Križe - Tolsti vrh (easier path over Kriška gora)

Access to starting point:
a) From the Ljubljana - Jesenice motorway, take the Naklo exit, then continue driving towards the villages of Žeje, Spodnje and Zgornje Duplje to the village of Retnje, where turn right towards the settlement of Križe. Continue past the NOB monument, Križe sports ground to the parking lot by the cemetery and the parish church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
b) From the Jesenice - Ljubljana motorway, take the Podbrezje exit, then continue driving towards Ljubelj and Tržič. Before the Petrol filling station in Bistrica pri Tržiču, turn right and drive into Tržič. When the road descends into the valley, continue sharply right towards Pristava and Križ, then drive along the main road leading towards Zgornje and Spodnje Duplje, leave the said main road at the settlement of Retnje, continuing left towards the settlements of Križe and Golnik. Continue past the NOB monument, Križe sports ground to the parking lot by the cemetery and the parish church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Route description:
From the parking lot, continue along the road eastwards, where the path first leads past the church, then past the post office, the inn pri Benk and the bakery to the junction at the chapel, where continue left towards Pristava. The road then leads past the Tušek market Markič store, then we notice the first hiking signs for Gozd, Kriška gora and Storžič, which lead us right onto Planinska pot street. At junctions through the settlement, follow the markers, then the road loses its asphalt surface and enters the forest. A few minutes higher, at the junction of gravel roads, continue right, then gradually emerge from the forest, from where a nice view opens towards Gorenjska. After the scenic section, the road becomes asphalted and brings us to the point where we join the road leading towards Gozd. Follow the road left, but walk on it only briefly, as the markers lead us right onto a cart track.
Leave the road at a small information board informing about the opening of the Shelter in Gozd. From the cart track, immediately turn left twice, so continue the ascent on a forest path, which soon joins another cart track, on which we return to the asphalt road in a few minutes. Walk a few steps on the road, then a path from Tržič joins from the left, and to the right the footpath or cart track continues towards the Shelter in Gozd (straight along the road to Koča na Kriški gori - steep path).
Continue on the right path (cart track), which initially runs parallel to the road and then leads past a water trough. A bit further, leave the cart track, as the markers lead left onto a somewhat steeper traversing path, which soon returns to the cart track, and this to the asphalt road. Follow the road right, walking on it for a few more minutes, or until we notice a large parking lot on the right and next to it the Shelter in Gozd.
From the shelter, walk to the nearby church, then reach a marked junction where a path from Golnik joins from the right. Continue left uphill along the increasingly poor road, which brings us to a junction in a few minutes. Here, take the left path (right to Tolsti vrh, Mala and Velika Poljana and Storžič), which passes a water reservoir and continues on a cart track. The cart track quickly enters the forest and brings us in moderate ascent to a small junction, where continue right towards Kriška gora (straight unmarked path to Koča na Kriški gori) on a somewhat eroded cart track, which higher turns into a fairly steep trail. Continue ascending on a well-maintained path, along which we notice numerous benches and names on them. Higher, the path reaches a pasture fence and shortly above turns left, then ascends transversely. After a few minutes of traversing ascent, we step out of the forest, where we already see Koča na Kriški gori ahead, only a few dozen easy steps away.
From Koča na Kriški gori, return a few meters back, then continue along the path towards Tolsti vrh. The path ahead begins to ascend gently over grassy slopes. After three minutes of walking, an almost unnoticeable path to Grahovše branches left, but we continue on the well-trodden hiking path that runs along the main ridge of Kriška gora. Further on, the path moves away from the ridge to the right side several times, but the scenic path mostly leads over grassy slopes. A bit further, the path returns to the ridge, which we reach exactly at a pronounced notch, where a pathless path to Grahovše branches left downwards.
The path ahead leads over a pasture fence, then bypasses Vrata (1591 m) on the right side. Higher, the path returns to or along the ridge and ascends gently for a while. After a few minutes of traversing, we reach the point where the path begins to ascend steeply towards the forepeak of Tolsti vrh. From the forepeak, a nice view opens in all directions, and the path leads us further along a narrow ridge for a short time. A short descent through the forest follows, then the path ascends again. Higher, the forest thins, and the increasingly scenic path brings us to Tolsti vrh.

Starting point - junction before Gozd 0:55, junction before Gozd - Shelter in Gozd 0:20, Shelter in Gozd - St. Miklavž 0:05, St. Miklavž - junction above Gozd 0:10, junction above Gozd - Sheep path junction 0:10, Sheep path junction - Koča na Kriški gori 1:05, Koča na Kriški gori - Tolsti vrh 1:00.

Along the route: Zavetišče v Gozdu mountain hut (703m), Koča na Kriški gori mountain hut (782m), Zavetišče v Gozdu (891m), Sveti Miklavž (Gozd) (890m), Gozd (890m), Razpotje nad Gozdom (950m), Odcep Ovčje poti (1008m), Koča na Kriški gori (1471m), Odcep v Grahovše (1482m), Pod Vrati (1562m), Jircek (1662m)

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