The final stages of our GR54 hike delivered some of the most memorable moments of the entire traverse. On Stage 11, we descended from Les Terrasses through La Grave and followed the Romanche river to Refuge de l’Alpe de Villar d’Arène. Further forays brought us deep into a glaciated valleys. Stage 12 climbed to Col d’Arsine and then followed Le Petit Tobuc — a milky blue stream — all the way down to Le Monêtier-les-Bains, where our trip began. A day in Grenoble rounded out the journey before returning to Lyon.
This post is part of our series about our September & August 2022 Tour of the Ecrins, including:
- Overview and planning
- Arrival in Lyon and transit to Le Monêtier-les-Bains
- Stages 1-3: Le Monêtier-les-Bains, Vallouise, Refuge du Pré de la Chaumette, and Refuge de Vallonpierre
- Stages 4-7: Refuge du Pigeonnier, La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar, Refuge des Souffles, and Valsenestre
- Stages 8-10: Refuge de la Muzelle, Mizoën, and Les Terrasses
- Stages 11-12: La Grave, Refuge d l’Alpe de Villar d’Arène and back to Le Monêtier-les-Bains, followed by our return through Grenoble and back to Lyon (this post)
- Our packing list for hut-to-hut hikes
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Stage 11: Les Terrasses to Refuge de l’Alpe de Villar d’Arène
In the morning, we awoke to see the summits of the mountains across the valley rising above clouds. Sunrise was stunning: light on the peaks as clouds drifted along. It made me very glad we had stayed in Les Terrasses, above the clouds, rather than in the valley below.
Breakfast included nice bread, jams, cheese, ham, juice, and coffee. By the time we finished breakfast, Les Terrasses was completely socked in by clouds. We packed and began our steep descent toward La Grave.
Not long later, we popped out the clouds and could see the valley below. We continued down. When we reached La Grave, we stopped in at the small church of Église Notre Dame De L’Assomption. We also stopped at Boulangerie Patisserie La Boule à Meije to get lunch supplies: praline brioche, some other delicious brioche, pain au chocolate, and a chèvre sandwich.
From La Grave, we continued about 3km to Villar d’Arêne. We followed the book’s suggestion to stay close to the river and avoid a steep climb and descent. This was a lovely walk. The clouds started to burn off, offering mountain views, and we also paralleled the blue Romanche river.
In Villar d’Arêne, we said hello to a nice cat. After another 3km, at Pont D’Arsine, the river turns in to the massif. The trail follows it.
For the first stretch, the route was along a wide, gravel riverbed. The riverbed also presented many interesting rocks. We paused to enjoy the pastries we had purchased earlier. They were very good.
A ways in, the trail climbed steeply and briefly next to some waterfall and cascades. We continued along the river, passing by more waterfalls and cows.
We reached our accommodations for the night, Refuge de l’Alpe de Villar d’Arène (FFCAM). There, we checked in and left our clothes before setting off for further explorations.
A Y-shaped valley runs to the southwest of Alpe de Villar d’Arène. Each fork of the valley has a refuge high above: Refuge Adèle Planchard and Refuge du Pavé (FFCAM). We would have loved to stay at them, but one had closed for the season already and another was under renovation. Instead, we decided stay at Refuge d l’Alpe de Villar d’Arène and hike to see what we could of the valleys.
This was a beautiful hike. We enjoyed the blue streams and cascades and we had excellent views of the glaciers and peaks above. Cows grazed near the refuge and chamois grazed high above. Our route also took us by the source of the Romanche. There are many places in the Écrins to which I’d like to return and explore more, but these valleys are probably at the top of my list.
Eventually, it was time to return to the refuge. We cleaned up and then relaxed outside with a drink and books until dinner. The meal was good and consisted of soup (potato, vegetable?), rice, cabbage with marron (chestnut), pork, cheese with bread, and spice cake. The refuge also offered one of the best sunsets of the trip, with beautiful light in the clouds and on the peaks.
Distance and elevation gain for the day: 12.9 miles and 2996′.
