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Car park: From the village of Saint-Nicolas-des-Biefs, head up the street past the church and then the town hall. At the White Cross, turn left and then immediately right (Stop sign). Stay on the main road, ignoring the tarmac tracks on the left. Park at the large crossroads (Pierre Châtel picnic area).
(S/E) Take the small tarmac road leading uphill. After the chalets, it turns into a dirt track. Stay on the main track. At the T-junction, turn left.
(1) You’ll come out onto theGR®®3A; follow it intermittently. Take theGR®® to the right. At the crossroads, carry straight on, then take a stony, descending path to the right. At the junction (947m), head straight ahead. The descent, still over stony ground, becomes slippery with a trickle of water winding its way along the path. Turn left, then immediately right, and cross the Sapey (862m). You’ll reach a road; follow it to the right for about a hundred metres.
You’ll reach the first house in the hamlet.
(2) Take the path on the left (large stone). Stay on the main path and continue straight on along theGR®®3A. At the clearing, turn right onto the Chemin de Jean-Jacques (1079m) – there is a sign.
You’ll reach the Loge des Garde resort.
(3) Pass the hotel-restaurant on your left. Cut across the playground and walk past the picnic area. Cross the large crossroads and pass through the lower part of the resort. After the last ski lift, take the Sainte-Marie-des-Bois forest road (signpost).
(4) Walk past the paragliding launch site, then turn right (1,119 m) onto the path leading to the Druidic Stone (sign).
(5) After the rock piles, continue along the path to the Calvaire de l’Assise.
(6) At the Calvary, cross the road and take a grassy, poorly maintained path which branches off to the right and follows the road (you may, if you prefer, walk along the road instead). At the end of the path (1016m), take the descending track to the left, then turn left onto a less marked descending track. At the red marker, turn left; at the crossroads, carry straight on.
(7) Leave the Boitet farm (and the car wrecks…) on your left and set off along the road to the right. A few dozen metres further on, take the sunken, muddy track that joins from the left. Follow it downwards. Join a wider track and follow it to the left (736m). Leave it very quickly to take the track leading uphill to the right. Carry on straight ahead, staying on the main track. Take the road to the left (825m) for about a hundred metres and, at the bend, turn right onto the path that leads straight ahead. Walk down through a pretty woodland with moss-covered stones. At the junction, turn right onto the path that descends steeply to Le Sapey.
(8) Cross the stream; at the junction, carry on straight ahead and head uphill to the hamlet of Périasse.
(9) Walk through the hamlet along the uphill street. Turn left at the cross and follow the road to the Croix Periasse. Pass to the right of the Green Cross and take a grassy path running alongside the last house. Go down the path, cross the road and continue downhill to Le Perret. The path turns left after the house and heads uphill. Carry on straight ahead. You’ll reach the hamlet of La Bletterie via an ancient stony track.
(10) Cross the hamlet, following the road to the right. Walk uphill to the crossroads and cross it.
(11) Walk up the Allée des Hêtres Tortueux. At the crossroads (wooden cross), carry on straight ahead along a path bordered by a dry-stone wall. At the three-way junction, turn left. At the junction, take the small path leading steeply uphill opposite. After a right-angled bend to the left, the path emerges at the foot of the Pierre Châtel rock. Climb the narrow, steep staircase on the right to reach the oratory. Descend and continue along the path, skirting the rock on the left. Walk alongside the climbing routes and, via a series of tricky steps, emerge at the northern end of the rock.
(12) A small path on the right leads to the summit. Head back down the same way and continue straight on. After a right-angle bend at the last rocks, the path veers to the right, crosses a woodland and leads to the picnic area, which marks the finish (S/E).
Visorando Member
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Moderate 
Association / Club / Walk leader
