Now in its twelfth edition, “On the way in the parks”, the national initiative is organized by the “Parks and Protected Areas” working group of the Italian Alpine Club and by Federparchi for the promotion of hiking in its dual naturalistic and cultural dimension within of the Protected Areas of Italy.
Hosting the regional intersectional event of CAI Calabria, organized by the Castrovillari Section, is the evocative Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Armi (988m) in Cerchiara di Calabria, starting point for the excursion to Monte Sellaro (1,439m).
The group is large: around seventy members representing all the CAI sections of Catanzaro, Cosenza, Verbicaro, Reggio Calabria, the host Section of Castrovillari and the Subsection of Cerchiara.
Present at the event were Eugenio Iannelli, CAI Central Councilor, Giuseppe Greco, President of the Calabria Regional Group, Mara Papa, President of the TAM Regional Commission and the leaders of the Calabrian sections who in the introduction filled the slogan that has characterized the event: “paths to learn”.
Attention was paid to the essential importance of the trail network, as the first tool for protecting the environment which guarantees conscious and safe use of the mountains, consequently enhancing the territory in a broad sense even more.
Having taken the CAI 949 path from the Sanctuary, after an initial stretch in the woods, a second more exposed and rocky stretch led us to the Panno Bianco Pass. Turning west on path 949C, up a steeper climb, the large group reached the top of Monte Sellaro.
The view from the summit is superb. The panorama ranges from the very nearby Ionian Sea, immediately behind Monte Panno Bianco, with the Sibari plain and the gulf of Corigliano/Rossano, up to the Timpe di San Lorenzo and Porace, with the Raganello gorges below, and the Pollino massif , of which the well-known “crest of infinity” stands out which reaches from Civita to Dolcedorme.
After leaving a personal thought in the summit book, you return to the Sanctuary.
This will be followed by a moment dedicated to the moving memory of the late Roberto Mele, Past President of CAI Cosenza, and to the delivery of the booklets to the AE (Hiking Guides) Monica Gigliotti and Salvatore Pileggi.
The Pellegrino room then hosted the group for moments of conviviality, also shared with the members who took part in the national project “Speleo Dentro”, already on site for the first stage of the initiative promoted by the Central Speleology and Canyoning Commission ( CCST) of the CAI, held in the presence of its President, Giuseppe Priolo. A further opportunity for sharing and exchange between members at the end of a day deliberately designed and structured to stimulate constructive moments of meeting and discussion between the sections on the significant issues of protecting the mountain environment.
Paolo Viceconte
