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Velika Planina - across Kuklarji

jan7125. 04. 2022 19:27:39

Today I finally headed to Velika Planina on this path too, following Dr. Uršič's recipe. mežikanje

The tips and photos were very helpful. The path is really poorly visible on some sections, e.g. the crossing over the scree (pic 8) is completely buried, and behind the scree the trail is practically invisible. Well, you have to go by feel in zigzags uphill, almost right under the wall, then right towards the notch to the fixed rope. Behind the fixed rope that "slightly downhill" (pic 20) is a good 40m, then you need to cross the indistinctly vegetated gully, head diagonally right uphill before reaching the wall again (pic 21). Above this wall we reach a partially overgrown but still somewhat scenic balcony, above it a forested ridge full of fallen trees. Here too the path is a bit harder to follow, but here we just go up and when the terrain flattens a bit, then to the right, where we soon spot that cairn Dr. Uršič mentions. From there straight after a few dozen meters we reach the pasture fence. Despite a cloudy and foggy day, a nice morning hike that was today, due to locally quite wet terrain, at times a bit adrenaline-pumping.

Just before the notch and chain - view to the other side where it occasionally cleared

View towards Kalški greben just before entering the forest

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j.30. 04. 2022 23:55:27

Yesterday (Friday, April 29) to Velika Planina via Rigl, down via Kuklarje. I left the car at the bend a bit further from Kraljev hrib. The trail is trampled and greened all around. The leaning beech with the faded sign "Čez Rigel" is still there, to the right of it an arrow points to Kisovec. From there on the path is less trodden but still clearly visible. As a genuine hunter's passage, along the gully down which quite some stones flew, it climbs steep grass to a nice viewpoint. From there mostly through forest to the edge, where to my great surprise I met Knafelj's mark with 2/3 sign, whatever that means.

Well, maybe it means you're 2/3 of the way, because to the first huts on Velika there were still about 300m elevation. Once you reach the huts, wandering through grassy pastures towards Gradišče can be quite an interesting experience. Especially if you watch tourists comfortably riding the prehistoric chairlift just a few meters above you to the same goal.

It seemed to me that the number of huts has at least doubled since I was last up there. Most are splendidly and impeccably arranged, some dedicated to tourist business. The environment seemed so mismatched with the just walked hunter's path and its primitivity that I quickly packed up and went looking for the passage over Kuklarje into Dolski graben.

Past two huts and a lazy tree comfortably seated on a flat stone I somehow maneuvered to Kobilna dolina. A bit by feel, a bit by map I descended left down the wooded ridge over the fence of fallen trees. I was lucky to hit a barely visible, vanishing path and followed it to a comfortable saddle, where it turned right into the steep slopes of Kuklarjev. For descent from there the path isn't exactly optimal. But it has one good property: the steeper and more demanding it is, the better it's visible. But despite good traceability, in the steep sections it traverses, you have to be quite careful. Some nice passages under overhangs and over notches near stone pillars amid scree repay all the effort. Flawless solitary wilderness, a bit like the passage over Najnar štant, fills the soul to the brim and beyond.

The fixed rope over the critical traverse is torn several times, but someone carefully connected it with a fairly thick rope. This one is also old, but holds enough for balance. Lower down the path leads through easier terrain along the scree and according to the above principle of visibility loses itself several times. It joins the marked path through Dolski graben at the recognizable rock with a large blue circle inscribed, viewed from descent direction.

Descent through the graben was just a formality. A kilometer of flat road to the car after a thousand meters descent was just right. And from one of the bends I was additionally rewarded with a view of the spring green Korošica valley. The icing on the cake of a wonderful day!

Lower part of the trail in lush greenery.

To the left under the hidden beech one goes.

View towards Skuta and neighbors. In Gamsov skret there is still snow.

Pasture fence from stacked wood at the end of the path across Rigelj.

Snowy Deska, in front Lastovec. Correct me please if I'm wrong.

The tree is tired. It has settled a little.

Clearing where the path turns right into the slopes of Kuklarjev and becomes steep but well traceable.

Cairn? Now definitely. I added three stones to it.

In the middle of the path through Dolski graben is a rock. To the right three more. Here the path over Kuklarje branches off.

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garmont1. 05. 2022 06:02:31

Nice tour @j.
I always leave the car for this tour at the upper big parking lot behind the cable car… mežikanje

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j.1. 05. 2022 11:24:09

Thanks, @garmont! For me, somehow the last few hundred meters of path to the parking lot are annoying, so this time I swapped them for less than a km of easy flat walking velik nasmeh

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BananaBronson14. 05. 2024 09:58:43

Last week I treated myself to a quick afternoon hike, up via Kuklarje and down via Rigelj. Both paths are nicely passable, even though not quite untouched since last August. Some pics and short report you can find here.

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bos11. 04. 2025 22:07:50

Today we went via Kuklarje to the purple kingdom. nasmeh

The ascent path via Kuklarje is fairly normally passable, in some places less visible or interrupted by fallen trees. Then we circled a bit on the plateau and returned via Pl. Dol.
It was a nice sunny day, slightly disturbed by wind, not too many people, crocuses though ... jezik

highest in KSA, comes with the youngest in summer

path to the branch for Kuklarje is quite destroyed at one place

Dolgi hrbet, Štruca, Skuta, Kranjska, Koroška and Štajerska Rinka

There are still some of these to be found

which is the main one for the background

(+6)

arta12. 04. 2025 15:56:31

..nice photos, but no. 16 the nicest

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madeira12. 04. 2025 18:16:11

Wonderful. But I'd ask what is that on photo 19? The plateau is full of them, and I still don't know what it is and what it's for. zmeden

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zokipoki12. 04. 2025 19:45:11

Thanks for the really nice photo report...

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pikica112. 04. 2025 23:39:23

@madeira on pic 19 it's a salt lick for grazing animals. An animal on pasture besides good grass and water needs salt too. Best

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Trobec14. 04. 2025 09:39:16

Hehe Boštjan, I thought those were quite fresh tracks from Friday there velik nasmeh

Right after shift up via Kuklarje and then descent via Rigelj. The latter, let's say, wasn't the most brilliant idea...due to abundance of beech leaves on exposed spots zadrega