From Clermont to the Comte farm via the hills above Seyssel

Park in the car park near Clermont Castle.

(S/E) Follow the sign for Droisy and turn right onto the Crêt de la Molière climb, which leads to the Chemin du Mont des Princes. Follow this path until you are directly beneath the power line.

(1) Keep to the right to follow the Chemin de la Verne. Turn right, pass the Barbouillon barn and continue across the plateau. A little further on, leave the Droisy country lane on your left and carry on straight ahead until you reach the junction with the Chemin des Contins.

(2) Carry on straight downhill towards Curty d’en haut. At Curty, the path joins the Chemin des Baules, which, after the water reservoir, links up with the Chemin de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle,^GR®65. (Yellow shell on a blue background).

(3) Follow this path to the left along the tarmac road heading south as far as the hamlet of Chez Cudet.

(4) Turn right onto the forest track which, after crossing the D57 departmental road, leads to Romaz.

(5) Leave the^GR®65, the Way of St James, and head up to the left, then follow the Chemin Rural du Chenal au Crêt, a stony track with a fairly steep gradient, until you reach a crossroads.

(6) Leave the stony track and take the path opposite, signposted ‘Ferme du Comte’. Pass the path signposted ‘Tour Romaine’ on your right. Climb steadily through a boxwood forest. A little further up, the boxwood gives way to pine and beech trees. You’ll reach a fork at the 864-metre mark.

(7) Do not take the path leading off to the right towards Chavanne, but follow the path to the left which climbs up to the Ferme du Comte at a Y-junction.

(8) Keep to the right to reach Chez Pantet, in front of the remains of the destroyed houses (see the link below). Continue along the path through the woodland to the car park on the Route des Esserts. Carry on straight ahead until you reach the junction with the Route de Droisy.

(9) Take the path opposite towards La Tuilière. Further on, cross the D57 carefully to return to the junction you passed on the way there.

(1) Turn right to reach the car park (S/E) via the reverse route of the outward journey: the Chemin du Mont des Princes, then the Montée du Crêt de la Molière.

After (6), the climb continues steadily through a boxwood forest infested with the box tree moth.
Don’t be surprised to see caterpillars suspended by a thread in the middle of the path.
These are the caterpillars of the box tree moth.

As mentioned in (8), some explanations are provided on the website