monte Rotondu from Refuge de Petra Piana
Stage 8: Refuge de Petra Piana to Refuge de l'Onda (low level)
Stage 8: Refuge de Petra Piana to Refuge de l'Onda (high level )
Link from Bergerie de Tolla to Tattone
Stage 9: Refuge de l'Onda to Vizzavona (low-level)
Stage 9: Refuge de l'Onda to Vizzavona (high-level)
Stage 10: Vizzavona to Bergeries d' E Capanelle
Stage 11: Bergeries d' E Capanelle to Bocca di Verdi (low-level)
Stage 11: Bergeries d' E Capanelle to Bocca di Verdi (high-level)
Stage 12: Bocca di Verdi to Refuge d'Usciolu
Link from Refuge d'Usciolu to Cozzano
Stage 13: Refuge d'Usciolu to Refuge d'Asinau
Link from Refuge d'Usciolu to Zicavo
Link from Bocca di l'Agnonu to Bergerie de Basseta
Link from Zicavo to Refuge d'Asinau
Stage 14: Refuge d'Asinau to Col de Bavella (low-level)
Stage 14: Refuge d'Asinau to Col de Bavella (high-level)
Stage 15: Col de Bavella to Conca

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