Stage 12: Refuge de l’Alpe de Villar d’Arène to Le Monêtier-les-Bains
For our final morning of the trek, we woke up to beautiful light on the mountain peaks. After a breakfast of cream cheese, bread, butter, cereal, coffee, jam, we were on our way.
The morning light on the alp and the mountains continued to be stunning. The clouds thickened, but this had the effect of spotlighting certain peaks briefly. Magical.
The route climbed steadily to Col D’Arsine. There, we turned off for a 1 mile and 600′ elevation gain (round trip) detour to Lac du Glacier d’Arsine. This was actually two grey lakes–bisected by a moraine– and set between two other moraines in a bowl of mountains.
The wind at the lake was relentless and the clouds had grown thicker. Spots of sun remained, though, and we hunkered down among rocks in hopes of seeing it in sunlight. Our patience paid off and we got some sunnier moments.
Eventually it was time to leave. The section of the trail after the col was one of my favorites. Here, the trail follows Le Petit Tobuc, a small milky blue stream that starts in some pools just below the col.
The sun had returned–another benefit of our patience at the lake–and the water was beautiful. We paused many times to enjoy various pools and cascades, all with a backdrop of high mountains and glaciers.
We took a longer pause where Le Petit Tobuc reaches Lac de la Douche, a large pool (or small lake) in the stream. Resuming, the trail continued to parallel the stream as it reentered the forest. The route continued that way until we reached the village of Le Casset. Here, the Le Petit Tobuc flows into La Guisane, which continues to Le Monêtier-les-Bains.
We followed it along on a way bordered by fruit trees. This took us pretty much back to Hotel Restaurant Le Monêtier. There, we ordered beers and celebrated the end of our trip on the terrace.
After cleaning up, we had a while until dinner and were peckish. We visited a store where we bought a delicious raspberry dessert and some very nice goat cheese.
For dinner, we returned to 16âme. Because it was now September, they offered a new menu, and we were happy to find it was just as good as the August menu. We enjoy the same amuse bouches, beet purée with goat cheese and croutons, slow cooked egg with mushrooms (Kyle), lamb with greens and fennel (Sean), arctic char with mushrooms (Kyle), slow cooked veal (Sean), cheese to share, a creative and excellent dessert featuring lovage and a madeleine (Kyle), and prune with apricot sorbet (Sean).
Distance and elevation gain for the day: 10 miles and 1410′.
Heading home: Grenoble and back to Lyon
Our flight out was the next day, so we decided to visit Grenoble on the way back.
Our day began with tasty hotel breakfast and then the 9:30 bus to Grenoble, leaving from the church in Le Monêtier-les-Bains. This was again Zou LER 35, and we had made reservations online to ensure we would have a seat and that the bus driver would know to stop.
Once in Grenoble, we dropped our bags at a Nannybags location, Bookshop Le Cigarillo, we had pre-reserved, about 0.2 miles from the bus and train station.
Free of our bags, we headed toward Bastille Hill. There was a cable car that could have taken us to the top, but we chose still more walking and wandered the paths to the top of the hill. There, we took in the views of Grenoble.
After, we descended, again on foot. Our next stop was Musée Dauphinois, dedicated to the ethnography, archaeology, history and society of the former province of Dauphiné. There was little English explanation, but I translated some for Kyle.
We wandered a bit more before retrieving our bags and boarding a train for the 1 hour 20 minute ride to Lyon. While on the train, I made a dinner reservation. In Lyon, we checked into the same hotel (Hôtel Mercure Lyon Centre – Gare Part Dieu).
For dinner, we walked to La Monstrueuse in Vieux Lyon. This was a charming, slightly quirky restaurant. We ordered the prix fixé menu and loved everything. Unfortunately, it has since closed.
After, we enjoyed one more nighttime walk through Lyon. From there, it was time to sleep, and we flew home the next day at 11am.
Planning your own trip on the GR54 or to the Écrins? Visit our overview and planning post or our hut-to-hut hike packing list.
