Mountain refuge Ermitage d'Esparron

On this side of the Vercors the dominant feeling is to be somewhat removed from the most traverse axes, and there is much of the utility of Ermitage d'Esparron : serves better as a support point for a calm day than as a simple casual stop. Its position, in the surroundings of Le Percy and at 1141 meters, brings it closer to wide-range itineraries such as the Traversée du Vercors for the GR 93 or the Tour du Vercors à pied, but also to local roads that require to decide whether to follow the main path or to deviate to win a place of intermediate protection.

This decision makes sense especially when sections of changing terrain are chained. In this part of the massif is easily passed from more forest sectors to open slopes and more broken reliefs, with nearby peaks such as Platary, Tête de Praorzel or Mont Barral marking a landscape of medium and high mountain where weather and orientation can weigh more than the distance on the map. There is no data here to raise closed schedules or specific levels, so you should understand it as a logistical support within a journey or a long route, not as a reference to calculate exact times.

For prudent planning, the most useful data is water: there is a very close source, about 200 meters, and another one to just over a kilometre, something relevant if you go through the area with autonomy or if you link several stages. However, the actual flow rate should always be checked in the mountains before it is dependent on that resource. Because of its relationship with long routes and its somewhat withdrawn location, this mountain shelter fits well in days in which it is important to share effort, to secure water and to maintain room for changes in time or land.