Gornji Grad - Vivodnik (past Strmčnik and cave Jespa)

Access to starting point:
From the valley Savinjska dolina or from Kamnik through mountain pass Črnivec, we drive to Gornji Grad, where on a settled parking lot by the main bus stop we also park.

Path description:
Signs for Menina planina, the path past Strmčnik from the parking lot directs us along the main road towards the mountain pass Črnivec, but soon we turn left, carefully crossing the main road into the street Podsmrečje. Here on the left side we bypass a nearby company, and the road gradually turns to the right, where it initially continues without significant changes in altitude. When the road enters the forest, it begins to ascend noticeably; when it turns sharply to the left, we turn right onto a side road marked with signs for Dom na Menini planini. Again, some traversing follows, and after a few minutes, the road ends; we continue in the same direction along a cart track that starts ascending and crosses a torrent. Next follows a steeper ascent, where at several crossroads we follow older blazes. Higher up, we cross a macadam road and continue the ascent on a wider cart track that soon splits. We choose the left cart track, where blazes continue, but soon turn right onto a footpath overgrown with wild garlic in spring months. Higher up, we also follow older blazes, and the path partly leads along a cart track and partly along a parallel mountain path. Higher, the cart track ends, and the path becomes slightly steeper, continuing for some time through the valley between Prag (1109 meters) on the left and Greben (1145 meters) on the right. The valley, overgrown with wild garlic in spring months, we leave higher up with a diagonal ascent to the left, where, in a part with thinner forest, a beautiful view opens towards the highest mountains in the Kamnik Savinja Alps.
Next follows the crossing of a wider macadam road, after which we carefully follow blazes on numerous new forest logging trails. Further on, two successive crossings of a forest road follow; from the cart track we continue on, we turn left onto a footpath, which leads to a marked crossroads where paths via Borovnica and past Semprimožnik join from the left.
We continue towards Dom na Menini planini past Jespa, ascending through the forest to a grazing fence, where we leave the forest. Here on the left, we notice a hunting cottage, but we continue straight uphill, following the blazes and a fainter footpath. During the ascent, a beautiful view opens up when looking back; higher up, the path enters a strip of forest, where we still carefully follow the blazes. When we leave the forest again, the path flattens; we then gently descend to a macadam road leading towards Dom na Menini planini, which we cross and ascend along a marked path. Next follows a walk across the Menina planina plateau, where we continue following blazes; the fairly gentle path leads us to a junction for the path to the cave Jespa.
Here we continue straight (to the left downhill leads a short secured path to the cave and karst sinkhole Jespa) and soon join a cart track, which we follow to the left.
The path ahead leads us past a concrete trough, and soon after, we reach a marked crossroads where we join the path from the mountain pass Črnivec.
We continue left, initially through a strip of forest; when the forest ends, the path veers slightly to the right and ascends a bit more steeply, while we bypass the cottage Gospodinja on the left side. Here we first walk to the parking lot and from there to the nearby mountain hut.
From the hut, we continue on a marked path in the direction of Vivodnik. After a few 10 strides of easy walking, the path for a short time steeply ascends, and then it flattens and brings us on a larger grassy slope, where we run into the signpost with the caption "Vivodnik - krožna pot (circular path)". We continue slightly left (on the right path we can return) on a relatively gently sloping path, which quickly brings us in a short lane of a forest. Here the path for a short time ascends again, and then it brings us out of the forest, where in front of us we already notice a lookout tower on Vivodnik, which we reach after few steps of additional walking.
Gornji Grad - cave Jespa 2:55, cave Jespa - Dom na Menini planini 0:20, Dom na Menini planini - Vivodnik 0:15.
Description refers to condition in April 2024, and pictures are from various periods.

On the way: Jama Jespa (1413m), Dom na Menini planini (1453m)