canyon exploring with Michele Angileri

Fosso della Foresta

The green of the hills surrounding Lake Salto, covered with dense lush forests, owes much to the sandstone of which these hills are made. In rainy seasons the soil absorbs large quantities of water which are gradually released in summer, so that even in the driest years the woods of these hills are lush and very green.
Forests also thrive thanks to the depopulation of these areas. The numerous, splendid villages that result from the ancient castles built on rocky spurs dominating the surrounding area, are now almost deserted. Apart from a few sporadic cars and, sometimes, in the distance, the chainsaws of lumberjacks, the noises you hear here are the wind, the woods, birds, the water jumping off the rocks at the bottom of valleys, .. elements that make a place steeped in serenity and beauty.

The area is rich in water and poor in canyons. The creeks flow in low-sloping valleys, with sides that are sometimes very steep but almost never vertical. No notable waterfalls are known. The only one I could find (at least so far) is in Fosso della Foresta, a perennial stream which normally does not have a large water flow.

I remember ...

By now you know it: going through streams is my way to get the brain away from stress, to enjoy Nature, to do some physical activity. The streams I need most are the ones near home, the ones I can reach more easily, in the day. Trips sometimes take, yes, long weekends too but ... if on the one hand a journey makes the mind be freed more deeply from everyday stress, on the other it requires commitment to be prepared and energy to be completed. And when you are tired from too much work and you still have so much to do, you don't have the energy and time to prepare for a trip, and you can't afford to come back tired. It often happens to me that I have so little time and energy that on Friday evening I don't know what I will do on the weekend: I often decide the destination in the morning!

The streams I can enjoy the most are the ones near home. The areas that I can explore more easily are those that can be reached in less than 2 hours drive. Within that distance, in spring I have a universe of known gorges and areas to explore ... but then summer arrives, and almost all the streams near home dry up, because they develop in karst areas. Since now I work in summer too, it would be convenient for me to have streams nearby that can be enjoyed in the dry season, so ... let's find them!

So in the summer of 2019 I took a couple of excursions in search of wet canyons in areas "near home" with unpromising morphologies but rich in water. One of the first routes I located was Fosso della Foresta, which I climbed up to the foot of the highest waterfall. As there was little water, I decided to complete the exploration next spring: the big waterfall must be spectacular with plenty of water!
The following spring, however, was largely canceled by the lockdown for COVID-19 epidemic. I could go to Fosso della Foresta in May, but again I found little water because it had not been a rainy spring ...

Copyright © 2002- Michele Angileri. All rights reserved.