Gasen - Weberhofer Alm (by learning trail)

Access to starting point:
From the border crossing Šentilj we continue driving on the highway towards Graz and further towards Linz and Salzburg. We soon leave highway A9 and continue driving slightly right in the direction towards Vienna / Wien and continue driving on the fast road S35. We leave the mentioned fast road at the exit for Mixnitz, and then from the roundabout we go to the exit in the direction of Teichalm. We continue to 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 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.
Starting point - Stoaniwelt Turm 1:10, Stoaniwelt Turm - Weberhofer Alm 0:25.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in May 2025.

On the way: Stoaniwelt Turm (1125m)