Mountain refuge L'estive

The important thing here is to plan the day well. At 1,160 metres, L'essential is located in the sector of Château-Bernard, in the Vercors, within a mountain where it is appropriate to think of the refuge not only as a destination, but also as a point of withdrawal or reorganisation of the journey if time changes or the forces do not accompany.

Its position fits with travel and hiking routes of the greatest route, especially in the environment of the Traversée du Vercors for GR 91 and GTV . It also remains close to more local routes, which reinforces its usefulness as intermediate support between forest tracks, half-mountain trails and more open sectors of the massif. In this environment, summits such as Tête des Chaudières , Rocher de la Balme or the line of La Petite Moucherolle help to understand the relief: the terrain of transition to clearly more alpine heights, where orientation, the state of the path and meteorology can have a great influence on the real effort of access.

For logistics, water does not seem immediate next to the shelter. The nearest source is about 1.8 km, a reasonable distance but sufficient to make it necessary to provide for water charges and time limits, especially if it is late or in dry conditions. As in much of the Vercors, planning gains weight in the face of improvisation: basic autonomy, reliable map or track and attention to the evolution of the day are more useful here than relying on finding resources in the way.