Le Bois du Truc circuit (no. 12)

The Bouchouse mountain stream is fed by the Le Pansier and La Pisse mountain streams 1,900 metres above sea level. It crosses the municipality of La Roche-de-Rame, supplying it with water. This mountain stream then flows into the Durance below the municipality.

The narrow-leaved lavender has greenish-grey leaves and violet flowers. It grows in sunny areas, a reminder that the Pays de Écrins is in the Southern Alps after all! Not to be confused with the lavandin, this plant naturally grows on rocky slopes in the mountains of the Midi. The word «lavender» is thought to come from the Latin "to wash". This etymology suggests that lavender was used at a very early date to perfume washing.

Oiseau très commun, ce pinson vit aussi bien en forêt que dans les villages. Le mâle est plutôt dans les tons de rosé, avec une calotte gris bleu, la femelle plus terne dans les tons de gris vert. C’est un oiseau assez grégaire, hormis en période de reproduction. Ces oiseaux communiquent souvent entre eux par des « pink, pink ». Il est partiellement migrateur. Les populations du nord de l’Europe viennent passer l’hiver en France et autres pays tempérés.

Bel Pinet stands at 1,400 metres above sea level in the Bouchouse valley, in the municipality of La Roche-de-Rame. Bel Pinet, or Bel-Pinet, designates the slopes under the rocky cliffs of the Oumbras. It was once irrigated by the Bel Pinet Canal, which suggests that it used to be cultivated and would therefore have been less wooded. The term "Pinet" simply means a place planted with pines (Pinus in Latin). So Bel Pinet means a beautiful place planted with pines, or a beautiful pine wood.

The path runs through a forest of Scots pine, recognisable by its orangey trunk, especially at the top. This tree is very drought-resistant (it is very limey soil here) and can also withstand low temperatures. It is therefore found in large numbers in the intra-alpine valleys. 

Here, a wood of aspen trees, with smooth greenish trunks and round, crenulated leaves, adopt magnificent autumn colours. The petiole («tail») of aspen leaves is flat and twisted and can therefore be caught by the slightest breath of air. This has the effect of making the foliage tremble, hence its French name bois de tremble!

In the nineteenth century, there were four quarries in La Roche-de-Rame. They exploited deposits of metamorphosed limestone which was pink in colour. One of these, the Combe Mounière quarry, produced stone which was used in particular in the construction of the new Cathedral of Saint-Arnoux in Gap, between 1866 and 1904. When exposed to the elements, the surface of the limestone takes on a grey patina.

A harsh call sounds from the forest. A jay perhaps? No, a nutcracker, its cousin. With dark, white-spotted plumage, this bird's strong beak can break open hazelnuts (although not walnuts as suggested by its name in French, cassenoix (walnut breaker)) and in particular it can dissect Swiss pine cones in order to reach the pine nuts inside. It inhabits high forests. It buries Swiss pine nuts in the ground to store up food for the winter. When winter comes, it will find the pine nuts again even under a thick layer of snow. Those it forgets will germinate.

The bearberry is a small bush which grows no taller than 20 centimetres. Its small, glossy, evergreen leaves are reminiscent of those of the lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis idaea) but they are not as thick and, above all, its fruits are much less appetising, although they are edible. It will depend on your tastes!

A magnificent view over the municipality of La Roche-de-Rame which lies entirely on the left-hand bank of the Durance. Like L'Argentière-la-Bessée, its recent history has been profoundly marked by industry which saw rapid expansion in the early twentieth century. Well known for its natural stretch of water, a glacial lake, the hamlets of the municipality are dotted across the slopes. Higher up, two large valleys are carved into the massif, forming a fork with the Bouchouse and Queyras valleys.

The district of Serre-Duc lies between Le Bathéoud and the rocky slopes. The Serre-Duc irrigation canal allowed the circulation of water. It is now abandoned but its course can still be made out among the pine trees and lavender. Its water intake was situated upstream of the Coumbal de Satan and the canal was used to irrigate the entire district. 

Protected from Atlantic influences by the Massif du Pelvoux, the high Durance valley has a very dry climate with wide seasonal temperature fluctuations. It has grasslands very similar to the steppes of Central Europe which are rare in France. It is part of the Natura 2000 “Steppique durancien et queyrassien” (Durance and Queras valley steppes) site.