Križe - Tolsti vrh (Sheep trail 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 you turn right towards the settlement of Križe. Continue past the NOB monument, 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, then drive along the main road leading towards Zgornje and Spodnje Duplje, leave the mentioned main road at the settlement of Retnje, where you continue left towards the settlements of Križe and Golnik. Continue past the NOB monument, the Križe sports field 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 we continue left towards Pristava. The road then leads past the Tušek market Markič store, then we already 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 we have a nice view 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.
We leave the road at a small information board informing about the opening of Zavetišče v Gozdu. From the cart track, immediately turn left twice, so that the ascent continues on a forest path, which soon joins another cart track, on which we return to the asphalt road in a few minutes. We 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 Zavetišče v Gozdu (straight on the road 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, we leave the cart track, as the markers lead left onto a somewhat steeper crossing path, which soon returns to the cart track, and this to the asphalt road. Follow the road right, and we walk on 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, walk to the nearby church, then reach a marked junction where a path from Golnik joins from the right. Continue left uphill on 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 goes past a water intake and continues on a cart track. Just a few meters further, the cart track brings us to the next junction. Continue straight on the cart track towards Kriška gora (forest path), right the usual marked path. Here at the junction, an information board warns that we will continue on a path exposed to snow avalanches in winter. The cart track ascending through the forest brings us to grassy slopes 20 minutes from the junction. Follow a short ascent to the point where the path leads to the scenic side ridge of Kriška gora. Here we encounter an orienteering loop. Continue on the right path, which ascends along the indistinct side ridge, on the southern slope of Kriška gora. A bit higher, the path brings us to the point where we cross grassy slopes in a slight ascent, after which the path leads into a short stretch of forest. A little further, we reach a clearing, above which we notice the path of the cargo cableway. The path ahead ascends under the cableway all the way to the Koča na Kriški gori.
From Koča na Kriški gori, continue on the marked path towards Tolsti vrh. The path turns slightly left just a few meters behind the hut (slightly right to Gozd) and begins to ascend gently across the grassy slope. After three minutes of walking, an almost imperceptible path branches left to Grahovše, 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 across grassy slopes. A bit further, the path returns to the ridge, which we reach exactly at a pronounced notch, where a pathless path branches left downhill to Grahovše.
The path ahead leads over 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 crossing, we reach the point where the path begins to ascend steeply towards the forepeak of Tolsti vrh. From the forepeak, we have a nice view in all directions, and the path ahead leads along a narrow ridge for a short time. Follow a short descent through the forest, then the path begins to ascend again. Higher up, the forest thins, and the increasingly scenic path leads to Tolsti vrh.

Starting point - junction before Gozd 0:55, junction before Gozd - Zavetišče v Gozdu 0:20, Zavetišče v Gozdu - sv. Miklavž 0:05, sv. Miklavž - junction above Gozd 0:10, junction above Gozd - Ovčja pot junction 0:10, Ovčja pot 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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