Cerkno - Medrce (via Labinjske lehe)

Access to starting point:
A) From the regional road Idrija - Tolmin, at the settlement Straža in the hamlet Želin at the traffic-light crossroads we turn right in the direction of Cerkno (if coming from the direction of Tolmin, we turn left). Further on, we drive through the valley of the river Cerknica, past the Petrol filling station all the way to Cerkno, where at the crossroads behind the church of St. Jernej (by the church there is also a cemetery and parking lot) we continue left in the direction of Železniki, the Cerkno ski slope, Franja hospital and the centre of Cerkno. At the next marked crossroads we continue left in the direction of the settlements Zakojca and Gorje. If we have not parked already before the church, we can do so a little further from the NOB monument on one of the parking lots in Cerkno.
B) From the road Škofja Loka - Žiri, after the settlement Trebija we turn right in the direction of Sovodenj and Cerkno (from the direction of Žiri, still before Trebija, we turn left), from where we first drive to Sovodenj, from there over the pass Kladje (the pass is located in the settlement Podlanišče) we start descending towards Cerkno. In Cerkno at the first larger crossroads we continue straight ahead (to the right we come to the town centre and to the church of St. Ana), then in the second one, about 300 m further, we turn right in the direction of Železniki, the Cerkno ski slope, Franja hospital and the centre of Cerkno. At the next marked crossroads we continue left in the direction of the settlements Zakojca and Gorje and then park on one of the parking lots in Cerkno.
C) From the road Škofja Loka - Podbrdo, at the place Zali Log we continue left in the direction of Davča and the Cerkno ski slope (if coming from the direction of Podbrdo or Soriška planina, at the end of the settlement we continue right). The road ahead first ascends to Davča, from there it starts descending towards Cerkno. In the centre of Cerkno, at the post office we turn right, then a little behind the NOB monument we park at a suitable place.

Route description:
From the centre of Cerkno we continue in the direction of Zakojca and Gorje, where we walk on the sidewalk; at the NOB monument we go right over the bridge across the stream Zapoška. We continue along Jerebova ulica, past the hair salon Monika, then the signs for Trebenče and Franja hospital direct us left onto a narrower street (Pot na Brce). When a passage to a paved path opens on the right, we continue on it, ascending above Cerkno; the paved path accompanies us all the way to the larger NOB monument.
Behind the monument we continue on a cart track, which ascends across a partly grassy slope; after the transmitters we reach an asphalt road. We continue straight on the initially still asphalted road, which higher up brings us to another house. Behind the house we continue on the marked hiking path, a little further on bypassing yet another house on the right side. We continue steeply uphill in the direction of Franja hospital, and the path leads us through the forest for some time. When we leave the forest we continue left and ascend on a cart track to the settlement Labinje, where the path forks.
We continue left in the direction of Porezen (right downhill Franja hospital), from the road going only a little further right and ascending transversely across a shorter steeper slope. After two minutes of ascent the path levels out and we cross an asphalt road, continuing in the direction of Porezen; the path leads us past the yard of the nearby house. The path ahead leads us along a cart track; at a smaller junction we go slightly right, behind the fence the path enters the forest and gradually turns into a hiking path. A somewhat longer transverse ascent follows; when we reach the macadam road we follow it for a few steps to the right, then the markers direct us left onto a cart track that returns to the forest. Through the forest at junctions we follow the markers; higher up the path becomes steeper and crosses a macadam road. A little further we reach the macadam road again, and at two successive junctions, where first the path from Poč joins us, a few steps further the path from Dolenji Novaki, we follow the signs for Porezen.
Behind the junction we immediately leave the forest and arrive at the hay meadows of Labinjske lehe, from where a nice view opens onto Cerkljansko, extending all the way to Krim, Snežnik and Trnovski gozd.
On the upper part of the hay meadows the path turns slightly left and passes onto the slopes named Počanska gora. A gentle to moderate transverse ascent to the left follows; we walk along a nicely arranged path, which on a short steep section is also well protected and in dry conditions undemanding.
Behind the protected section the path forks, and we continue on the lower path (right is the winter route), which continues to ascend transversely. Later the slope becomes steeper, and the path, with the aid of log steps, ascends steeply for a stretch. The path soon levels out and we reach the ridge of Hom, where the path from the Cerkno ski slope joins from the right.
We continue in the direction of Porezen and quickly descend to the saddle Velbnik, where on the left we notice the hunting hut on Šaš.
From the saddle Velbnik, where a forest road leading to Dom na Poreznu comes quite close, we ascend through a narrow strip of forest, then at the crossing of the pasture fence the path forks.
We continue on the ascending path (the left path bypasses the summit of Medrce and is unmarked, but it is slightly shorter and leads further towards Porezen); on it we ascend to the panoramic summit of Medrce in 10 minutes, from where a nice view opens onto Porezen.
Cerkno Labinje 1:00, Labinje - Labinjske lehe 1:00, Labinjske lehe - Velbnik 1:15, Velbnik - Medrce 0:10.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in July 2020 and October 2018.

Along the route: Labinjske lehe (962m), Labinje (628m), Velbnik (1331m)

The trip can be extended to the following destinations: Dom na Poreznu ( 50 min), Porezen ( 45 min)

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