Marc's Lodge - Refuge du Pinet

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The first stage of the journey, the shortest and easiest, to warm up your legs, passing through the Bois de Fontanal and the Étang Sourd to the Refuge du Pinet. The elevation gain is still significant.

This walk is part of a multi-day hike: Tour of the Giants of the Three Nations

Details

n°78380000
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–
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.31 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: No
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 4,012 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 36 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 7,339 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 3,304 ft
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Description of the walk

From Auzat, take the D8 to the village of Marc. Park at the Marc lodge (next to the church of Saint-Antoine du Moncalm), where you can stay the night before the hike.

(S) Take the small road north to join the RD8.

(1) Turn left onto a short section of the D8 after passing the church of Saint-Antoine.

(2) Leave the D8 at the first hairpin bend after passing a bridge (without crossing it), taking a small path along the Ruisseau de l'Artigue stream and following the GR®T60. Join the D66 at the hamlet of Mouret.

(3) Walk along this road to the Artigue car park after the Soulcem hydroelectric power station.

(4) At the end of the car park, continue straight west towards the Ruisseau de l'Artigue and a small dam: do not turn right to go up to the hamlet of Lagréu.

(5) At the intersection, continue straight ahead on the GR®T60 towards the Artigue waterfall through the Bois de Fontanal.

(6) At another intersection, ignore the path going straight ahead towards the Cascade de l'Artigue waterfall and turn left to stay on the GR®T60, which climbs more steeply into the forest to the Orri de Pla de Nouzère, located just beyond the edge of the forest.

(7) Leave the GR®T60 and turn left, heading south, onto the path leading to Étang Sourd through the mountain pastures. This path is not marked, but it is clearly visible and marked with cairns.

(8) At Étang Sourd, turn left onto the path heading south, passing to the left of the Cabane de l'Étang Sourd. Continue on this path to the Refuge du Pinet and its lake (E).

Waypoints

  1. S : mi 0 - alt. 3,327 ft - Marc's lodge - Vicdessos (rivière) - Affluent de l'Ariège
  2. 1 : mi 0.03 - alt. 3,317 ft - Church of Saint-Antoine
  3. 2 : mi 0.13 - alt. 3,353 ft - Artigue stream - Ruisseau de l'Artigue (ruisseau) - Affluent du Vicdessos
  4. 3 : mi 0.3 - alt. 3,533 ft - D66
  5. 4 : mi 1.5 - alt. 3,845 ft - Artigue car park
  6. 5 : mi 1.72 - alt. 3,894 ft - GR T60
  7. 6 : mi 2.02 - alt. 4,029 ft - Artigue Waterfall - Cascade de l’Artigue
  8. 7 : mi 3.02 - alt. 5,502 ft - Orri de Pla de Nouzère - Orri de Pla de Nouzère
  9. 8 : mi 3.53 - alt. 6,365 ft - Étang Sourd - Étang Sourd (Forêt Domaniale du Montcalm)
  10. E : mi 4.31 - alt. 7,303 ft - Refuge de l'Étang du Pinet

Notes

Alternative route: at point (7), you can continue straight on the GR® T60 to go directly to the Refuge du Pinet without passing by the Étang Sourd.

Worth a visit

At point (6), you can take a short detour to admire the Cascade de l'Artigue waterfall: approximately 1 km round trip.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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