Mont Lozère: The Summit of Finiels, the Highest Point of the Cévennes
Occitanie, France
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300
XP
+100 France
= 400 total
1 day
Mont Lozère: The Summit of Finiels, the Highest Point of the Cévennes
300 + 100 XP
Mont Lozère, a mostly granite massif, stretches like a great plateau for some thirty kilometres; its summit of Finiels, 1,699m, is the highest point of the Cévennes and of the Lozère, above the Mont Aigoual, and the Tarn rises on its southern slope. Many long-distance paths cross it, among them the Stevenson trail, and the capercaillie has been reintroduced in the woods between the Col de Finiels and the peak.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Walk up to the sommet de Finiels at 1,699 m, the highest point of the Cévennes, and from the top find the other two summits of the plateau — the signal des Laubies to the west at 1,657 m and the pic Cassini to the east at 1,681 m, the point César-François Cassini used as a reference for his triangulation of France
2
of 5
Walk the wooded stretch between the col de Finiels and the pic de Finiels, the exact patch where the capercaillie was reintroduced, keeping quiet enough to have a chance of flushing one — then out on the open subalpine grass pick out skylark, woodlark or meadow pipit, and scan for a Montagu's harrier working the slope
3
of 5
Walk south out of Le Bleymard on the line Robert Louis Stevenson took at the end of September 1878, after he had eaten in the village and gone on up to camp among the pines with his donkey Modestine, and follow it over the mountain towards the Pont-de-Montvert
4
of 5
In one of the hamlets on the flanks — Finiels or Serviès, both above 1,300 m — find the clocher de tourmente, the bell tower rung to bring travellers in through a blizzard, and with it the village bread oven and the washhouse it was built around
5
of 5
Walk down the southern slope to the sources du Tarn and put your hand in the water where the river starts, then carry on to the Cham des Bondons and count the menhirs standing between its two puechs
Walk up to the sommet de Finiels at 1,699 m, the highest point of the Cévennes, and from the top find the other two summits of the plateau — the signal des Laubies to the west at 1,657 m and the pic Cassini to the east at 1,681 m, the point César-François Cassini used as a reference for his triangulation of France
Walk the wooded stretch between the col de Finiels and the pic de Finiels, the exact patch where the capercaillie was reintroduced, keeping quiet enough to have a chance of flushing one — then out on the open subalpine grass pick out skylark, woodlark or meadow pipit, and scan for a Montagu's harrier working the slope
Walk south out of Le Bleymard on the line Robert Louis Stevenson took at the end of September 1878, after he had eaten in the village and gone on up to camp among the pines with his donkey Modestine, and follow it over the mountain towards the Pont-de-Montvert
In one of the hamlets on the flanks — Finiels or Serviès, both above 1,300 m — find the clocher de tourmente, the bell tower rung to bring travellers in through a blizzard, and with it the village bread oven and the washhouse it was built around
Walk down the southern slope to the sources du Tarn and put your hand in the water where the river starts, then carry on to the Cham des Bondons and count the menhirs standing between its two puechs
Before you go
The whole massif lies inside the Cévennes National Park: dogs must be kept under control, no fires, and overnighting rules apply. The plateau is open granite with no shelter above the last hamlets, it takes heavy snow in winter broken by mild wet spells, and cloud can come down on the summit within minutes — carry a map and a compass rather than relying on a phone. There are cross-country and downhill ski pistes near the col de Finiels, so in winter the access roads are cleared only as far as the station.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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