Friday, September 20, 2013

Casera Ceresera MTB

The ridge connecting Piancavallo and Il Cansiglio has several different trail routes.  Today I tried the trail to Candaglia via Casera Ceresera.

After climbing from Costa to Bornass I continued on the main road to Piancavallo.  Here I turned toward Sauc.  They've repaved the road and it's super smooth- big improvement.  Above Casera Campo the pavement ends and you continue on gravel.  It tops out just after Casera Valle Fritz at 1538 meters.  Shortly afterward you arrive at a side road to your right with a barrier.  I ducked under that and headed uphill.  The trail is basically two parallel tire tracks with tall grass.  Very pretty scenery with rolling rocky grassy knolls soon giving way to forest.  Karst stone outcrops everywhere with strange eroded shapes.

Eventually the road ends up in Il Cansiglio and descends along a mountainside covered with big trees.  The cloudy skies, shady forest, and coasting downhill soon have me freezing so I stop to put on my leg warmers.  Much better now and soon the stone house at Casera Ceresera comes into view.  You reach an information sign with map and turn right toward Motore Alpino which appears to be an old incline plane with winch.  There's a sign for Candaglia, but it turns out it's only a narrow foot trail traversing a steep slope.   I walked the bike on this because the steepness and narrowness were beyond my MTB skills.  A better rider might have no problem.  After a chilometer it joins the road to Candaglia and in a moment you arrive at the Casa Forestale.  Take the paved road to the right, and at the first switchback avoid the dirt road to Val Bona (and Val Menera), staying on the paved road.  Soon you reach the junction with a gravel road to your left marked La Crosetta.  This is a fantastic road, almost level (slightly descending), with smooth hard-packed surface and no big rocks or gullies.  It is immersed in a forest of big beech trees and spruce, sloping down toward Piancansiglio.  One hikers' picnic area had a sign marked Paradise and I had to agree.

Soon you reach the paved main road which carries you down the mountain to Sarone.  From there a good climb home on Via Pedemontane.  

Just past Casera Valle Fritz turn right

Looking back at the beautiful terrain traversed

Apparently I was riding through the forest on Trail 7 

The forest road descending toward Casera Ceresera

Casera Ceresera- head toward the right

I had to walk this, maybe you can ride it

Below Candaglia the turnoff for the wonderful road to La Crosetta



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