Shows
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 14 — Beach DayJune 6, 2022 — debriefing the GR20 in Pinarello
We got a ride to go catch the bus, and then waited, and waited... and then finally someone told us that it’s a holiday. So, no bus. Taxi quoted €450 to Bastia, seriously. Tourist office guy suggested staying over in nearby Pinarello, and since Anthony‘a flight isn’t until tomorrow, that’s where we are. Beach town.
We bought picnic lunch, walked to Pinarello, got a room at the nice, cheap Hotel Golf, had a nap. Rented a 16’ cat and went sailing for a couple of hours, then very good dinner...
2022-12-2150 min
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 13 — Wayfinding and Trusting the PathJune 5, 2022 — Stage 15 — Bavella to Conca — 12mi / 1,800'
Bad sleep indoors in the gîte. At this point I was fully adapted to sleeping outdoors in a tent, and much preferred that to being in a room with other people. We had breakfast and then left at 8:30, walked to Paliri, had coffee, and then a long, humid walk through descending maquis and big exposed slabs of granite and red rock. Beautiful, pretty much all the way to Conca, where we decided to stay at the small ** Hotel San Pasquale. Sort of anticlimactic ending as there is no big crowd w...
2022-12-2132 min
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 12 — Intuitive Decision Making, Weather and AttentionJune 4, 2022 — Stage 14 "alpine variant" — Asinau to Bavella — 6mi / 1,600'
30 minute debate and observation about the weather to decide whether to take the “Alpine” route. At first we though no, but the sky opened up blue and we went up. I had a conversation with Anthony about paying attention. Dramatic views, lots of rock. Arrived in Bavella for lunch and then checked in to the gîte at Auberge Col du Bavella. We ran into the French here yet again and we all had dinner together.
A short day over beautiful steep red rock terrain with a good less...
2022-12-2132 min
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 11 — The Corsican MaquisJune 3, 2022 — Stage 13 original route — Uscaliolu to Asinau — 11mi / 3,200'
By this point we've learned that it's usually better to make ourselves breakfast than buy the set breakfast from the refuge. We decided to take the slightly longer "original route" to the next refuge, which is like a stage and a half. Weather was overcast, with a few raindrops.
The second half of the day was hard, a long ascent of about 1000m up to a windswept peak with a big cross and then a very steep descent of the same. 1000m downhill is rough.
Asina...
2022-12-2126 min
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 10 — Fou d’EuropeJune 2, 2022 — Stages 11b & 12 combined — Relais San Petru to Uscaliolu — 10mi / 4,250'
Morning walk on well graded trail uphill to the Prati refuge and then beautiful hiking beyond Prati with clouds forming on the lee side of the ridge. Walking through beech forest at Bocca a Meta, the air was thick with insect life. Not pests, just alive.
We then came down to the col there where the Mare a Mare Sud crosses the GR20 and I stopped to read the informational sign there, discovering the town down the valley below of Guitera-les-Bains, which has the best natur...
2022-12-2138 min
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 9 — Slowing DownJune 1, 2022 — Stages 10 & 11a combined — Vizzavona to to Relais San Petru — 17mi / 4,500'
We ran into the French kids as we were beginning the trail for the day. Started very fast, and Eloise called us “machines.” We reached the end of stage 10 by noon and had lunch there. This is the first day with easy, well-graded trail, although it was blocked for a while in the afternoon by a group of big cows. We got to Relais San Petru about 6pm and had excellent dinner there in warm atmosphere of the privately-run refuge.
This private refuge is also sit...
2022-12-2121 min
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 8 — The Boy Who Never WasMay 31, 2022 — Stages 8 & 9 combined — Pietra Piana to Onda to Vizzavona — 13mi / 3,600'
We did a "double" today from Pietra Piana up along the ridge and down to Onda for lunch, and then up and over another pass and down to Vizzavona. Another outstanding day in the mountains and we have been very very lucky with the weather which has been ideal — mostly sunny, some afternoon clouds, very little rain, not too hot, with a nice west wind today. We came across some incredible granite swimming holes this afternoon with a massive plunge pool to dive into, in the gorge ab...
2022-12-2133 min
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 7 — Moving in the MountainsMay 30, 2022 — Stage 7 — Manganu to Pietra Piana — 7mi / 2,800'
Beautiful day, also very tough. Steep uphill right away leaving Manganu, then up through a dramatic portal notch, to a lunch spot up high above the lakes in the upper Rezzonica watershed. We ate spaghetti from a thermos and then traversed along a sharp ridge before dropping down to next refuge, which offered a fine dinner of lentil stew accompanied by Corsican music and a diverse, social crowd. Still only 20-25 people at the refuge. Like the last one, this refuge feels quite remote, and has a real mountain vibe. ...
