Podnar / Bodenbauer - Ovčji vrh (Kozjak) / Geissberg (Kosiak) (via Karweg and southeast path)

Access to starting point:
We drive to a border crossing Ljubelj and ahead on the Austrian side. Soon after that, when on the left side of the road, we notice a smaller church road towards the village Žabnica / Bodental branches off to the left. At the crossroad for village Slovenji Plajberk / Windisch Bleiberg we turn left towards Žabnica / Bodental. In Žabnica / Bodental we come to mountain signposts for Celovška koča / Klagenfurter Hütte left and right. We go left and drive on the road to the end of the asphalt, where on a parking lot near the grazing fences we park.

Path description:
From Podnar near of which we park on extended road we go on a macadam and for public traffic closed forest road in the direction of Mlaka / Märchenwiese and Celovška koča / Klagenfurter Hütte. The road which starts gently ascending soon brings us to the first crossing, where the path towards the farm Vgriz / Ogrisbauer branches off to the right, and we continue straight in the direction of the mountain hut Celovška koča. The road goes a little further in the forest and splits into two parts. We choose the left marked road, and which after approximately 30 minutes of walking from the starting point brings us to Mlaka (flat, ample and panoramic meadow).
Here the road turns slightly to the right, and we continue straight on parallel, but a little poorly visible marked path which continues over the meadow. On the other side of the meadow, the path returns into the forest and it gradually starts moderately ascending. After a short ascent, we get to a smaller crossing, where ski touring path branches off to the left, and we continue straight on a smaller torrent ditch. Some 10 strides higher we leave the ditch, because blazes point us to right (straight at first on and by the ditch, higher through ample scree leads rough partly pathless footpath towards the saddle Belščica) on the path which only a few meters higher joins the forest road. When we step on the road, we follow it to the left and we walk there only to first right turn. At the end of the turn, we leave the marked path, which at first continues on the road and we continue sharply left on unmarked, but easy to follow footpath. The footpath already after few meters turns slightly to the right and starts ascending diagonally through the forest. Higher, the footpath starts ascending steep through the forest, which after a time starts to get thinner. Even a little further forest is gradually changed by a lane of dwarf pines and bushes, the path with increasingly beautiful view, from which views are opening up to mountain walls of Palec, Zelenjak, Vrtača and nearby Svačica, brings us to the spot, where we return on a marked path (marked path is a little longer and technically demanding, but well-secured). When we reach a marked path at first we ascend on it to a smaller well, and from there also to the nearby crossing on the saddle Vrata / Matschatcher Sattel.
On the mentioned saddle worse beaten unmarked footpath branches off to the left, which leads "direct" to a saddle Belščica, and we continue straight and start descending towards the mountain hut Celovška koča. On the part of the path, where the footpath widens into a cart track, marked path on Ovčji vrh (Kozjak) / Geissberg (Kosiak) branches off to the right, and in the direction of straight the path continues towards the mountain hut Celovška koča.
From the crossing, we continue sharply right and we start ascending steeply through dwarf pines. From relatively steep path further increasingly beautiful views opening up on Vrtača, Svačica, Celovška špica, Stol... Higher, the path for some time entirely flattens, and dwarf pines are also getting thinner. Next follows few minutes of a moderate ascent on a slope, which in the summer months is adorned by alpine flowers, in all seasons, if there isn't any fog great views on the northern walls of Karawanks. After few minutes, the path again flattens, and in front of us, we already notice an ample grassy plain, at the end of which stands a bigger cross, which is situated on the top. Follows only few minutes of pleasant path, which few steps below the summit joins also southwestern path from Celovška koča. When we reach the peak we are rewarded also with the view towards the north, which in nice days reaches all the way to High and Lower Tauern.

On the way: Vrata (1714m)