Mountain refuge Abri du Sapin Sec ou abri Jean Gromer

In the surrounding mountains Saint-Dié-des-Vosges within the department of the Vosgos and at 885 meters of altitude, the Abri du Sapin Sec ou abri Jean Gromer It appears as a passage shelter linked to a network of forest and half mountain trails. Its location, next to the Sentier des Ducs and close to the Roche du Sapin Sec, it places it in a height where the relief begins to gain character, with forest lomas, rounded heads and time changes that can be felt quickly.

More than as an isolated destination, it fits well as support on a journey day or on a itinerary linked by the area. The connection with routes such as GR 533 It strengthens that intermediate coat role for those who cross this sector of the French Greater East on foot. It can also serve as a reference in local turns of greater continuity, where it is appropriate to read the map carefully so as not to confuse signposted routes of different scale.

The immediate environment does not respond to the profile of high mountain pirenaica, but it does respond to a moist and wooded mountain where the orientation, visibility and state of the terrain can make the march quite conditioned. The proximity of elevations such as the Roche du Sapin Sec or the Tête du Chariot helps to understand its position in a line of secondary heights, useful for linking soft crest, historical paths and valley bottom paths.

In logistical terms, it is not appropriate to have water next to the coat. The registered sources are several kilometres away, the closest to about 3.4 km, so it is reasonable to go out with sufficient autonomy and to check where to replace. The same prudence applies to the material: in the absence of reliable data on equipment or interior state, it is better to put it as a point of protection whose utility depends to a large extent on the self-sufficiency of the mountaineer.

Because of its moderate altitude and its insertion into a wide network of trails, this shelter can be particularly practical in long days with changing weather, fog or persistent rain, when having an intermediate coat makes the difference between a continuous stage and a more exposed retreat by track or forest path.