Crossing the Monts du Somail via Lac de Vesoles

Unmarked

(S) From Flacheraud, head up the path running alongside the hedge towards the south-east. Emerge on the left across the fields onto a road and take it straight ahead. At the end of the descent, look out for a path on the left that leads into the beech forest.

Yellow and red markings

(1) Head up the path and come out onto the D14. Turn right onto it and follow for 100 m.

White and red markings

(2) At the Col de Fontfroide (signpost for the GR® 7 “Saut de Vesoles 11.5 km”), turn right onto the track that climbs into the forest to the left of the shelter. Ignore a wind turbine access track on the right, then a path leading down on the left. On a gentle climb, leave the forest and reach the Col de Montplo.

(3) Take the track to the left beneath the wind turbine. Ignore two wind turbine access tracks on the right, then all the paths branching off to the left, and reach the Étang de Rivieyrals.

(4) Head up the path to the left, come out onto a track and follow it to the left. Ignore all the paths branching off, both to the left and right, and reach the Col de la Pichinière.

(5) Head down the track to the right and, at the Fork in the road, turn left. Continue along the hillside. At the Fork in the road, leave the track to the left and head down opposite towards Campblanc.

(6) At another fork in the road, continue along the track to the right, passing the Campblanc farm. Cross the bridge over the Ruisseau du Buraut and take the path to the left. After a short stretch through the forest, follow the western shore of Lac de Vesoles. Cross two peat bogs on wooden walkways and reach a picnic area.

(7) Follow the lake’s shore and, at the fork in the road, head up to the right along the edge of the forest. At another fork in the road, continue the climb straight ahead and come out onto a road. Cross it and reach another Fork in the road near the Rocher d’Oreille d’Aze (signpost for the GR® 7: “Le Moulinet 8.5 km, Col des Boeufs 3 km, La Roque 7 km”).

(8) Turn right, then immediately left onto the straight path through the pine forest. Descend to the left along the path overlooking the Ruisseau du Buraut ravine and reach a viewpoint.

(9) Continue along the path until you reach the Route Forestière du Cabarétou. Take this road to the left. At the T-junction, ignore the paths branching off to the right and head towards the Fontaine des Cabanes.

(10) Continue along the forest road until you reach the Col des Bœufs.

(11) Leave the Route Forestière du Cabarétou and take the path on the right. At the junction, turn left. Continue straight ahead and, at the Fork in the road, go down to the right. At the junction, go down opposite and come out onto the D169.

(12) Follow it to the right for a few metres and take the Route Forestière de la Roussille opposite, heading north-west. At the Fork in the road, continue left along the forest road.

(13) Cross a bridge over the Arn.

(14) At the fork in the road, leave the forest road and turn left onto the path heading south. After a right-hand bend, leave the forest and cross a meadow. At the T-junction, turn left, cross a stream via a bridge and come out onto the D907.

(15) Cross the road, then turn right onto the path under the trees. Follow the road until you reach a junction. Ignore the first road on the left (private property) and take the second one towards the La Roque equestrian centre. After a long 180° left-hand bend, turn right onto the tree-lined path at the entrance to the riding centre. Walk alongside a pond and emerge into a meadow. Turn left, go downhill to cross the Arn and emerge at a bend in the road.

(16) Turn right here, passing the Moulinet holiday centre. Cross a bridge at a bend in the road and, after a left-hand bend, reach a house below the road (signpost for the GR® 7 “La Bastide-Rouairoux 17.5 km, Col des Thérondels 5 km” and the GRP® Tour de la Montagne du Haut-Languedoc “La Fajole 2.5 km”),

Yellow and red markings

(17) Continue straight ahead along the road, ignoring a path that climbs to the left. At the Fork in the road, continue right along the road, cross a bridge over the Arn and reach the Blanque farm.

(18) Continue along the track. Ignore the paths branching off to the right and reach La Fajole. At the crossroads, take the road to the right.

(19) At the fork in the road, continue left along the D150E4. Pass La Métairie Neuve and, after a marsh, climb up to Le Soulié (E).

Hike completed by the author on 06/09/2020.

This route follows the GR® 7 from Col de Fontfroide (2) to Le Moulinet (17), then the GRP® ‘Tours des monts et lacs en Haut-Languedoc’ to Le Soulié (E). It is described in the TopoGuides published by the French Hiking Federation:
- “La Traversée du Massif central par les Parcs: de La Bastide-Puylaurent à Castelnaudary”, reference 7002,
- “Tours des monts et lacs en Haut-Languedoc”, reference 3481,
- “Crossing the Haut-Languedoc”, reference 716.

No water sources along the route.

From the Col de Fontfroide (2) to the Col de la Pinchinière (5), the route runs alongside the Fontfroide wind farm.

Flacheraud (S): stopover lodge at the Jougnier horse-drawn carriage farm.

Col de Fontfroide (2): shelter.

Le Mourel (7): picnic area.

Le Soulié (E): hotel, bar, restaurant. The grocery shop was closed when I passed through.

Col de Fontfroide (2): a quote from Élisée Reclus, French geographer and anarchist activist, is engraved on a plaque to the right of the shelter. It speaks volumes about the future of the Fontfroide wind farm:
“Where the land has become ugly,
where all poetry has vanished from the landscape,
imagination dies, minds
are impoverished, routine and servility
take hold of souls and predispose them to
torpor and death.” 1886

Views of the Mountain and the Espinouse State Forest between (2) and (4).

Somail State Forest from (4) to (E): beech forest.

Lake Vesoles between (6) and (8): situated on the ridge of the Somail mountains, the dam holds back a 50-hectare lake which feeds a hydroelectric power station after a 700-metre drop,

Viewpoint from which you can admire the Saut de Vesoles and the Gorges du Ruisseau du Buraut at (9).