Šmartno na Pohorju - Ruška koča na Arehu (via Bojtina)

Access to starting point:
We leave Štajerska highway at exit Slovenska Bistrica south or north (depending on which direction we come from), and then we drive into the center of Slovenska Bistrica, from where we go on the road in the direction of the settlement Šmartno na Pohorju. Next follows few kilometers of ascent, and we follow the road in the direction of the mentioned settlement. When we get to Šmartno na Pohorju, we park on a smaller settled parking lot at the cemetery and church of St. Martin.

Path description:
From the parking lot in few steps we walk to the main road which leads through the settlement, and we follow it to the right, where also the blazes point us to. For a short time, we walk through the center of the settlement, and then with nice views, we walk to a smaller crossroad, at a little bigger chapel.
Here we continue straight (right - Ruška koča na Arehu - path via Frajhajm) and few minutes further we get to the next marked crossroad, from which we also continue straight (left - Sveti Trije kralji) and we moderately ascend past individual houses and inn Dovnik. Next follows crossing of a lane of a forest and then we descend a little to a crossroad, where we continue right towards Areh and Bojtina.
After the crossroad, the road descends even a little more, and we go from the road slightly right on a parallel mountain path, which is still descending. Lower, the path flattens and past a newer and older building brings us back to the road which we follow to the right. On the road, we over the bridge cross a stream and we go also past a cross, and after the cross the path towards mill Šetorov mlin branches off to the right, to which there is good 5 minutes of walking.
We continue on the road and we ascend steeper, and on the road we walk to the right turn, in the middle of which we go straight on a marked cart track which then ascends diagonally through the forest. Higher, we at first get closer to the road, and a little further, at the religious symbol we also return on the road. Next follows a walk on a more and more panoramic part, from where a view opens up towards the nearby church of St. Uršula, and still before we reach the church, at the first left turn, we leave the road and we continue straight on a marked path, which crosses a grassy slope. Next follow few crossings, where we follow the blazes, and we cross a lane of a forest and then we continue on a grassy slope. When crossing with some shorter ascents and descents ends, the blazes point us to the right downwards, where we soon reach another cart track which we follow to the left. Next follows some easy ascent, and then we go again right downwards, where we continue on a footpath to two successive streams and we cross them on two bridges. After the second small bridge we again start ascending, and at the crossings we follow the blazes, and higher we step out of the forest and near a smaller wooden cottage we reach a worse road which we follow to the right. We walk on the road few minutes, and then at the beginning of a dense forest we go left into the forest, where we continue on a little steeper path. After few minutes of ascent, we reach a wider macadam road which we follow to the right, and we walk there to the crossroad, where we reach an asphalt road.
We continue left, and opposite the nearby cottage we go right on a marked cart track which returns into the forest and then it ascends diagonally to an asphalt road which we only cross. We continue a moderate ascent through the forest and in few minutes we get to a marked crossing, from which we continue right towards Areh (left - source of Polskava 3 minutes).
Next follows a diagonal ascent towards the right, and a little ahead we cross also a shorter panoramic slope. When we return into the forest we cross also a wider cart track, and then we already get to Ruška koča na Arehu, near of which there is also the church of St. Areh.
Description and pictures refer to a condition in January 2022.

On the way: Bojtina (858m)