If you were on the cusp of turning 60, how would you celebrate? Park City resident Marianne Bohr marked the milestone by traveling to a little-known island about 100 miles south of France. And instead of hitting the beach, she hit the trail.
Bohr then went home and wrote about her experience in the new book, “The Twenty: One Woman’s Trek Across Corsica on the GR20 Trail.”
If you’re unfamiliar with Corsica, you’re not alone. The island is home to stunning white-sand beaches in the Mediterranean and also the GR20, one of the longest and toughest long-distance hikes in Europe that spans 112 miles north to south across Corsica. Bohr estimated she and her husband climbed a grueling 62,000 vertical feet, averaging between 4,000-5,000 feet per day.
So, what exactly is the GR20?
“There's a ‘GR’ system of trails, mostly in France," she said. "The French words mean 'big hike.' So in France, there are over 100. And so this literally means in French, 'big hike number 20.'”
It took Bohr and her husband two weeks to finish the GR20. She said about 18,000 hikers attempt it every year and fewer than 50 complete it. They hauled their own water, breakfast and snacks; they ate dinner and slept in the backcountry huts that lined the route.
Bohr has hiked some of the most iconic peaks all over the world, so why write a book about this one? She said a lot of authors have covered those other popular climbs but very few people have written about Corsica and the dynamics of couples hiking together with a tour group.
“They were wonderful characters that we really, you know, you're with people 24/7," she said. "We really got to know them over two weeks. So I thought that there could be a storyline. I wouldn't have written the book if, at the end of the hike, I didn't think there was something interesting there.”
Bohr will be at Dolly’s Bookstore sharing her adventures Tuesday, June 13, at 6 p.m.
So, where is Bohr going next? The long answer: She hopes to tackle Yorkshire Dales National Park’s coast-to-coast trail in northern England.
But the short answer for this avid hiker? Well, that answer is always UP.
