Costa delle Veline da Metello

Beautiful all mountain itinerary straddling Emilia and Tuscany in one of the most beautiful areas of our Apennines, in the valley between Mount Prado, the highest peak in Tuscany, and Mount Cusna, second only to Mount Cimone as far as Emilia Romagna is concerned.

We start from Metello di Soraggio and reach the refuge la Foce through a beautiful forest road that is also very scenic in places on the Porraie ridge. After a short stop and a good coffee strictly with moka we resume the ascent with destination the Focerella, the small pass located between Mount Castellino (1947 meters) and Ravaianda(1761 meters). The trail corresponds to Heron 3 and for the most part remains rideable even if very steep and bumpy and remains so until almost the top where however I give up and continue on foot while Elia stubborn as always manages to climb to the top as if he had an e-bike, surprising two foreign hikers who amazed exclaim: they have normal bikes!

From the Focerella we follow Cai 633b until we arrive at the Bargetana refuge where we refuel with water for the continuation. By now the bulk of the first climb is done, we pass through the Lama Lite pass, continue in the direction of Passone but before we get there we take CAI 623, the trail that runs along the Costa delle Veline in a fantastic environment. In the first part it remains very rideable except for a few points where you have to accompany your bike, while the last 500 meters, near the Cusna peak, you have to continue mostly on foot.

Having passed this section we reach the marker where we leave the 623 in favor of the 627, a beautiful path that alternating very steep sections but all doable in the saddle in a short time takes us to the Presa Alta forestry. Now we have about 7 km of not too challenging ascent to reach the Bargetana refuge again. From the latter we retrace in the opposite direction the CAI 633 done in the morning, but before the final stretch that would lead to the Focerella we turn right continuing the 633 to the Romecchio pass bypassing Mount Ravaianda.

From the pass, the icing on the cake awaits us, namely the descent on CAI 74, a beautiful trail that is not difficult but not trivial either and that not only encompasses everything a nature trail should have but is also immersed in a very beautiful evocative environment. Unfortunately, before reaching Metello again the trail widens losing some of its charm, but overall it remains among the most beautiful and fun trails in the area.