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  • Of Corsica we're hiking
    11
    Day 4

    Hiking with our heads in the clouds

    May 21, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Our second morning and we're starting to recognize the same hikers going north on the GR20 at the same time - there's two french guys who usually pass us at some point in the day, an older German couple who have done the trek many times but who decided not to carry their own food anymore like they used to, and 3 Ukrainians our age that we chatted with a bit.

    Again today, we choose an "alpine route" that goes over the summit of Monte Incudine (2134m) instead of the regular GR20 along a valley trail. The day starts steeeeep, with an easy snow patch to cross and then after the summit in the early morning, we follow the ridgeline on a pretty easy, steady downhill trail into a lovely valley of streams, meadows and forests. We saw the coolest salamanders!

    We also are introduced to ridgeline fogs that make route finding more challenging as well as Corsica's rains, which can be short and easy or long and heavy, but should never be underestimated. We made exactly that mistake and didn't take the rain seriously in the valley. "It'll end any minute"... but it never did. We got SO wet! The last 2 hours to our campsite followed another ridgeline with steep dropoffs on either side and we had to negotiate a few easy climbing sections (made more difficult with large heavy packs) along the way. In the rain or fog (they switched back and forth), we needed to be completely focused and eventually made it safely. We had several more laughing about our "this must have been the last of the uphill" moments and kept in good spirits. We were so glad to be in a dry tent, dry clothes and eating our hot dinner inside the tent (again ;) ) as the rain continued throughout the night.    Read more

  • Of Corsica we're hiking
    Day 3

    Just kidding :)

    May 20, 2018 in France ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    After the early night, we got up at 5:30am and were rewarded with a gorgeous sunrise over the hills in the distance. For breakfast, we have different flavors of oatmeal / cereal / nut mixes in hot water that we eat throughout the morning from small water bottles. It gives us energy til we start lunch snacks in the afternoon.

    Our hike today was super fun! We chose an "alpine variante" of the GR20, which goes up a steep rocky climb and then along the side of big rock faces (we got excited to see a few climbers on those walls beside our trail). One section had a fixed chain to help hikers stay safe on a steep slab of granite. It was definitely an adventure and the joke of the day was Leo saying "it should be all downhill from here" and then the trail continuing uphill and Mareike laughing "just kidding". After a few times, any uphill was commented with a celebratory "just kidding" :)

    Another cool thing we saw on the way were giant trains of caterpillars, one of them over 10 meters long. We saw several on the forest floor, looking like snakes from a distance.

    Just before our next camp spot, we had a tricky river crossing with a slippery boulder that you could step on and pray or do one bigger jump to avoid the slippery one altogether. I (Mareike) wasn't quite feeling up to it with a still recovering ankle and so after trying to be stubborn and finding another way on my own, Leo went over twice with both packs and then I could easily do the jump with no weight on my back. It was a great reminder that we're great as a team and that we need to think as a team in order to make the most of our life together.    Read more

  • Of Corsica we're hiking
    12
    Day 2

    Making a full day of a half day

    May 19, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Our journey begins today with a 3 hour bus ride south. It's crazy to think we'll be going on foot for days to make the same distance, slowly heading back north in the wilderness. Around noon we arrive in Conca, a small town on the foot of Corsica's southern mountains. We start our hike here, our backpacks filled with supplies for the next 14 days and our heads full of adventures to be had together.

    The downside of starting in the early afternoon is the extreme heat, it feels like we don't even need to be moving to start sweating right away :) The rocky trail starts in a young and bright green forest. After a few hours of uphill, there is a rock gap to walk through (picture 3), and we both agree it's like a rock gate into a new world - from here, we're secluded from street and city noises and surrounded by only rock, nature and the mountains. Just what we were looking for! :)

    We follow the white-red trail markings (picture 2) along small waterfalls and swimming holes and then lots more uphill all the way to our first camp spot with views all the way to the ocean. Because of the late start, we get there just in time to set up the tent before dark. Since we're exhausted and it's dark anyways, we decide to eat dinner inside the tent and pass out right after.    Read more

  • Of Corsica we're hiking
    Day 2

    Ready and excited :)

    May 19, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    After the longest trip for Leo to get to Corsica (cancelled flights + sleeping in 3 airports + bad rerouting), we're finally together and all prepared for our hike!

