GR5 from Leman Lake to the Mediterranean Sea

In the Summer 2022, I hiked through the Alps / part of the GR5 from Leman Lake to the Mediterranean or also known as the Grande Traversée des Alpes (GTA). The full GR5, starts in the Hook of Holland, at the North Sea and then goes through Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Switzerland. The full hike is 2,290km (1,420 miles).

The GR’s are a network of long-distance walking trails in Europe. In France, they go by the following name: Sentier de Grande Randonnée.

The route

With 3 weeks holidays, I should have enough time to hike the French Alps, from the Leman Lake to the Mediterranean Sea. This part of the GR5 is known as the Grande Traversée des Alpes. There are many variants along the way. Most of the guides estimate completion in around 30 to 35 days. I plan to push the daily mileage to reduce the number of days to 18 (having 3 days extra before my return plane trip home in case of issues along the way).

Variants

I followed most of the GR5route, and took a few variants to areas that I really want to see:

– I started in Saint Gingolph. The alternative start is from Thonon les Bains, which adds an extra day, but it is easier as it has a more gradual climb to start the long hike, it would be more beneficial for hikers with less training or more time available.

– After the Col de Voza (between Les Houches and les Contamines), I went to the Col du Tricot / Chalets de Miage. This route adds a 500 climb and provides a great view of the Mont Blanc, and there is a Tibetan style bridge across the Bionnassay river.

– After Tignes, I went right to hike the GR55. This high-altitude route (which goes above 2700m) passes through the National Park of the Vanoise. It is going along high Glaciers, and I hoped to see a lot of wildlife. This route is shorter by one day from the GR5.

– And to finish, at Saint Dalmas Valdeblore, instead of going South to Nice, I went North through the Mercantour National Park. This variant follows the GR52 and passes through the Park du Mercantour and the “Vallée des Merveilles”. I was expecting this to be the highlight of the hike and I was not disappointed. This route finishes in Menton, instead of Nice. It is a steep descent from Col du Berceau (1090m) to Menton in less than 10km.

Hiking Clothes

I am used to daily hikes, so this multi-day hike should not be much different. I prefer to be light and comfortable to be able to move “fast”. I wear shorts / t-shirts / a cap / sunglasses and trail running shoes. On my day hikes, I use a 5 to 10 litre backpack to bring my safety gears / water / food / camera / drone / jackets… The backpack is usually around 4 kg. For the GR5 hike, the backpack will be 45 litres, but the goal is to keep it under 10 kg. I will use hiking poles to reduce the extra weight to the legs.

The backpack

I will sleep in Refuges / hotels along the way. I will need only snacks / picnics for the day and will get the diner / breakfast in the refuges. I will bring a silk sleeping bag liner for sleeping at night time. All refuges have blankets available. In case off an emergency, I have a Bivy and a sleeping bag. My 45-litre backpack is enough for this hike, and I have kept the weight under 10 kilograms.

Backpack / safety / sleep – 2.7kg

Clothes – 2.1kg

Evening Clothes – 0.9kg

Food / water – 2.6kg

Books / Electronics – 1.6kg

In total the backpack was roughly 10 kilograms. If the weather was bad, I would wear more clothes and the backpack would be roughly 8.5 kilograms (but during this hike, I rarely had to wear long sleeves or jackets).

I have no spare extra change of clothes. I hand-washed the dirty closes every evening with soap. They dried fast, so most morning I could wear dry and clean clothes. I just had 2 extra pairs of underwear and 2 extra pair of socks.

When I reached Modane, after 8 days of hiking, I developed Shin Spints on my right leg. I bought some anti-inflammatory cream / KT band to support my Shin.

In Briancon, I had to buy a needle and thread to repair my backpack. The straps were coming off my backpack, and I needed it to last another week.

Start

I choose to start in Saint Gingolph. The route is steep from the start but it is one day shorter than the start from Thonon les Bains. On the other hand, it is a little harder to reach by public transport, but I was lucky to be driven to the start.

I was a little stressed at the start, I did not know if I would be able to handle the long hike. The stages in the guidebook are much shorter, and involve more than 8 hours of hiking. The stages I planned according to the guide should take me up to 12 to 14 hours. I was worried to arrive too late in the evenings.

First refuges

I hiked the route in August. It is the busiest period in France. French people tend to go on holidays between the 14th of July and the 15th of August. I booked my first 9 nights in advance, until the 15th of August:

1/ La Chapelle d’Abondance (Hotel La Joly)
2/ Refuge Chardonnière
3/ Refuge Moëde Anterne
4/ Les Contamines-Montjoie Refuge CAF
5/ Refuge de Balme Tarentaise
6/ Refuge d’entre Le Lac
7/ Refuge Col de la Vanoise
8/ Modane (Hotel de la Gare)
9/ Plampinet / Refuge La Cleida

It is safer to book in advance, but it does not allow for any flexibility, to have longer or shorter days. For the rest of the trip, I should have more availability to book few days in advance.

I discovered that the 3 main refuges (Madone de Fenestre, Nice and des Merveilles) in the Mercantour parc are booked months in advance. Think about this when you plan your own trip.

Anyway, after few days, I should be more relaxed and confident.

The hike details are in the next pages:

Day 1 to 4 – Saint Gingolph to Les Contamines Montjoie
Day 5 to 8 – Les Contamines-Montjoie to Modane
Day 9 to 12 – Modane to Maljasset
Day 13 to 15 – Maljasset to Rimplas
Day 16 to 18 – Rimplas to Menton
GR5 – Conclusion