Why
the GR5 - GR52?
The alpine portion
of the GR5 long distance hiking trail is without a doubt one of
the most beautiful and personally rewarding multi-day hiking experiences
in the world.
Is there a better hiking route in the world? It depends what you are looking for, but for me, only
the around Annapurna trek in Nepal, or arguably, any Nepal trekking
route is a better experience... not the TMB (Tour of Mount Blanc);. not the Dolomites traverses;
not the summer Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt; not the St. James
Pilgrimage, or countless other mainly low-country or hill-country
multi-day walks in Europe. not the AT (Appalachian Trail) nor the
CDT (Continental Divide Trail) nor the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail).
(You could, of course, argue for many of these:
The Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt if you want to walk mainly
on glaciers, away from villages and towns, with touches of Swiss civilization; the Dolomites if you
want to traverse along precipices and climb ladders and other fixed
aides above the tree line in striking scenery; the St. James Pilgrimage if you want to be a
pilgrim or if like to contemplate woods and fields, visit churches in French and Spanish towns,
and follow where millions of travelers have walked before; the AT if
you are a glutton for physical effort among woods and streams with
occasional long views; the CDT or PCT if you want a mainly wilderness,
backpacking experience with many open views in a diversity of beautiful mountain terrain.
View of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman)
from the Dent d'Oche.
Click to enlarge.
 But
you can't beat the GR5 for the sheer beauty of Alpine slopes and
pastures, flanked by some snow-covered mountains and glaciers, and
punctuated by the the charm of flower-filled French villages, served
up with good food of French hotels and inns and/or the comraderie
of French communal lodgings—refuges and gîtes d''etape,
(and a few Italian and Swiss ones)— all this with the variety
that comes from changing elevations and diminishing rainfall as
you move from the lush and green north to the sparse and brown south
and to the sub-tropical Mediterranean.
There are three considerations that might deter you: First, you
won't be among many native English speakers: Few British and even
fewer Americans walk the GR5. That said, most hikers will speak
English as a second or third language. In lodgings of all types,
if you are polite, people will try to speak English. They will view
conversation with you as an opportunity to practice their English.. Possible
negative feelings that some may have to today's American foreign policy
will not carry over to you as an individual, and, assuming you are
polite in your discussions, an exchange of views will be welcomed.
To an adventurous traveler the language issue is more of an opportunity
than a problem.
The second consideration that might deter you is the weather: This
consideration applies to any northern Alps hiking trip, whether
in France, Switzerland, or Austria. While the southern Alps are
generally sunny, the Northern Alps can be rainy—that is why
they are so green—and rain can delay or even spoil a GR5 trip.
By and large I personally have had good luck with the weather with
either no rain or only a couple of days of rain, but one never knows.
The third consideration that might deter you is the difficulty
of the GR5 and GR52:
Difficulty
Hours walked versus elevation, Léhman to Chamonix. Click
all photos to enlarge.
 The
GR5 Alpine Crossing could be difficult, unless you are a mountian
hiker at home, or have conditioned yourself as described herein
in Chapter 6. You should
be able to handle 1,300 meters (4,000 feet) up or down in a day,
carrying a 10 - 30 pound pack. Unless you are going to take motorized
tansport instead of walking, you need the stamina to very occasionally
hike up to 9 or 10 hours in one day, not counting rest stops;although
on most days you could choose to hike two, four, six or seven hours. You may be able to partially condition yourself on the trail by taking it easy for the first few days, but if you are doing so, be sure to allow for this in your schedule.
Who should use this
site?
All potential GR5 - GR52 hikers can probably benefit from the
topics presented here under the table of contents heading "General
Information".
Even if you plan to precisely follow the official GR5 - GR52,
and sleep in whatever shelter is available, you will probably also
gather useful information from the "Route
Recomendations" that follow the general section. However,
much of the information in this section is written for walkers who
are willing to stray from official routes to experience even more
interesting terrain, or even more challange, or better lodgings,
or even greater views, or outstanding sightseeing.
Route descriptions on this Site are
deliberately not detailed or exhaustive. For detailed descriptions,
trail instructions, and timings consult guidebooks and/or maps—you
will need them in any case. For
information on guides and maps, see Books
and Maps.
About the author
I started walking the GR5 because I was looking for an "encore"for a fabulous
22 day long "around Annapurna" trek in the Nepal Himalayas. In a book store,
I found a book, by Margolis and Harmon's, now
long out of print (but available on the Net used) about the GR5. I was spending
several weeks in France, and—the weather forecast being good—decided on the spur of the moment
to walk the first week of the GR5,
from Lake Geneva to Mont Blanc. Thus started a saga of walking the GR5 (and re-walking two segments) that lasted for six summers over ten years, and
promises to start up once again. Memories of these summer treks
in the Alps are still very vivid. I do enjoy backpacking in the US Western wilderness, but I prefer the touches of civilization with my mountains, and the GR5's good food and lodgings.
In writing this site, I hope to bring the GR5 and particularly
the GR 52 to the attention of more Americans and other English speakers.
I want also to share some of my knowledge as to how to do the Alpine
Traverse with a degree of comfort, a dollop of sightseeing, and
an additional helping of adventure.
I have tried to double check all the routings, times, lodgings,
and sources. Certainly, I will have made errors, and so I advise
you the reader to double check everything yourself— once before
you set out, and again, along the way.
If you have suggestions or questions, please do let me know, at
author@grfive.com
And, if you are a cyclist interested in Europe, you may want to consult the "brother" site to this one, www.mayq.com , which gives rankings and many details for some of Europe's best road bike trips, as well as a lengthy discussion of touring styles, equipment, planning, taking bicycles on trains, and so on.
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