    We ran some last errands yesterday and are now ready for our bus to take us south for the trailhead of our 2 week journey across Corsica.

    Off we go!    Read more

  • TravelerHappy ice age
    3
    Day 15

    Big city life ;)

    September 17, 2017 in Greenland ⋅ 🌬 2 °C

    Whenever I get back into civilization from a long hike, I have this strange feeling of disappointment for a short while. I understand that most people love getting back, finally able to sleep in a warm big bed, taking showers and eating fresh foods. Actually, I do usually go straight to a grocery store to stock up on carrots and fruits :) and it's not that I don't like hot showers and large comfy beds. I think I just enjoy the outdoors so much more and have learned to keep myself happy, warm, clean and well-fed when on an adventure.

    But there's of course wonderful perks to civilization - a cozy AirBnb with views over the ocean (whales included in the view! ;) ), meeting people and learning about the local life, chai lattes in cafes, and of course internet access to call the people I love and miss!

    And so we filled our days with some laziness, some exploring and (for me) starting to get back into work - which I really enjoy these days :) We also went fishing for a delicious cod, saw the sky filled with northern lights on 2 nights, and made great new friends. One of my favorites was a day hike, on which three local sled dogs tagged along for the adventure and followed me around almost 8 hours up steep mountains, crossing rivers (they had to swim), and taking breaks for some puppy cuddle time :) Sisimiut is a small town with much less activities than the guys from day 2 made it sound, but filled with lots of beauty and adventure to be discovered.

    Johanne, thanks for an amazing time, I'm sure this was not our last adventure together!    Read more

  • TravelerHappy ice age
    31
    Day 11

    West is best

    September 13, 2017 in Greenland ⋅ ☀️ 4 °C

    We made it to Sisimiut! Quite a few days earlier than we thought, but there are much worse problems one could have ;)

    Our last day was another sunny hike full of beauty and adventure. We crossed a wide fjell, covered in snow and really enjoyed the views of the fjord and the mountains. We had a few more river crossings and both were tricked by all the snow and ice up here. I stepped on a stone that was covered in (to me) invisible ice and slipping, I banged my knee against a boulder. Johanne slipped while crossing snowy rocks and found herself standing in the river, the boots completely covered in ice water. So since we were so close to town, we decided to just hike all the way and not camp on the way as we had planned. I would have loved to stay a few more days, but am also very happy I get to clean more clothes, and take a hot shower in town :)

    It's been a really beautiful journey with lots of fun, adventures and time for talks, reading and to think about some of the stuff that might fall aside in busy every day life.

    Oh, most importantly here are our three favorite recurring jokes of the trail:
    1. "In Sisimiut, there are SO MANY ACTIVITIES."
    This one started on the bus back from the ice cap, where I sat with three proud Greenlandic guys talking about their beautiful country. It was nice to learn from them. I asked what I should do or see in Sisimiut (their hometown), and they replied there would be SO MANY ACTIVITIES. I asked for an example and they became still and then eventually said "you'll see when you get there". So we stayed in much anticipation and excitement to see ALL the exciting things to do and see in the small city of Sisimiut - once we get there!
    2. "Water is life"
    This recurring joke was just a constant reminder not to get frustrated with all the water in the trail. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it might have made Johanne only more annoyed, but most time it was a fun joke to laugh about many times a day ;)
    3. "Huh - have you guys tasted the water from this big lake?"
    This one was added to our repertory on one of our last days. We were near the fjord and talking to the Belgians when they had just cooked dinner and one girl noticed something tasted funny. "Have you guys tried the water from this lake? It tastes weird" "No, we carried water in from the river. Because this lake is a really big lake, called the Atlantic ocean..." ;)    Read more

  • TravelerHappy ice age
    3
    Day 9

    Water is life - and life is beautiful :)

    September 11, 2017 in Greenland ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C

    We've had such a fantastic day! After a bad night - I couldn't sleep much - we woke up to a lovely landscape covered in a sprinkle of snow that came down during the night. Our usual blue sky was back and we thought the valley looked just enchanting.

    The sun did not change the fact that water was EVERYWHERE though and the rivers were unusually high, so we got to do two more river crossings in our sneakers. The water is so cold here that you pretty much need to force yourself to take each next step into more ice water :) Besides the two "pants off" crossings, we had tens of crossings hopping from rock to rock and even more crossings of just jumping over little creeks. Apparently just before we got to Greenland, it had been raining every day for two weeks straight and that water was all coming down the rivers now.

