Pišnica - Stenar (via Križ)

Access to starting point:
a) First we drive to Kranjska Gora, then continue driving towards the Vršič pass. When Kranjska Gora ends, the road leads us past Lake Jasna, after the lake we reach the bridge over Velika Pišnica, where the described trail begins. We park at the smaller parking lot at the crossroads, or a little earlier at the larger parking lot before the start of TNP, or after the bridge near the former Hotel Erika.
b) We drive to Trento, then over the Vršič pass we begin descending towards Kranjska Gora. After crossing the bridge over Velika Pišnica, the described trail begins. We park at the smaller parking lot at the crossroads, or a little earlier near the former Hotel Erika, or a little after the bridge at the somewhat larger parking lot opposite the TNP sign.

Path description:
From the bridge over Velika Pišnica we continue in the direction of Koča v Krnici, where the path leads us along a macadam road, which runs through the Velika Pišnica valley. The fairly gentle road that runs along the mountain stream first crosses several torrents, then after the dam, which is quite photogenic due to the high mountains in the background, a little further brings us to a marked junction where the path through Kačji graben to Špik branches off to the left.
We continue straight on the still gentle road, which then takes us across the gravel bed to a marked junction, where on the edge of Planina V Klinu the path from Ruski križ joins from the right.
We continue left in the direction of Krnica, then immediately after crossing the torrent turn right onto the forest footpath. A moderate ascent through the forest follows, and after about 20 minutes of further walking we arrive at Koča v Krnici.
From Koča v Krnici we continue straight (left Špik and Velika Dnina) in the direction of Križ, Pogačnikov dom na Kriških podih and Škrlatica. The path ahead first still leads through the forest, then brings us into a belt of shrubs, where we walk for some time along mighty torrent deposits. Higher up the path turns slightly left and begins to climb steeply. A steep ascent follows through the area called Travno brdo, where the path still leads through the last belt of forest. Higher up the larch forest first thins out, then ends quite quickly. This is followed by an ascent across a short grassy part, and from the path which transitions onto scree beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and walls open up. Higher up, at an altitude of about 1900 meters the path levels out and brings us into the cirque V kotu, at the end of the cirque the path turns left and brings us to the entrance into Kriška stena (in early summer there is often still snow at the entrance to the wall).
Before entering the wall, or even earlier, we put on a helmet, then carefully step into the wall. The path at the beginning of the wall turns left and climbs steeply, in the continuation the path is mostly led along natural passages, and on harder places we are assisted by protections. The ascent up the wall, which in addition to exposure is also exposed to falling rocks, lasts about one hour. Above the wall the path levels out and brings us to the junction at Vrh Kriške stene, where we continue right in the direction of Križ (left Vrata, Škrlatica, bivak na Rušju).
This is followed by an ascent along a wide ridge, along which we climb to Bovška vratca, where the next junction is.
From Bovška vratca, from where a beautiful view of Kriške pode opens, we continue left in the direction of Križ (right Pogačnikov dom, Razor, Vršič and Trenta) and continue the path along an ever narrower ridge, then with the help of a steel cable we climb over a somewhat exposed rock slab. Above the mentioned part we arrive at a smaller natural gully, through which with some skill we climb to the nearby summit of Križ.
Because the path from the summit of Križ, which continues along the ridge, has been closed for several years, we return a little back from the summit and then continue in the direction of Stenar along the path that bypasses the summit of Križ on the right, southern to southwestern side. After a few minutes of traversing we join the closed path.
We continue in the direction of Vrata and Stenar, then in a moderate descent we cross some slightly exposed slopes, which then bring us below Stenarska vratca, where the next junction is.
We continue slightly left in the direction of Stenar (right Vrata and Zadnjica) along the path that gradually begins to ascend towards Stenarska vratca. The marked path moves a bit right away from the vratca and ascends in a traverse to the summit slope. Here the path turns slightly left and after a relatively steep summit slope quickly brings us to the summit of Stenar.

Izhodišče - odcep za Kačji graben 0:40, odcep za Kačji graben - Planina v Klinu 0:25, Planina v Klinu - Koča v Krnici 0:20, Koča v Krnici - V kotu 2:30, V kotu - Vrh Kriške stene 1:00, Vrh Kriške stene - Bovška vratca 0:15, Bovška vratca - Križ 0:15, Križ - Stenarska vratca 0:35, Stenarska vratca - Stenar 0:55.

On the way: Eriški most (852m), Rušev graben (899m), Odcep za Kačji graben (916m), Planina v Klinu (980m), Koča v Krnici (1113m), Pod Kriško steno (1945m), Rob Kriške stene (2300m), Bovška vratca (2378m), Križ (2410m), Stenarska vratca (2288m)