Summit of Dormillouse via La Montagnette

Yellow PR® and yellow and red GRP® markings (over 200 metres)
Park in the Saint-Vincent-les-Forts car park.

(S/E) Take the^GRP® Tour du Lac de Serre-Ponçon to the forest tracks at a place called Les 4 Chemins.

(1) Continue until you reach Dantane.

(2) Leave the^GRP® here and follow the track going up to the left, marked in yellow. You will reach a crossroads.

(3) Continue on the track to the right, reaching a developed area and the crossroads with the Chemin Stratégique sign. Continue straight on towards the Fontaine du Loup.

(4) Continue left to reach the Fontaine du Loup rest area, a beautiful clearing surrounded by fir and spruce trees. Here you will also find the^first shepherd's hut on the route, which was restored in 2000.

(5) Then take the path leading off to the left at the bend (east) to Rocher du Joug (1,700 m).
Please note: on this section of the route, some malicious individuals have torn down the signs and removed the markings. You must therefore be very careful not to miss the next waypoint, Rocher du Joug, and the start of the path towards Montagnette-Dormillouse.
After the second scree slope, the trail passes under a dead tree, makes two hairpin turns (right then left) and climbs up the hillside to a final right-hand bend, followed by a straight, flat section of about 20 metres. The trail then passes just above Rocher du Joug, and the trail towards Montagnette-Dormillouse branches off to the right (if you come to any downhill section, turn back as you have missed the junction).

(6) Continue the ascent southwards via a series of well-marked hairpin bends among the fir trees, then the path becomes more unpredictable and seems to disappear into the vegetation. Follow the markings on the right for a series of wide bends until you reach the ridge at an altitude of around 1,950 metres. The yellow markings are regularly erased from the Rocher du Joug junction, so you need to be very vigilant and, if there are no markings, look for the marks left on the trees, which are quite distinctive. Follow the ridge to La Montagnette, marked by a large cairn.

(7) Follow the markings and the few small cairns that indicate the path. After a 45-minute walk, the trail leads to a wide path (orientation table) that leads to the summit
of Dormillouse.

(8) Follow this path in the opposite direction to return to the La Montagnette crossroads.

(7) Turn left to descend beneath the rocky outcrops. After about 400 metres, the trail turns right and descends to Pas du Pantin: a series of steep hairpin bends and a passage over a small rocky spur. This is the most exposed section of the route and should be approached with caution.
Continue the descent along the ridge for about 400 metres. The path is well marked on the ground and then turns left to cross through the larch trees to the Mouriaye plateau. On this section, follow the markings carefully, as the path is obscured by numerous tracks left by livestock.

(9) At the hut, the trail turns into a wide path that crosses the plateau and then turns right through the larch trees until it joins the forest track. Turn right towards Saint-Vincent-les-Forts and after 200 metres take the path that descends to the left along the valley.

:10:: Follow it until you reach the forest track you took on the way there at Chemin Stratégique.

(4) Now retrace your steps in the opposite direction to return to the car park at Saint-Vincent-les-Forts (S/E).

Please note: the map and GPS track may be inaccurate. Hikers should follow the route as it appears on the ground, whether it be a trail, marked path, signposts or cairns. In all cases, your sense of direction and experience are your best assets.
Always adapt your route to the abilities of the weakest member of the group.
Please note that, as indicated in the description, the Rocher du Joug - Montagnette area is regularly unmarked and the sign indicating the Rocher du Joug has disappeared.
Open huts: La Montagnette and Mouriaye (please take great care).

(7) La Montagnette is marked by a large cairn informing hikers of the proximity of a shelter. Here you can admire the superb panorama of the village of Saint-Vincent-les-Forts and the Lac de Serre-Ponçon, and you will also find the^second pastoral hut on the route. Dating from^{the 19th} century, this hut was built by shepherds from Saint-Vincent-les-Forts to provide shelter during the summer grazing season. La Montagnette was used for pastoralism until the 1980s. The difficulty of access and the small number of sheep that could be accommodated led to the site being abandoned. The hut was restored and raised during the summer of 2012. One of the shepherds who worked at La Montagnette left his initials carved on a rock about 100 metres south-west of the hut. See if you can find them.

The Dormillouse Battery (2,508 metres), the destination of the hike, was built in 1882 and was part of the Southern Alps' defence system against Italy. The military called it the "Batterie du Col Bas" (Col Bas Battery), even though it is located on a peak whose traditional local name is Dormillouse, which means "the sleeper", the popular name for marmots. From its height of 2,508 metres, it watched over the Ubaye Valley and controlled the Col Bas pass, but above all, its elevated position was intended to serve as a relay for an optical transmission chain linking Grenoble to Toulon. Two posts equipped with optical glasses were used until 1928.

The canton of Mouriaye is the most suitable terrain for the growth of larch, a light-loving species and one of the treasures of the Saint-Vincent-les-Forts forest. Larch wood is highly prized in carpentry and roofing and is used in the construction of chalets. It is mainly found on this part of the hike, unlike fir and spruce (dark species) found on the uphill part of the route, which is located on a slope less exposed to light.

Despite this important forestry vocation, pastoralism on communal land has remained alive to this day, as Mouriaye welcomes some 80 cattle and a dozen horses from local breeders to graze for the summer (please note that although cows are calm and good-natured animals, keep your distance from those accompanied by their calves, as they can be aggressive). Here you will come across the third pastoral hut on the route.