2022-12-2140 min
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 6 — Pig ThiefMay 29, 2022 — Stage 6 — Castel de Vergio to Manganu — 11mi / 2,000'
Lovely and fairly easy 10mi walk traversing forest, then up and over into the upper Tavignano basin and the Lac de Nino, where we stopped for lunch. Very beautiful and views north to Monte Cintu and south to Monte Rotunda. We caught up with the young French ‘team Amazon’ at the first bergerie (still closed for the season) and then had a swim in the river as it formed its first pools, leaving just another couple of miles before the Manganu refuge. Here we came across the biggest crowd we’v...
2022-12-2138 min
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 5 — The Forest of FrustrationMay 28, 2022 — Stage 5 — Tighjettu to Ciotullu to Castel de Vergio — 10mi / 1,500'
It was a hard morning walk up to the Ciotullu bivouac at the pass. I was tired and hungry after not much breakfast. We lost the trail for a few minutes and ended up in the “forest of frustration,” with a bunch of the dreaded Pine Processionary Caterpillar https://web.cortland.edu/fitzgerald/PineProcessionary.html
We had a swim after getting off the trail, but there were more of the caterpillars in the stream. I developed a nasty skin irritation a day or so afterwards...
2022-12-211h 01
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 4 — "Hiking in Europe is Easy"May 27, 2022 — Stage 4 — Haut Ascu to Tighjettu — 8mi / 4,500'
I enjoyed breakfast a lot, with yogurt and two coffees, and got “leave last, move fast,” as the message for the morning. We motored up to the pass below Monte Cintu in record time, passing many other parties along the way. There was only a tiny bit of snow left up high, and it was soft enough that we didn't need to use the micro-spikes that we'd brought along.
Once we got to the pass, we left our big packs and just took lunch with us up to the summ...
2022-12-2143 min
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 3 — Walking is a PilgrimageMay 26, 2022 — Stage 3 — Carozzu to Haut Ascu — 5mi / 2,800'
We had some light rain for a couple of hours in the morning as we ascended the lower part of the gorge going up from Carozzu. We took it slow as it was a bit exposed moving over slippery rock above the river gorge. The weather cleared about halfway up, and we motored up to the pass where we took a break to regroup.
We debated for a while about an alternate to the standard descent via Punta Culaghia, but decided in the end to follow the trail a...
2022-12-2139 min
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 2 — The Goat WorkMay 25, 2022 — Stage 2 — Ortu di Piobbu to Carozzu — 5.5mi / 2,300'
We took the high alternate route from Ortu di Piobbu over Monte Corona and Capu Ladroncellu and then rejoined the main trail at about the halfway point. I was feeling super strong, just about running uphill with a 15kg pack. Anthony and I agreed that I was doing the “goat work,” and I said that has been part of my vision for who I want to be in my 50’s — a mountain goat.
From the mid-point on it was a very rough going, scrambling up and down, and then...
2022-12-2137 min
The Goat WorkGR20 Day 1 — Optimize for SerendipityMay 24, 2022 — Stage 1 — Calenzana to Ortu di Piobbu — 8mi / 4,800'
Anthony and I met Dirk at the Poste in Calenzana and then the three of us set off. Climbing straight out of town we quickly gained 700m, half of the day’s ascent, and then stopped for lunch at Boccu u Saltu at 1250m where there is a nice little meadow. Anthony and I played catch with a frisbee for a few, my anxiety growing. Just as I called a halt I stubbed my toe on a rock, but no major damage. Beautiful walking through tall pines and granite...
2022-12-2129 min
Brothers and TeachersE06 / Psychosis, Diagnosis and Gnosis with Anthony David AdamsComing around to our fathers, the emergence of self, becoming a man, going from psychosis to diagnosis to gnosis without 'white-knuckling' it, wayfinding, the bus work—and, parallel parking.Today, I'm talking with my old friend, Anthony David Adams. Anthony and I go back almost 20 years to when we were in grad school together in Wisconsin and we've had a lot of adventures together since then. We've been down to Baja together in my old F-250. We started a company together called CreditCovers, and most recently we were in Corsica doing the GR20 over two weeks in Ma...
2022-09-2346 min