It's late October, temperatures are cool but autumn colors are at their peak and the weather is set fair... My friend Marie and I decide to head to the Oisans, in the northern part of the Écrins massif. There's an easy hike there that I've been wanting to do for a while: the Réou d'Arsine and the Lac de la Douche.
We didn't know it yet, but this would be the last bivouac of 2020, with the lockdown announcement that followed the week after...
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After 3 hours of driving from Valence, we arrive at the Casset parking lot in early afternoon. We have time, but night falls quickly at this time of year and we set off at a good pace. Everyone is coming down as we go up — soon we'll be alone in this lovely valley.
After about an hour of walking, we reach the Lac de la Douche with its magnificent mint-green color. The complementarity of colors is just perfect: the lake surrounded by golden larches and overlooked by the Pics du Casset and the Têtes Sainte Marguerite freshly covered by the first snows. Blue, white, gold.
After the photo stop, we continue toward our bivouac spot, the Réou d'Arsine. It's reached after about an hour and a few hundred meters of elevation gain. It consists of meanders formed by the river whose color is identical to that of the lake — a beautiful pastel blue. The long-awaited light ultimately doesn't arrive and the sunset isn't exceptional. However, the view from the bivouac is splendid with two giants of the Écrins as a backdrop: Les Agneaux and the Pic de Neige Cordier.
After a cool night... and a very long one (daylight saving time change weekend — we must have slept at least 11 hours!), we emerge just in time to enjoy the sunrise spectacle.
Before heading down, we decide to make a quick round trip to the Lacs du Glacier d'Arsine. Very quickly, we encounter fresh snow and from autumn we pass into winter. We're in the shade and despite the sun climbing in the sky, temperatures struggle to become positive. The Col d'Arsine and then the eponymous lakes are quickly reached. They're frozen almost entirely. Only a small opening in the lake allows the Pic de Neige Cordier to be briefly reflected.
On the way down I take a few last shots, notably of the Réou d'Arsine. It's beautiful but the daytime light obviously can't match that of morning and evening. Never mind — I'll come back!
A final stop at the Lac de la Douche (first photo in panorama) and we enter the Casset woods once again. In the forest, the light is filtered by the larches and creates a magnificent atmosphere. I can't resist the temptation to take some long exposures along the river.
A final stop at La Grave for some well-deserved pasta and it's already time to head home!
Below is the map of our route. You can click on it to access a page where you can download the track. The round trip totals 17km with 1000m of elevation gain. It's easily doable in a day.
