HIKE 4

Mount Alaric (Aude)

Last north forerunner of the Corbieres and the Pyrenees, mount Alaric towers magnificently above the Aude valley. From up there, the view is sumptuous, and glances can be cast over the Massif Central at north, the Mediterranean at east and the Corbieres and the Pyrenees at south and west.

In short...

Length : 7 Km (4.4 mi)

Difference in height : 425 m (1394 ft)

Time : 3 h

Map : IGN 2445 Ouest (1/25 000).

Difficulties : no.

Season : Autumn, Spring, Winter.

Equipment : light hike, water

Water : no.

Signs : red and white (GR - Grande Randonnée), yellow (PR - Petite Randonnée) for a short while.

Profile

Access

The hike starts outside Moux village.
Moux is a little village bordering upon N113 road, situated in the Aude department, east of Carcassonne (35 Km) and west of Narbonne (27 Km). From Carcassonne, take the N113 to Narbonne until the fork to Moux. From Narbonne, take the N113 to Carcassonne until the fork to Moux..

In Moux, amidst southern streets, take the one that leeds to the cemetary and then goes under the motorway. Following this way, one can see the red and white signs of the GR 77 from place to place, as well as a descriptive notice of mount Alaric and its varied hiking paths. No long after being passed under the motorway, take the lane rightwards that passes behind a farm then through a pine grove. Inside the very first grove, park.

Itinerary

(numbers refers to the map)

(1) GR 77 branches off rightwards becoming a rather stony lane. This first ascent is in the middle of Alep pines, cistus and oaks at the foot of a white chalky cliff, Le Roc Gris.

(2) When you arrive on the first flat place, you can see left the ruins of the St-Pierre d'Alaric castle. It's in fact an old strengthened priory that was used to belong to the Lagrasse abbey from the XIIth century. Amidst a sea of rocks, south and west, parts of the former surrounding wall still stand up fiercely, being 2 m (6.6 ft) thick. Inside the wall, nothing left but a keep's fragment at the center and a little chapel remnants. Beyond the castle, the lane follows a level line facing due south, in the middle of a close-cropped moor.

(3) Then we arrive in a moisty valley and vegetation changes suddenly. Trees surround us. There are oaks and plane trees near an old ruined farm. The lane end here, and two paths replace it. Left, a narrow yellow-signposted track (PR) climbs the bottom of the valley westwards. Left, the GR (red and white signs) climb straightforward. We take it. A bit further there is a standing stone on the side, maybe a former lordship limit...

(4) We must ignore all path departures from the main path and keep following the GR. After a short steep clim southward, we follow the mountain side westward. The PR and the GR meet again there. The route is woody: Alep pines, Salzmann pines (also called Black Pines) and oaks make a vault behind our heads. The undergrowth is densely-populated by big box trees.

(5) The path emerge on a recent forest lane that goes from east to west and that permits to go up to the summit with a vehicle (or better: a mountain bike). Take this lane to the right for 10 m, then leave it to take left the GR that goes up south. A notice indicates "Sentier Alaric GR 77". Henceforth, there will be no more branching off till the summit. As we go up along the path, the vegetation size decreases. Lack of water, poor ground and exposure to the wind are the reasons of this fact. The view gets larger and we see now the valley below and the ruined castle of St-Pierre d'Alaric where we were earlier.

(6) Finally, we arrive at the summit, named Le Signal (600 m/1969 ft). Here, only a sparse garrigue subsists swept away by that strong winter wind, La Tramontane. The summit is flat. The mount's slopes are different, one go gently down westward, but south, east and north sides are steep. The forest lane we crossed earlier finishes at the foot of a watchtower against forest fires, feeded by photo-electric and wind generators. Beside the watchtower, there is a curious stone shelter, igloo-shaped.

The view is very large and spread over 360°. North, we see the very south end of the Massif Central (Montagne Noire, Caroux). South, the Corbières mountains, preceeding the Pyrenees (facing us, due south, the mount Canigou 2785 m/9138 ft). East, the Mediterranean, and the coastal ponds. West, the sweet crest of mount Alaric (we are at its east end).

Way back: same way.