Adventure Plans
Tour of the Queyras on the GR58, 6–11 July 2025
Tour of the Queyras on the GR58, 6–11 July 2025
Six days on the GR58 gave us a full loop of big climbs, border crossings, camps, swims, and a very welcome pizza at the end. Across the trip we covered 155.60 km with 9113.2 m of ascent.
Quick Summary
This was a six-day hike around the Tour of the Queyras, starting after the sleeper train to the Alps and finishing on 11 July. Each day had its own feel, but the thread running through the whole trip was steady climbing, long high traverses, and the mix of simple camp life with a few well-timed comforts.
What We Got Up To
We started with a lovely first day on the trail, easing into the route after the journey out. Light rain arrived in the evening, so dinner happened in the tent, which felt like a fair introduction to a week of living outside.
Day two was one of the bigger mountain days, with four cols and a variant that took us into Italy for most of the route. Mont Viso kept appearing in the views, and the finish was hard to beat: a swim at the source of the Guil.
Day three was probably the standout. We crossed into Italy again, went over two more cols, stopped for cake at a hut, and ended the day with an amazing camp spot in a meadow. It had that rare feeling of everything lining up at once: strong legs, good weather, and a place to stop that was even better than we hoped.
Day four began with frost, which was a surprise after the heat that came later. We had our first on-trail pastry of the trip, stopped for a swim, laundry, and a wash at Lacs du Malrif, then dropped into Aiguilles in much hotter conditions.
On day five we cut out a small part of the standard route so we could push on and camp next to a refuge. That meant our first shower since leaving home, which was reason enough on its own, and we also dropped into town for supplies. It felt like a practical decision rather than a purist one, and definitely the right call.
The last day was shorter, but it still felt like a proper finish rather than a roll-in. It was a great final stretch before heading to Guillestre for pizza and a bit of rest, with that usual end-of-trip mix of satisfaction and not quite wanting it to be over.
Conditions and Gear
The week seemed to throw a bit of everything at us in small doses:
- light rain on the first evening
- a frosty start on day four
- very hot conditions on at least one long descent
- plenty of reasons to stop for a swim when we could
That mix made camp routine and layering matter more than anything fancy. Having a tent we were happy to sit in during light rain helped on the first night, and the chance to wash ourselves and some kit mid-trip made a real difference to morale. More than once, the best “gear choice” was simply taking opportunities when they appeared: a hut stop, a swim, a pastry, a shower, or a town resupply.
Highlights and Learnings
A few things stand out when I look back on the whole loop.
- The repeated crossings into Italy gave the route a bigger, more varied feel.
- Mont Viso sounds like it was one of the defining views of the trip.
- The swim at the source of the Guil and the stop at Lacs du Malrif broke up the harder days brilliantly.
- The meadow camp on day three sounds like the best overnight spot of the week.
- Finishing with pizza in Guillestre was exactly the right ending.
The main lesson was that a long multi-day route is rarely about one dramatic moment. It is more about stacking good decisions: keeping moving over the cols, adjusting plans when it makes sense, and making the most of small comforts when they come along. Cutting a little of the standard route on day five to reach a better camp and a shower was a good reminder that the best version of a route is not always the most literal one.
Photos
A lot of the trip comes back through the photos: the early days settling into the rhythm of the GR58, the bigger high passes, the repeated views into Italy, meadow camps, lakeside stops, and the final push to the finish.