    The water was getting kind of annoying and when we got to more swamps or when the trail would morph into a creek, I could hear Johanne sigh and I'd share the frustrations. But we came up with a song to help us remember that "water is life - and life is beautiful" ;) Either way, we're so thankful for this amazing weather we've had, I did not expect so much sunshine and blue skies and while the icy winds always made sure we don't forget we're in the Arctic, we stayed dry for most of the trail and even when we got wet, we stayed warm.

    Ooh, and I had to share: picture 4 shows Johanne's hiking boots. They were not exactly the biggest fans of the hike and starting losing its soles, but Johanne made due with rope, which in my opinion makes her the hero of this trail! :)    Read more

  • TravelerHappy ice age
    Day 8

    In, under, over and beside water

    September 10, 2017 in Greenland ⋅ 🌬 0 °C

    Today was the one day we got seriously wet. After a night of storm and rain, the day basically stayed rainy and fog, and eventually snow, joined the party later in the day. And of course, both our hiking boots and our sneakers got wet. The boots because the swamp was just so deep, there was no way around getting wet feet - thanks to wool socks they stayed warm (wet) feet though :) And the sneakers walked us through a river crossing - which is what they're there for :)

    The river was ice cold and the rain from above didn't help, but I thought it was great fun and basically just one very long Kneipp walk for the immune system!

    The further we got into the next valley, the more water joined our trail. By the end, we were walking anywhere but on the trail, as the path was nothing else but a little creek - anywhere from 1cm to 1m deep (as in pic 6). Around 7pm, we reached one of the hiking huts along the trail and decided to sleep in a warm, dry place for the night. At the hut, we got to meet three Belgian hikers and the Canadian mountain biker and it was nice to exchange some stories with fellow adventurers. I'm not a big fan of sleeping in the huts, maybe simply because I'm such a big fan of my little tent, so it should be an interesting night.    Read more

  • TravelerHappy ice age
    Day 7

    Welcome to Swampistan

    September 9, 2017 in Greenland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Today started on frozen swamp again, which is always nice. There's a ton of focus needed when going through the swamps, because you could sink in knee-deep with any thoughtless step. So it usually takes a while and often means going zigzags or all around some areas that are just too deep.

    The swamp today is a huge area between two mountain ranges with a river cutting through and feeding from all the mountains around. While still on the fjell, we had carefully tried to study the swamp and found a good route through mostly dried out parts and heavily vegetated sections, which usually means good footing. With this and a few climbs onto hills to see the area closer up from above, we managed to stay fairly dry - meaning our shoes stayed dry from the inside, while we walked up to 10 cm in water :) We managed to find a bridge to cross the river and had a tiring but good hike back into the next mountain range.

    It was only around 5:30pm when we decided to quickly set up tent, as dark rain clouds were forming all around. We were all set up just before the rain started. But what turned out even more interesting was a storm coming along with the rain. We prepped the tent as good as we could, with extra ropes and big rocks as weights on the stakes outside and using our hiking poles to support the tent poles from the inside. It worked great and we had a restful, easy night    Read more

  • TravelerHappy ice age
    1
    Day 6

    Up up up

    September 8, 2017 in Greenland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We've had such amazing weather so far! Sunshine most day, no rain except on our second day and the nights are getting warmer, too. So warm indeed that I slept til 8:30am today without even waking up once in the early morning, as I usually do.

    Today was a day full of new acquaintances: we saw a guy riding the trail on his mountain bike (which Johanne found more than impressive :) ), a few dozen polar rabbits, hundreds of annoying but harmless flies and a handfull fellow hikers. The ladder means Johanne has already won a bet for a beer once we get to town. We each guessed how many people we'd meet on the trail in total and I said 6, Johanne said 8. It's been 9 so far, including 3 local hunters.

    The trail was really beautiful today, going uphill onto a rocky fjell covered in lichen and boulders, which is where we met all the rabbits (see pic 4). We're camping on a terrace overlooking a large swamp, which we will cross tomorrow. We're hoping to stay dry, but the swamp looks vast and we've already been in so much water on the trail. We'll see. It's bedtime for now :)    Read more

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