Fast & Furious Finale Ligure
At the moment, this is the most beautiful trail in the Finale area for this writer, or rather, the one that is most reminiscent of what the trails in this area were like a decade ago: wooded bottom, few rocks, and few people around.
The secret lies in the fact that most of the vans don't make it to the trailhead, and that people don't want to pedal the measly 250 meters of elevation gain that separates the fort, where you take the dirt road and where the trail begins, to the start of the descent.
The ascent is on an old military road, so with a steady gradient, leading to the ridge that separates the north and south sides of the mountain. As soon as you take the trail, you reach a scenic area that invites a picnic, if you brought it with you.
The first part of the descent is a delight on a forest floor, easy except for a few steeps with rocks that are slippery when wet. Enjoy it because then the trail joins another trail where those who take the shuttle pass, but it still remains well passable even if the holes and smashed curves increase. It is really fun and a nice variation from the initial trail.
When you get to Isallo, you can go back up to Melogno following this trail or ride it falsely down to Finale Ligure.
This descent was part of the 2022 Nations Trophy.