Rocca di Tenerano e Odissea Trail

Beautiful route between all mountain and cyclo-mountaineering with a crackling finish on the Odessa Trail that from Campocecina descends uninterruptedly to Monzone.

Having parked the car near the cemetery below Monzone we set out on asphalt toward Vinca. The road has little traffic and lends itself well to warming up the legs since once we reach the small village we will continue only by footpath until the end of the tour. A stop at the small and only grocery store in Vinca to taste a delicious focaccia is a must, for the lucky ones as it happened to us freshly baked. Departing from the village we travel a few more hundred meters of asphalt and then take CAI path 39. The path is not in good condition but the lower part does not have excessive slopes allowing us to pedal where possible.

Past a small bridge that is unsafe the slopes increase forcing us to push the bike and load it on our shoulders in the steepest sections. As we gain altitude the forest improves and from time to time beautiful glimpses of the Vinca valley open up until we reach below Punta tre Uomini where the view opens majestically over the ridge that includes Pizzo dell'Aquila la Punta di Nattapiana, Mount Bardaiano and the imposing Pizzo D'uccello. CAI 39 continues passing under the great massif of Mount Sagro reaching the Marmifera that leads to the mouth of Pianza.

Instead of continuing along the Marmifera that would lead to the piazzale dell'Uccelliera, we continue following the Cai 173 trail that passes just below Mount Borla, which we have to skip today because we were caught in a storm, a pity because the ridge is all cyclable and very scenic on the coast. When we arrive at the Carrara refuge we change wet clothes and wait for it to rain and then get ready for a very long descent called Odyssey that combines the following trails,183/174/40/171/174.

Along the way we stop at Cardeto and climb the Tenerano Rock with bikes in tow to try to descend where possible. Resuming the descent we continue without interruption towards Monzone, with much pleasure I note that copious maintenance work has been done on the trail without distorting its nature and with great satisfaction a variant has been created that avoids the final part of the trail with loose bottom and large pebbles.