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Corsica is a rocky island in the Mediterranean Sea. It has the expected Mediterranean flair, with beautiful beaches, deep blue water, amazing food and a very friendly and hospitable people. It is also known for the GR20, one of the more difficult and spectacular Grande Randonées.

Corsica, however, also offers a number of lesser known, but beautiful hiking trails. Of these, I just completed the first half of the mare a mare nord, from Moriani Plage to Corte, and, at the recommendation of a very nice French couple we met on the trail, parts of the mare e monti through the Scandola Nature Reserve.

Both trails had their fair share of challenges, notably intense heat, but rewarded with stunning vistas of the barren, rocky and not-quite-but-almost desolate Corsican landscape. To those seeking a rewarding hiking experience with a little less ‘crowding’ than the GR20, the chance to meet some very interesting people and the prospect of ending the journey on a beach I cannot recommend either trail enough. The locals we encountered during the trek were all extremely friendly (though some were a little rough around the edges) and we had some very memorable chats with fellow hikers.

A few words of advice: Inland Corsica is a rather desolate place. Despite the multitude of villages that dot the northern half of the island, most are in a more or less advanced stage of abandonment. This means that you will struggle to find places to resupply outside the major cities. So you have to prepare accordingly if you are on a tight budget and cannot afford the ~50€ price tag for semi-pension at the Gîtes d’étape. Many Gîtes are reservation-only! Almost every village has its own public fountain and you should aim to carry at least 2 liters on you to last you the distance between the fountains. Another notable point is that, especially in the more rural areas, you won’t get very far without speaking a bare minimum of French. Lastly, one of the most pressing issues that we shared with many of the other hikers we met on the trails is that acceptance of cards (of any kind) outside the large touristic cities is pretty much non-existent and finding an ATM or other means of withdrawing cash is nigh impossible. So I recommend that you stock up on cash whenever you can.

Hiking in Corsica is amazing. The trails are marked very regularly and prominently. There are plenty of Gîtes, so that it is possible to set your own pace for the trails. You might get to meet some really nice people.

After recent hikes and in preparation for upcoming hikes, I compiled a little list of bare necessities. It should be adapted to the suit climatic demands of the destination:

• 2 sets of base-layer clothing
• 1 mid-layer
• 1 soft- or hard-shell depending on the expected weather conditions
• Hiking pants and waterproof pants if expecting rain
• A pair of gloves
• A buff
• 3 pairs of hiking socks
• A pair of broken-in hiking boots
• A hat against the sun
• An insulating mattress
• A microfibre towel
• A head-torch
• A kindle ;)
• A mechanical or chemical water filtration system
• A well equipped first aid kit
• A tent
• A sleeping bag with inlet
• A hiking backpack with a waterproof liner
• A camping chair or sitting cushion
• A camping gas powered cooker and crockery (at least 1 spork and 1 pot)
• An neigh indestructible water bottle
• Required map(s) and/or guides
• A decent sized knife
• A minimalistic set of toiletries (make sure to include earplugs, sunscreen and toilet paper)
• Dedicated, waterproof bags for your valuables and your sleeping bag
• One day’s worth of emergency rations
• A small notebook and pen
• A camera
• Trekking poles
• About 5m of rope
• Spare, tough rubbish bags

A couple of accompanying remarks:

• Aim for under 12kg total, unless you are going on an expedition
• Soap and shampoo-free works surprisingly well, you will have to deal with about a week of ‘transition time’ though
• Merino beats just about any other material with regards to odor and long-term comfort
• Zip-off pants can be very incredibly
• Socks are the second most important part of your kit. Really good socks offer incomparable comfort and hygiene.
• As long as it’s wind- and waterproof, a lighter tent is always the better choice, but especially during very wet conditions additional space in the tent is much more valuable than saved weight
• Silk inlets are amazing for sleep comfort.
• A camping chair might seem like unnecessary comfort - it is - but the amount of comfort per gram that it offers after a long hike is incredible