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 settlements Žeje, Spodnje and Zgornje Duplje to the settlement Retnje, where we turn right towards the settlement Križe. Further on, we drive past the NOB monument and the Križe sports field 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 petrol station in Bistrica pri Tržiču, turn right and then drive into Tržič. When the road descends into the valley, continue sharply right towards Pristava and Križ; further on, drive along the main road leading towards Zgornje and Spodnje Duplje; leave the aforementioned main road at the settlement Retnje, where we continue left towards the settlements Križe and Golnik. Further on, we drive past the NOB monument and the Križe sports field to the parking lot by the cemetery and the parish church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue along the road towards the east, 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 we continue left towards Pristava. The road then leads past the Tušek Markič market store, after which we notice the first mountain signposts for Gozd, Kriška gora and Storžič, which take us right onto Planinska pot street. At the junctions through the settlement, we follow the blazes; then the road loses its asphalt surface and enters the forest. A few minutes higher, at the junction of macadam roads, we continue right, then gradually emerge from the forest, from where a nice view opens towards Gorenjska. After the panoramic section, the road becomes asphalted and brings us to the place where we join the road leading to Gozd. We follow this road left, but walk along it only briefly, as the blazes take us right onto a cart track.
We leave the road at a small information board informing us about the opening status of Zavetišče v Gozdu. From the cart track, we turn left twice immediately, so that we continue the ascent along the forest path, which soon rejoins another cart track, along which we return to the asphalt road in a few minutes. We walk a few steps along the road, then a path from Tržič joins from the left, while to the right the footpath or cart track to Zavetišče v Gozdu continues (straight along the road to Koča na Kriški gori - steep path).
We continue along the right path (cart track), which initially runs parallel to the road and further leads past a water trough. A little further on, we leave the cart track, as the blazes take us left onto a traversing somewhat steeper path, which soon returns to the cart track, and this to the asphalt road. We follow the road right and walk along it for a few more minutes, or until we notice a large parking lot on the right side and next to it Zavetišče v Gozdu.
From the shelter, we walk to the nearby church, then reach a marked junction where a path from Golnik joins from the right. We continue left uphill along a worsening road, which brings us to a junction in a few minutes. Here we take the left path (right to Tolsti vrh, Mala and Velika Poljana and Storžič), which passes a water intake and continues along a cart track. The cart track soon enters the forest and brings us in moderate ascent to a smaller junction, where we continue right towards Kriška gora (straight ahead unmarked path to Koča na Kriški gori) onto a somewhat more rutted cart track, which higher turns into a relatively steep trail. Further on, we ascend along a well-maintained path, beside which we notice numerous benches and the names of the benches beside them. Higher up, the path takes us to a pasture fence and just a little higher turns left, then ascending diagonally. After a few minutes of diagonal 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, we return a few metres back, then continue along the path to Tolsti vrh. The path ahead begins to ascend gently across a grassy slope. After three minutes of walking, a path to Grahovše branches off almost imperceptibly to the left; we continue along the well-trodden mountain path, which runs along the main ridge of Kriška gora. Further on, the path withdraws from the ridge to the right side a few times, but the panoramic path mostly leads across grassy slopes. A little further, the path returns to the ridge, which we reach right at a pronounced notch, where a pathless route to Grahovše branches off left downhill.
The path ahead leads across a pasture fence, then bypasses Vrata (1591 m) on the right side. Higher up, 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 on all sides, and the path ahead leads along a narrower ridge for a short time. A short descent through the forest follows, then the path ascends again. Higher up, the forest thins out, and the increasingly panoramic path brings us to Tolsti vrh.
Križe - Zavetišče v Gozdu 1:15, Zavetišče v Gozdu - Koča na Kriški gori 1:30, Koča na Kriški gori - Tolsti vrh 1:00

On the way: Zavetišče v Gozdu mountain hut (891m), Koča na Kriški gori mountain hut (1471m)