Lac Long and Lac Rond des Muandes loops

This day hike climbs without difficulty through alpine pastures to reach the lac long, then the lac rond, before descending on the GR57 along the torrent de Brune to the refuge des Drayères. From the Laval parking lot, take the wide, stony track towards the bottom of the Clarée valley (GR de Pays Tour du Mont Thabor), which overlooks the Clarée river on its left bank: continue on this track for just over a kilometer to the Lac Long sign. At this point, leave the track and take the small path on the right: this small mountain path gradually rises through the mountain pastures and quickly joins the Riou Sec stream as far as the Lac Long weir. Continue on the main path along the left-hand side of Lac Long, which then rises again to reach Lac Rond at 2446 m altitude: continue for around 20 minutes, crossing a "rock field" with care. Keep as far to the left as possible, as the route becomes less visible in the rocks. Once on the heights, descend towards Lac Rond on the left as far as the spillway. Once you've reached the spillway, take the left-hand path along the spillway (which is often empty in midsummer, forming a scree bed) until you reach the Brune torrent. The path then descends (GR57), crossing several wetlands on the left bank of the torrent de Brune (a path can be seen on the other side of the torrent, but should be ignored), until it reaches the valley floor and the refuge des Drayères. Pick up the wide, stony track and return via this to your starting point. It is also possible to return via the right bank of the Clarée, in which case cross the footbridge 200 m below the trail. This hike, which is very popular in summer, leads to a deterioration of the vegetation near the route. We ask you to stay on the main itinerary.