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Arrive in Comus via the D20, the only possible road access. In the village, park in the car park in the courtyard of the old village school.
White and redGR® and yellowPR® markings
(S/E) Turn left when leaving the car park and reach the first three-way junction with a sign: No Entry for the middle road.
Yellow PR® markings
(1) Leave theGR® on your right and turn left, following the double sign: Boucle de Rouquières - Boucle Roc Rouge on the signpost. At the bench, leave the road and turn left onto a stony path.
About a hundred metres further on, turn left (marker on the ground) before reaching an enclosure for hunting dogs, which you can hear from a distance. The narrow path winds its way under the hazelnut trees, more or less parallel to the start with a double stony track, cuts across it and then rejoins it before leading to a meadow with cattle grazing on the left.
(2) Turn right at a wooden signpost, walk up the meadow, then enter the undergrowth. The slope is extremely steep and the elevation gain is sudden before you reach a welcome flat area and a crossroads with a signpost.
(3) Turn left, walk a few dozen metres, then keep to the right, following the direction: Circular Rouquières Bas - Col de la Gargante. The IGN map is not accurate at this point.
Join a forest track, which may be more or less rutted depending on the season, and follow it to the right, downhill to the Col de Gargante. Ignore the crossroads shown on the IGN map, as they no longer exist on the ground.
White and redGR® markings
(4) When you reach the pass where several piles of logs are stacked (situation in October 2021), turn left towards the sign indicating the Forêt Domaniale de Plaine Comus, which marks a three-way junction. Take the middle track opposite, marked Route des Sapins, and follow it along the contour line to the first right-hand bend.
(5) Here, you will find a very informative educational sign about the Frau Integral Biological Reserve and, a few metres further on, an exceptional viewpoint over the end of the Frau Gorges and the Aude plain. Perched on its rocky peak, the Cathar castle of Montségur is a magnificent landmark. Continue on to the Refuge des Gardes crossroads: an open hut with a table and fireplace, plus a picnic table outside.
(6) Opposite the refuge, turn left following the signposts, leaving another path on your left. Leave the forest, cross an electric fence and continue along the wide, flat path offering beautiful views on your left. Begin a descent into a vast open space where a solitary tree stands out easily.
No signposts
(7) At this point, leave theGR® and take a grassy path on the right that leads towards the forest, enters the undergrowth and further on comes out onto a forest track. Follow this track to the right until you reach a majestic tree with a sign saying: Chasse gardée (private hunting ground).
(8) Turn left onto a path that quickly begins a challenging climb and then descends to a carriage track.
(9) Turn left and follow it to the Col de Lancise.
(10) Turn right, pass the shelter hut on your right and keep right at the crossroads just after it. You will soon come to a fork in the road at a tree on the right with the number 49 painted in green on a white background.
YellowPR® markings
Turn left, following the sign for Tour du Boum on the signpost. Begin the gentle descent to Pla du Boum, a vast grassy basin surrounded by conifers which, as its name suggests, was once home to a lake (Boum = lake in the Pyrenees). Enjoy this peaceful site, which is reminiscent of Canadian landscapes.
(11) Shortly after a concrete watering trough, keep to the right and continue to the next junction where you will find a signpost with the following directions: Boucle de Montpié in the opposite direction and Tour du Boum on the right. Ignore both and continue straight ahead uphill. At the hairpin bend, turn right to follow the path that serves as a shortcut and leads to the Col du Boum, which is accessible by car.
Markings:GR® White and Red +PR® Yellow
(12) Go down the road opposite.
(13) Follow the path to the right, at a signpost, rejoin the road and cross it to take the path opposite. This becomes tarmac and leads to a crossroads where you turn left to return to the car park (S/E).
Association / Club / Walk leader
Easy 
Visorando member
