Col du Glandon - Col de Bellard - Croix de fer

Great solo hike from col du Glandon, via Col de Bellard, to Croix de Fer. Especially the first 4 km are hard (with approximately 400 height meters within 2,5 km), but the flatter parts are a nice and welcome rest in between. There are a lot of beautiful blue flowers, almost a sea of blue at times (end of june). After reaching col de Bellard, the weather changed from sun to dense mist/fog, and I could only see 3 meters in front of me, so I decided not to climb the last 100 height meters to Point de L’Ouillon, but you could easily do that (after already having done 400 height meters).

There are marmottes and ruins on your way, and sometimes even (a lot of) sheep and goats. Be careful though, since there might be a guard dog around them, so don’t cross the herd and just make a detour like I did.

There is no water or stream on the way, so make sure to bring enough water.

It’s also possible to walk back from croix de fer to Glandon through the grassy valley (easy walk, nearly flat compared to the rest, will cost +-1 hour extra) to make it a loop.

Be careful on the ski slopes as well, after reaching col de Bellard, because they are VERY steep and almost not walkable without gear. Luckily it rained a few days ago, so all the rocks and sand was quite steady, but I don’t think you should try climbing the slopes when everything is dry because all the rocks will fall down or when it’s slippery.

Very peaceful and quiet, especially when walking alone. And not too risky (aside from the steep slopes), you don’t have to walk next to any abyss. I did it by myself (24 year old girl) and came across another older woman who was walking alone as well, so no shady people or places on the way. There is no telephone reach or mobile internet though, so be sure to save the route before you start! Have fun!