Gourdouze valley, Trail #21

6 points of interest

• 

  

  History

  Le Mas de La Barque

  Le Mas de La Barque was only a forester’s house at the end of the 20th century. From the 1960s onwards, it was frequented by children’s ski clubs and then by families from the Gard on the weekend. During the week, the association “Union pour l'Animation de la Grange” organised field trips, heritage classes and theme days open to all. A costly infrastructure was gradually built (buildings, ski lifts, snow canons), then partly demolished again. Today, as part of an overall programme of reclassifying the site, it has been developed for tourism (cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, dog-sledding, etc.) and is run by a semi-public company. The resort offers outdoor activities in summer as well as in winter. 

• 

  

  Tradition

  The mysterious boat

  Have you noticed the strange rock shaped like a boat (barque)? Is that what gave the hamlet its name? Alternatively, in the local patois, a berque is a gap in the mountain. So: Mas de la Barque or Mas de la Berque?
  Mas de la Barque is part of the municipality of Vialas and borders the forest of Gourdouze. The estate of the Priory of Gourdouze, to which the forest once belonged, was declared government property during the French Revolution in 1789, before being sold to pay the state’s debts. 

• 

  

  Flora

  Sphagnum moss

  You will be crossing wetlands where sphagnum moss lives, whose colour ranges from yellowish green to blood-red. Without them, the role of peatbogs would be seriously compromised. Once dead, they constitute the mainstay of peat and limit the establishment of competitors. They function like sponges, retaining a great deal of water and asphyxiating the roots of other plants. Their presence is a sign that the peatland is in good health; it facilitates the growth of species of great heritage interest, such as the sundew, cranberry, bog-rosemary, etc. Unfortunately, these are fragile and sensitive to crushing, so please stay on the path and get off your bike.

• 

  

  History

  Gourdouze

   In the 14th century, this village was a priory of Castagnols parish. In 1906 all its thatched roofs burned down. Parts of the village were bought by a private individual in the 1960s who greatly modified them. It subsequently became the property of the Cévennes National Park, which sold 250 hectares back to a Mont Lozère livestock cooperative: their herds maintain the space. The cooperative manages 1,200 hectares at Mas Camargues and Gourdouze. These uplands receive sheep and cattle herds from 15 May to 15 November.

• 

  

  Geology

  The geological fault of Vialas

  A bridge crosses the Rieutort. This river, which is called Pudissine upstream from here, has its spring at an altitude of 1,425 m on Mont Lozère, near Mas de la Barque. In this valley, rounded masses of granite contrast with rectangular and fractured blocks of schist. In the Rieutort, you may see schist stuck to granite, as if they two rocks had been cut with a knife and then glued together. This is due to the fact that, in the Carboniferous (285 million years ago), the granite massif of Mont Lozère was pushed up through the schist layers, fracturing them. This path runs alongside the mining sites linked to the Vialas fault, which is perpendicular to the large Villefort fault.

• 

  

  Pastoralism

  The draille du Languedoc

  This draille (path for seaonal livestock migration) was frequented by flocks of sheep during the transhumance and by farmers going to buy or sell animals at Bellecoste Fair, which was held every 16 July and 25 September. The path linked the inhabitants of the plateau to the village of Saint-Maurice-de-Ventalon. (Julie Hugon)