Gasen - Plankogel (by learning trail)

Access to starting point:
From the border crossing Šentilj we continue driving on the highway towards Gradec / Graz and forward towards Linz and Salzburg. Highway A9 we soon leave and we continue driving slightly right in the direction towards Dunaj / Wien and we continue driving on the highway S35. The mention we leave the highway at exit for Mixnitz, and then at the roundabout we go to the exit in the direction of Teichalm. Further, we still follow the signs for Teichalm. At the end of the settlement St. Erhard, a road branches off to the right towards Teichalm, and we continue straight, following the signs for Straßegg, Hartberg, Birkfeld, and Gasen. The road further starts noticeably ascending, and we ascend along it to the Straßegg mountain pass, from where we begin descending, driving to the settlement of Gasen, where we park at one of the parking lots in the settlement, ideally somewhere near the parish church.

Path description:
From the center of the settlement, past the church or by the cemetery, we ascend above the church, where to the right of the cemetery we take a footpath in the direction of the Mühlen Panoramaweg trail, while simultaneously walking in the opposite direction of the Stoakogler Heimatwanderweg learning trail. The path ahead ascends diagonally past several information boards, then we diagonally ascend through a scenic grassy area, and in the forest, we keep to the right direction or follow the signs, which otherwise point in the opposite direction. The path ahead leads us along a forested northeastern ridge, where we are accompanied by a larger number of learning boards. When the ridge flattens, we gradually reach a macadam road, where we follow the signs for the Plankogel Weg trail. At a scenic point where the road splits, we choose the slightly left path (path number 8 Plankogel Weg continues slightly to the right and bypasses the nearby lookout tower on the lower side), then we go right and gently descend to the Stoaniwelt Turm lookout tower.
At the tower, we continue left downwards, and the path soon flattens and leads us through the forest to an organized viewpoint above the farm, where a member of the well-known Austrian ensemble Die Stoakogler, Fritz Willingshofer, spent part of his childhood.
Next follows a short, easy diagonal ascent, and we reach a cart track that quickly leads to a saddle, where there is a marked crossroads where various paths from the settlement Gasen converge.
We continue straight along the cart track, marked with signs for hiking path number 8 Plankogel Weg, and the path gradually becomes steeper. Higher up, we leave the forest and arrive at the mountain pasture Weberhofer Alm.
We continue straight upwards and higher up cross a few cart tracks, keeping to the direction on or slightly below the ridge.
When we reach a marked crossroads higher up with a macadam road, we continue straight towards the mountain hut Stoakoglhütte (right Teichalm) and move from the ridge to the slopes of the peak Plankogel. From here, a few minutes of diagonal ascent follow, and after leaving the forest, we walk by a parking lot to the mountain hut Stoakoglhütte.
We bypass the cottage Stoakoglhütte on the left side and continue slightly to the right in the direction of Sommeralm and Plankogel. The path ahead leads us along a grassy cart track, which brings us to a crossroads on a small saddle in about five minutes.
We continue along the slightly right path toward Plankogel (slightly left toward Sommeralm) and begin ascending more steeply beside a wire fence. The increasingly scenic path levels out higher up and quickly leads us to the cross on a panoramic summit.
Starting point - Stoaniwelt Turm 1:10, Stoaniwelt Turm - Weberhofer Alm 0:25, Weberhofer Alm - Stoakoglhütte 0:30, Stoakoglhütte - Plankogel 0:30.
Description refers to conditions in May 2025, and pictures are from November 2023 and May 2025.

On the way: Stoaniwelt Turm (1125m), Weberhofer Alm (1220m), Stoakoglhütte (1372m)