GR20 Gear List: 180 km Calenzana to Conca, Corsica

The GR20 crosses Corsica from Calenzana to Conca: 180 km, around 12,000 m of climbing, and a fair claim to being the hardest of Europe's GR trails. This list is a lean camping setup for the June to September season, built around the one piece of logistics that changes everything: you sleep at staffed refuges, so you never carry more than about a day and a half of food.

Since the 2026 season the whole route books through the park's online platform, bivouac pitches included, at around ten euros a night. Wild camping is banned on Corsica and rangers check, so the tent goes up on the marked pitches beside each refuge. Every staffed refuge also has gas rings that bivouac guests can use. That's why this list carries a pot but no stove.

The terrain drove the other choices. The northern half is scrambling on granite, chains and slabs rather than walking, so shoes with sticky rubber beat boots and 60 g leather-palm gloves are cheap insurance even though half the hikers you meet skip them. Poles are genuinely contested here: dead weight on the chained sections, knee-savers on the long descents, and the X-Mid needs both of them to pitch. Collapse and strap them when the scrambling starts.

Expect real heat low down and violent afternoon storms on the ridges, sometimes both in one day. Start early, watch the sky after noon, and keep three liters of water capacity filled through the southern half.

Base weight: 5.0 kg (11.1 lb). Copy this list and adapt it: swap the quilt for a warmer bag if you sleep cold, since nights at the higher refuges still drop toward 5 °C in June.