Training Log Archive: Magic

Rennes-le-Chateau loop with Niall from Esperaza. Really hard to run after the past two weeks, hamstrings incredibly tight and belly also too full. Good to get out and give them a stretch though.

67kg on the parents scales - Whoop! Lightest that I've been for over a decade :)

Aside from a half mile walk to the airport in Bastia with the rucksack, the rest of the day was spent traveling across the south of France to get to the parents place.

Recovery day after a great trek. Still managed quite a bit of walking - up and down Calenzana looking for buses that never came (ended up in a taxi), a several mile stroll along the beach in Calvi and then a quick two mile hike with the pack from the train station to the hotel in the evening. Nothing compared to the past two weeks.

GR20 Day11 (4.30hrs). Refuge d'Ortu di u Piobbu to Calenzana. What an easy last day, skipped down the very easy descent in just over 4 hours, by far the least technical walking of the trip and the easiest grade of descent ? why do people say that it?s so hard coming the other way?

Amazing walk and quite probably deserving of the title of Europe?s toughest trek. Very lucky with the weather and the craic throughout was good, even on the long days when we were all completely knackered. Well worth doing. 99hours and 57 minutes for the whole trek (190km and somewhere between 12,000m and 19,000m of climb, depending who you read), including all breaks and the swim (about 2 hours a day).

GR20 Day10 (6.00hrs). Refuge de Carrozzu to Refuge d'Ortu di u Piobbu. Although just another normal day it was actually quite a hard one. Plenty of climb and a very un-nice rocky descent. Early arriving though and loads of time to enjoy the views and sun at the refuge on a baking hot day. Could have made it to the end today but opted for the lazy option of enjoying the sun and our time in the mountains.

GR20 Day9 (5.30hrs). Haut Asco to Refuge de Carrozzu. First ?normal? day today since the first, had made up all the necessarily days so can take it easy. Brutally steep climb for the first 90 minutes and then a long drop back down to the Refuge. Stopped to dip in the river just before camping and enjoy the sun.

GR20 Day8 (9.30hrs). Refuge de Ciottulu di i Mori to Haut Asco. Big day today as we had the treks highlight; the Cirque de la Solitude. Early start as we 4 hours of walking to get to it, but it was clear and almost haze free of the previous evenings cloud and by the time we got to the Cirque it was an amazing blue day and pretty quite. Had lunch (and some truly awful cheese from the Bergerie below) on the rim before the decent into it. Nothing like as hard as we had been lead to believe and the climb out, although steep wasn?t that hard. Glad that the numbers were low and that the rocks were dry though. More luxury again this evening as we camped next to the hotel in Haut Asco where we made use of the restaurant.