The GR20: A Corsican adventure full of surprises

Some time ago, I told you the story of Thomas, Laura, Diablo, and Loukia . At the time, they were preparing for their adventure: the GR 20 with two huskies. They left on June 21st for Corsica. The story had started well. I spoke to them on the phone on the way to the port to board the ferry together.

Last June, the whole of France was hit by a severe heat wave. Corsica has not escaped the phenomenon at all… Their journey began at the height of the heat. Having prepared for this adventure for months (training, equipment purchases, reservation of refuges, etc.), they gave it a shot. Thomas had already done the GR last year in September and in the mountain areas he had been very cold. He therefore hoped to find a more normal temperature in these areas.

They had planned 6 days of walking to reach Vizzavone and Conca, the southern part of the GR20. Arrived the evening before, they took off at 6am on Wednesday with an already hot thermometer. They found something to swim on their way to refresh everyone around 9:30. After this first break, Thomas realized that the adventure was becoming dangerous and was going to be compromised… Extremely disappointed not to be able to materialize their love project, it was complicated for them to give up so quickly. At 12 p.m. they stopped. Thomas remembered that at this place there is a source of water: it was completely dry. They had 3 hours of walking left to reach the evening refuge. And 3 very sunny hours… Diablo has light hair but Loukia is very dark: the latter suffered enormously from the heat.

Everyone had to take repeated breaks in the shade to try and cool off. Thomas and Laura were very worried about their dogs and feared heatstroke. They preferred not to drink to let their dogs drink. Laura, although a good walker, even made a little uncomfortable.

Arrived at the Paliri refuge, exhausted, thirsty, disgusted, perplexed… Thomas and Laura interviewed many hikers to get their opinion. They were all unanimous: abandonment was mandatory. The journey risked seriously endangering their two huskies. The night was extremely hot, Loukia, the little dog, panted all night long, unable to cool off. At sunrise, they therefore made the only decision that was necessary: ​​to stop their great adventure. To leave at 4 is to come back to 4. To leave with your dog is to respect your dog and his abilities. When you form a team, you have to do according to everyone's possibilities and adapt.

And I know something about it myself because I had the chance to go there on vacation. Instead of hiking, they bathed in waterfalls, went sea kayaking, discovered beautiful places…. They were amazed anyway and shared other Woufement Bien adventures with their dogs than the one planned at the start.

At the end of the stay, the temperatures had dropped a little. They decided to do the last leg between Vizzavone and Capanelle. This stage is almost always in the shade and Thomas had spotted a superb view the previous year, a magical memory he had kept in mind! They arrived at the top under the clouds. Happy to have completed a second stage, they pitched their tent for a well-deserved rest… That was without counting on a mega storm which blew violently all night. Thomas was laughing when he told me about this crazy night but he confided to me that in their tight little tent every 4, the hours were very long… The next morning when I woke up, the show was breathtaking. I let you judge for yourself!

I wanted to tell you about their Corsican adventure because I find their story very beautiful. She teaches us on the one hand that we can all take up small or big challenges in life: and that's great! She also teaches us that we can share everything with a dog provided we know his needs and his limits. Even if these 4 did not complete the GR20 as planned, they were able to bounce back and live another Corsican adventure... And then, from you to me, Corsica was only a repetition for them because since then they are already far … Very far even since they flew away a few days ago for the USA. I will tell you their American stories soon I promise.

If you'd like to follow their daily adventures, head over to their Facebook page, " Around the world with my dog ." They're heading straight for Alaska, husky country!