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Start from the car park, located at the start of Rue du Théâtre, opposite La Popotte, the base for regulars at the Théâtre du Peuple, and what remains of the Pottecher factories.
The signposting is that of the Club Vosgien; see Practical Information.
(S/E) Walk up Rue du Théâtre towards the theatre. Pass it after about 300 m and arrive, level with the imposing wooden building, at a three-way junction.
(1) Turn right onto Route des Champs Colnots. Follow this road for about 300 m until you reach a junction with a tarmac path on the left and a grassy path on the right, near an old wooden farmhouse shaded by a large lime tree.
(2) Leave the road and take this small path on the right, which climbs steeply up the slope, first between a meadow and a garden, then disappears into the undergrowth, emerging only when you pass between two chalets. Ignore the road leading to them and continue straight up the slope.
When the path levels off and enters a wooded valley, turn right onto a faint track that joins a small road a little further up. Be careful: at the turning point, the map does not show the path leading to the bottom of the valley, even though it is more visible than the one you need to take. At the road, turn left and head straight on to the farm.
(3) The road ends at the farm. Go round it to the right to pass it and continue along a tree-lined path leading to an old farmhouse in the middle of the pastures. Leave it on the left-hand side of the path and continue until you reach an area of blueberry heathland, then the woodland. A little further on, let a path branch off to the left, towards La Roche du Frey, and continue until you reach the Berhamont ridge and the GR® 553 which runs along it.
(4) At the path, turn right onto a straight track that more or less follows the ridge until you reach a forest track. Logging operations have recently taken place (July 2022) in this area, which is more or less passable, particularly in wet weather.
After winding its way between the two slopes, this track quickly veers away from the ridge, leaving it on the right. Continue for about 200 m.
(5) Leave this track and take the one descending to the left. It soon enters a long hairpin bend to the left, then another to the right, descending the entire wooded slope. As you approach the first pastures, it joins a service track leading to a house which can be seen below once you have taken a few steps to the right.
(6) The path then climbs towards the Croix de Fresse, following a path running along a ledge above the Goutte de Laula. In this section, the view is unobstructed and offers a beautiful panorama of the Lower Vosges. Follow this path uphill until you reach the crossroads where the cross stands.
(7) Cross the pass to begin the descent on the opposite slope, passing in front of the cross. Throughout the descent, the view offers a stunning panorama of the Upper Moselle valley, the Col de Bussang and, in the distance, the Grand Ballon massif. Pass beneath the Chalet de la Croix de Fresse and continue straight down for about 500 m until you reach the start of a path on the left, after a wide left-hand bend and just as the track begins to curve back the other way.
(8) Leave theGR®® and turn right. The atmosphere changes once you reach the canopy of trees covering the path. As you approach the first farm, the path makes two consecutive hairpin bends before opening out onto a small road, just before the Quatre Vents crossroads.
(9) Cross the junction, continue straight on, go down the first hairpin bend to the left, then turn immediately right into the first small lane you come to. After the houses it serves, the lane continues as a pleasant path leading to the first houses of the village of Bussang. At the end of the path, turn left to return to the car park where you started (S/E).
Visorando Member
Moderate 
Difficult 
