I love the outdoors and I love to hike. So, when I heard about the famed GR20 hike, 180km, across the length of Corsica, I put it into the back of my mind to someday do it. Well, this summer, I carved out two weeks to do so and signed up with a British outfit (I had joined their group for the Morocco trip last winter) to tackle the trail. The suggested time is 15 days, but the outfit cut out one day, and then squeezed 14 days into 12.
However, after three days, I realized this wasn't for me. Now that it has been about five days since I stopped, I've had time to reflect on my decision and although I am sad that I chose not to finish, the reasons I did elect to terminate my trip (note which word I am NOT using, because language is important) appear more logical and correct with time, and they also "feel" right. As I've become older, I've learned that I am much more intuitive and trust my gut more often than I was younger, or at least I am more conscious of being one who trusts my "intuition."
Here's why I chose to end my journey:
1) I didn't have walking poles. Something as basic as this was a huge issue. They are optional, but it turns out they would have been quite useful in providing balance and distributing the weight from my legs to, at times, arms.
2) I wasn't feeling any joy. And sometimes dread. Each night, before the next day, we would review the next days plan, and the first three days were each scheduled for 9 hours, which because of my slow pace, ended up being more like 11 hours. We would leave at 630AM and finish at 530PM. Knowing that it would be such a long day (and there were no scheduled rest days) made it a huge daunting "task." And it shouldn't feel like a task.
3) I wasn't feeling any elation. Usually, at the end of each hiking day, I feel this great sense of excitement and accomplishment when I get to the end of the day. I wasn't having those moments, I would arrive and then, because time was running short, have to take care little tasks before dinner (granted I didn't have to cook dinner it we were at refuges which cooked for us) and then right to bed. There wasn't anytime to actually savor being outdoors, because we ended so late in the day.
4) Personal Safety. Yeah, this was a big one. We were often hiking on open faces that had some sheer drops. Plus were were rarely on flat ground, generally going up and down "mountains", across them and then, as I termed it, putting ourselves through human body puzzles, getting through rock spaces. It's fun, but not as much as I felt like I was doing it. Then the descents were incredibly steep and my legs weren't used to it. On the third day, in the morning, we had a descent in which my left leg basically would no longer hold any weight. It was scary. After a rest, I made it, but downhills were really something I dreaded and feared that my left leg wouldn't hold out.
5) I'll call this, "the check-off factor." There were 12 of us in the group. I would say that for a majority of them, they were on this trip to "check-off" the GR20 from their list of big hikes they've accomplished. I don't begrudge them that goal, but it make it seem as though the hike was a "task" and not a "joy".
6) Scenery....repetitive. After three days, I feel as though I had seen the scenery that I would see for the following nine days. It was pretty enough, but not enough to push me forward for another nine days, and through the "pain".
The mountains of Corsica. The GR20 goes through 180km across the spine of the island. You see that mountain in the distance, we climbed over that.
The Col de Bevella. We climbed over that "notch" just to the right of the spires, then down into the valley and then up to the spot where I am taking the picture, which is at 7,000 feet.
A look back at the 2nd day hike. The "notch" in the ridge in the distance is what we climbed through, then down, up, down, and then across the ridge which is out of the picture to the right. The hiking was so intense that I didn't have opportunities to take out my camera and take pictures during the day. Mostly because I was too tired and there were places that I simply had to concentrate so much on staying on my feet.
And, I wasn't the first of our dozen to leave the group. One member slipped on the first day and twisted her knee. We had to carry her pack up the last hill and then she was helicoptered out. I didn't want to be the second to have to call the helicopter.
Here's what my knees looked like after three days. The rock was pure granite and every time I slipped, or scraped my knee as I climbed over/around something, a new scratch. I'm going to have some good scars.
I ended at day 3, because it was a place where we were on a road and had access to our bags. This man, Augustine, was the transporter of bags to the next stop. I hitched a ride with him and since he spoke Italian, we had a great couple hours. These four hours together with him might have been the highlight of my trip.
After Augustine and I parted, I hitched a ride down to the capitol of Corsica, Ajaccio where I spent a day at the beach....
.....eating good seafood and took a tour of Napoleon Bonaparte's birthplace.
I'm still thinking about the trip, but it's almost a done deal. I'm sad because I wanted to do it, but happy that I did the right thing for me. How many times have I been a teacher and suggested a student not do something or to admit they weren't ready for it. I was able to make this decision without external prompting. I also take responsibility for not doing enough prior research on the trip. I really should have read more about it and done my due diligence. Lessons for the future......
However, after three days, I realized this wasn't for me. Now that it has been about five days since I stopped, I've had time to reflect on my decision and although I am sad that I chose not to finish, the reasons I did elect to terminate my trip (note which word I am NOT using, because language is important) appear more logical and correct with time, and they also "feel" right. As I've become older, I've learned that I am much more intuitive and trust my gut more often than I was younger, or at least I am more conscious of being one who trusts my "intuition."
Here's why I chose to end my journey:
1) I didn't have walking poles. Something as basic as this was a huge issue. They are optional, but it turns out they would have been quite useful in providing balance and distributing the weight from my legs to, at times, arms.
2) I wasn't feeling any joy. And sometimes dread. Each night, before the next day, we would review the next days plan, and the first three days were each scheduled for 9 hours, which because of my slow pace, ended up being more like 11 hours. We would leave at 630AM and finish at 530PM. Knowing that it would be such a long day (and there were no scheduled rest days) made it a huge daunting "task." And it shouldn't feel like a task.
3) I wasn't feeling any elation. Usually, at the end of each hiking day, I feel this great sense of excitement and accomplishment when I get to the end of the day. I wasn't having those moments, I would arrive and then, because time was running short, have to take care little tasks before dinner (granted I didn't have to cook dinner it we were at refuges which cooked for us) and then right to bed. There wasn't anytime to actually savor being outdoors, because we ended so late in the day.
4) Personal Safety. Yeah, this was a big one. We were often hiking on open faces that had some sheer drops. Plus were were rarely on flat ground, generally going up and down "mountains", across them and then, as I termed it, putting ourselves through human body puzzles, getting through rock spaces. It's fun, but not as much as I felt like I was doing it. Then the descents were incredibly steep and my legs weren't used to it. On the third day, in the morning, we had a descent in which my left leg basically would no longer hold any weight. It was scary. After a rest, I made it, but downhills were really something I dreaded and feared that my left leg wouldn't hold out.
5) I'll call this, "the check-off factor." There were 12 of us in the group. I would say that for a majority of them, they were on this trip to "check-off" the GR20 from their list of big hikes they've accomplished. I don't begrudge them that goal, but it make it seem as though the hike was a "task" and not a "joy".
6) Scenery....repetitive. After three days, I feel as though I had seen the scenery that I would see for the following nine days. It was pretty enough, but not enough to push me forward for another nine days, and through the "pain".
After Augustine and I parted, I hitched a ride down to the capitol of Corsica, Ajaccio where I spent a day at the beach....
I'm still thinking about the trip, but it's almost a done deal. I'm sad because I wanted to do it, but happy that I did the right thing for me. How many times have I been a teacher and suggested a student not do something or to admit they weren't ready for it. I was able to make this decision without external prompting. I also take responsibility for not doing enough prior research on the trip. I really should have read more about it and done my due diligence. Lessons for the future......