Journey to the end of the mountain pasture: Sentier des Jasses, l'Alpette, l'Enversin

A varied hike alternating between forest and mountain pastures with beautiful views over the valley. There are no technical passages, but the distance is great!

The mountain mascot the marmot will welcome you with his shrill cries.
It was hunted and poached. It was taken during its winter sleep, its fat, flesh and fur were sought after. Marmot fat was used against rheumatism. Many legends have been told about the alpine animals, some say that chamois have been seen hanging from the cliffs by their horns, or that marmots are dragged on their backs by their fellow marmots in order to bring in the hay collected between their legs in the burrows (Gabrielle Sentis).

On this route you will find :
- The old mines: "No other country contains such a complete mineralogy as the Oisans" (Abbé Bayle).
In 1900 the concession of the copper mines of La Fare employed 16 workers. Production gave 20,000 tonnes of raw ore in 1904 and stopped in 1908. This concession included a place called Saint Florentin, near the Fare waterfall. In the absence of gold, beautiful rock crystals were found. Brown ones were found in Vaujany in the 18th century and other colours elsewhere. The deposits have been over-exploited. Some crystal makers sometimes find beautiful specimens perched in perilous places, but they are rare, the crystals having been very precise.

- Alpine flowers : There was a time when everyone looked after themselves as best they could. Often with plants. We didn't go to the hospital to be treated, and even if we did, we didn't come back.

It took time to send for the doctor, so it was better to act alone, thanks to the knowledge of plants. In the mountain pastures, arnica is found, with all the virtues of healing paralysis and bruises. Lichens were also used against whooping cough, anemone was a nervous sedative, and gentian, the queen of the mountain pastures, was used as a healing lotion. Linden and sage were used as plasters to treat sprains.

If the use of wild plants is fashionable, you should know that at one time they were above all part of a way of life. We used to eat whatever Mother Nature offered: sorrel and wild spinach, or the carline (commonly known as thistle), the bottom of which is a delicious artichoke heart, a plant that is protected today.