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The Rochette car park, the starting point for this route, is easily accessible from the village of La Chapelle.
Leave the village in the direction of Bouillon, pass under the N58 E46 motorway and turn right onto the Route Forestière (RF) du Morthean.
(S/E) From the La Rochette car park, head south-west on the Route Forestière de la Première Tranchée for about 400 metres.
Take the first path on the left and descend to the Étang du Wargué.
(1) Of the five possible paths, take thefirst on the left (marked for mountain biking). Continue until you reach a nearby forest fence.
(2) Go up to the left along the fence, then turn left to reach the Ruisseau de la Roche d'Or.
(3) Continue along the path and, at the next junction, turn left to join the Route Forestière de la Fange aux Loups.
Turn left and follow it for 400 metres, then turn right onto a forest lane that borders plot 93.
(4) Initially stony, this lane becomes a path and then branches off to the left.
At the following crossroads, take the path on the right to reach the Ruisseau de la Fange aux Loups.
(5) Cross over the stream and take the right-hand path twice to follow the stream, first on the left bank and then on the right bank (there are some attractive rock formations on the left before you change banks).
At the next junction, take the path that branches off to the left (plots 54 and 89) to follow Rouge Ruisseau on its right bank. Climb up to a path on the right (yellow signpost at the fork) which allows you to cross Rouge Ruisseau.
(6). Cross the stream. At the next junction, continue in the same direction. At the second junction, turn left and then right to join two forest roads: on the right, the RF des Douze Cents, and on the left, the RF de la Laie de Villers (municipal boundary and national forest boundary).
(7) Take the RF de la Laie de Villers on the left for 700 m to reach the junction with the Route Forestière du Bel Aune. There are no signs for the Route Forestière on the ground.
(8) Turn left onto the RF du Bel Aune (straight ahead) until you reach the Route du Morthean.
(9) Cross it and take the main road opposite. After 300 m, before a steep descent, turn right and then immediately left. Shortly afterwards, pass under the Roche au Sel, a pretty block of quartz puddingstone.
(10) Continue eastwards. The path becomes more stony. Then turn left (90°) onto a straight path (heading north), then after 200 m, turn right onto a plot boundary (landmark: sign for plot 41) to join the Gros Chêne path.
Descend to the left (landmark: sign for plot 40) to Gros Chêne (basic shelter in poor condition nearby).
Please note: on the map, "Le Gros Chêne" indicates the car park. Follow the route and description carefully.
(11) Follow the mountain bike signs to the left without hesitation until you reach La Motte (directional signage). The path initially runs along the border with Belgium, then veers away from it before turning left. It then takes a grassy path on the right, at the end of which there are feeding troughs for deer, goes up to the left, then turns right towards La Motte.
(12) Turn right to go to the pond, then retrace your steps and follow mountain bike trails 13 to 16 to return to the starting point (S/E).
and yes, there were lots of mushrooms and a wide variety of flora.
Visorando member
Difficult 
