Monte Matanna

Starting from Piegaio we reach Pescaglia passing through the village of Piazzanello. Once on the road we head towards Passo Sella where we make a couple of downhill cuts to avoid the asphalt. We lose some elevation arriving at San Rocco in Turrite from where we resume climbing in the direction of Pascoso where the climb becomes more challenging until the Foce di Bucine. The road gives up hinting at a very short downhill section and then resumes climbing to Alto Matanna. Here we decide to climb to the summit of the same name via the Callare. Reaching the summit necessitates a challenging section with a backpacking bike and the trail climbs very steeply until we reach the ridge.

From the Cross you descend a challenging but doable first section then follows a rocky section that is not cyclable but past this you can climb back into the saddle to the Foce del Pallone and the mouth of the Termine. The trail continues uphill leading to the Parte and on to Groppa. Unfortunately the trail (Cai 103) due to the copious snowfall is devastated by the many fallen plants and piles of snow that have not yet melted. It takes longer than expected so once we arrive at Groppa we decide to abandon the original idea of the tour, which was to descend from the Indian trail. We descend by asphalt to the Sella Pass and after a passage from the village of Pescaglia we retrace the outward route but with the variant of the SCL trail (Sentiero Colline Lucchesi).

NB:Currently Cai 103 is in excellent condition and passable in both directions.

Done on February 6, 2021