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To get to the start, from Vicdessos, at the bridge, take the D208 towards Goulier. Further up, leave this road and take theD208A towards Sem, on the left. At the entrance to the village, there is a large car park for walkers.
(S/E) From the car park, head towards the centre of the village. Pass the discreet Pont de Bèque bridge and you will see the Galerie de Becquey on your right. Continue along the road and, after 150 m, take a sharp right onto the Chemin des Mines or Chemin du Minier (yellow markings). The steep climb, fortunately through the forest, opens onto a fork to the left, which you should follow. After a second hairpin bend, the grassy track reaches the entrance to the first gallery at another hairpin bend.
(1) The route is obvious here and repeats itself to climb a fifth hairpin bend and the Galerie de Sainte-Barbe.
(2) Continue to the seventh hairpin bend and you will find the Galerie de l'Auriette.
(3) The pleasant trail continues to climb.
(4) After a trail starting on the right that you must leave, the discovery trail branches off to the right shortly afterwards and leaves the trail (do not follow the markings on the IGN maps). Pay close attention to the yellow markings (cross opposite). Climb a slope marked with a large yellow arrow and arrive at a fork.
(5) Be careful! Do not be misled by a yellow marker on a large rock at the start of a track on the left. Continue climbing the wide track that opens up on the right (or opposite, once you have climbed the embankment). Reach the next crossroads and look for the white and redGR®10markings.
(6) Continue straight ahead and descend to the nearby Refuge and Col de Grail.
(7) A magnificent spot with picnic tables. There is no water source at the refuge, which is closed (owned by the Office National des Forêts). There is supposedly a spring near the start of the track to the south-east, but at the end of June 2024, it was completely covered by tall grass... A pipe collects water further along this track to the south-east (watering hole).
Go down the gravel track on the right, following theGR®10markings until it climbs up to the left at a fork.
(8) Continue down the track and, at the three-way junction, reach the Col de Risoul: ignore the poorly positioned signpost.
(9) From the pass, make the short effort to climb up opposite, to the nearby ridge of Pic de Risoul, a paragliding launch site.
(10) The view over the Vicdessos valley and its mountain ranges is extraordinary! A solitary conifer provides welcome shade for a tree trunk that has been turned into a bench for walkers to rest on. Then return to the pass.
(9) Turn left onto a grassy downhill track. Shortly afterwards, the track re-enters the forest and becomes magnificent. Follow the steady descent to reach a fork.
(11) Leave the track continuing straight ahead and take the hairpin bend to the left. The route is now clear and continues to be just as beautiful until you reach the Sem car park (S/E).
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