Mosceta selvaggio

Today the idea is to try the CAI 138 trail from Piglionico down to Pizzorno. We start from the quaint village of Isola Santa and ride along the road that leads to the Cipollaio tunnel where instead of crossing it we take the trail to its right that I don't recall ever having done.

The trail is practically all bikeable and in good condition and quickly leads us to the Colle del Cipollaio where we face the descent on CAI 10 trail from Fordazzani Pass to Terrinca. We abandon the trail near Agrifoglio and gain the road to Passo Croce and ascend it until we reach Foce di Fociomboli, the highest point of our tour.

Through the CAI 129 trail we reach Mosceta where we take advantage of a coffee and a piece of cake. We restart by following downhill CAI path 9 that would lead directly to Isola Santa but we abandon it in favor of CAI path 127 that will take us to Piglionico. The trail is initially an alternation of pedaled and pushed stretches but after passing the Borra di Canala it unfortunately becomes hostile and forces us into a tedious stretch with bikes on our backs until almost Piglionico.

Now it is the turn of CAI 138 trail-the real goal of the day. The upper part suggests that everything will go smoothly all the way but as we lose altitude and enter the dense forest the trail becomes decidedly wild and not always doable in the saddle. With the exception of the upper part I do not recommend taking the descent unless you are a lover of adventure and exploration.

The ride, typically Apuan, is not among the best I have done but it is enjoyable, the first two descents on the respective CAI trails 10 and 129 are a classic of the area and always a guarantee, but if you don't feel like venturing further you can always choose to continue on trail 9 to the Isola Santa dam, the latter also will not disappoint.

Performed on 02/10/22