BIVOUAC AT ESCLANGON

At 9am, meet at the entrance to the Grande Fontaine public parking lot in Digne-les-Bains, then head for the clue du Pérouré, in the Bès valley (20 mins by private car). Picnic lunches are distributed, and we climb a path on the right bank of the Bès. We pass through forests of black pine and oak, then come to a magnificent rocky ridge overlooking the valley. We then enter the "sacred wood", an inspired forest, so named by herman de vries, which shelters a few traces as well as its red rock sanctuary. We then come to a tiny Orthodox hermitage perched on the edge of a cliff. On the way down, we pass the foot of the thin Facibelle blade, a vertiginous geological formation reaching skywards. After a picnic by the river, we'll head back to the cars, where we'll pick up our bivouac gear and divide up the food for the rest of our stay, distributed by your guide. We then climb up to the left bank of the Bès. Here, our walk becomes a fascinating time machine: we tread the reddish bed of an ancient tropical lagoon, 20 million years old, and the lot of a river fossilized 30 million years ago. In the distance, a 250-million-year-old formation has climbed the mountain! Then we arrive at Andy Goldsworthy's Refuge d'art du Vieil Esclangon, a work that echoes our climb. Bivouac by an open fire and spend the night in the Refuge d'art or under the stars. Ascent + 700 m; - 450 m Distance 8 km Overnight shelter at 1060 m altitude.

After breakfast and tidying up the bivouac, a quick climb will take us to a viewpoint overlooking the Velodrome, a monumental fossil seabed before our Mediterranean. On the way back, we'll search the ruins of the ancient village of Esclangon for the gold-leaf traces of herman de vries. A descent through fields and we're back in our vehicles. After a picnic at the foot of the ammonite slab, a remnant of a seabed 200 million years ago, we visit the Musée Gassendi, the beating heart of the d'Art en montagne collection. This fascinating cabinet of curiosities contains a thousand treasures: the story of the discovery of the Hydropithecus, a herbarium in the form of a work of art, a cabinet of curiosities that challenges established categories, and Andy Goldsworthy's River of Earth... End of stay at 4 p.m. Ascent + 100 m ; - 350 m Distance 4 km

Most of the itinerary will be "light", with only our gear for the day. However, at the end of Day 1 and on Day 2, we'll be carrying our gear for the 2 days (picnic on Day 2, evening meal, breakfast and sleeping arrangements). Let's remember, too, that we're setting off on a slightly autonomous hike. This covers a whole range of practices, such as radically reducing the weight of your rucksack, an area in which your guide is an expert and will advise you in advance. It's also a state of mind: For us, comfort means above all carrying a light rucksack, not carrying anything superfluous. Out of respect for nature, and for greater freedom, we prefer to keep luggage transport by vehicle to a minimum. If you follow our recommendations, your rucksack will weigh no more than 8 kg on departure.

We may need to modify the itinerary indicated, either for organizational reasons (overcrowding of accommodation, changes in terrain conditions, landslides, damaged trails, etc.), or at the guide's discretion (weather, group level, etc.). These modifications are always made in your interest, for your safety and comfort.