Mače - Mali Grintovec (via Dom na Kališču)

Access to starting point:
a) From the Ljubljana-Jesenice motorway, take the Kranj-east exit, then continue driving towards Jezersko. When arriving in Preddvor, leave the main road and continue left towards the centre of the mentioned place, from there follow the signs for Mače. When arriving in Mače, at the marked junction continue right (left Bašelj, straight church of St. Nicholas (church not accessible by car)) and drive up the narrow road above the village, where there is a larger marked parking lot.
b) From the Jesenice-Ljubljana motorway, take the Kranj-west exit and at the first junction continue left. Continue through the underpass under the motorway, then arrive at a roundabout, from which continue driving towards Golnik. The route continues through the settlement of Mlaka pri Kranju, at the end of the settlement continue right towards the settlement of Srakovlje. Follow the drive through Srakovlje, Spodnja Bela, Srednja Bela to Zgornja Bela, where continue right towards Preddvor. In Preddvor notice the signs for Mače, which direct left past the primary school onto the road that climbs to Mače. When arriving in Mače, at the marked junction continue right (left Bašelj, straight church of St. Nicholas (church not accessible by car)) and drive up the narrow road above the village, where there is a larger marked parking lot.

Route description:
From the parking lot, return a few dozen steps back, i.e., to the road from which we drove to the parking lot, and continue uphill along it towards Dom na Kališču and Storžič. Walk along the road for just under half an hour, then at Studenci the path forks.
Choose the left path, marked for Kališče (right Srednji vrh), cross the stream, then immediately begin a steep ascent. A few minutes higher, reach a forest road, which we also immediately leave and continue following the markers. Continue on the marked path that runs between two forest roads, higher up moderately ascending in switchbacks for a while. Higher up, reach the forest road again, follow it uphill, after a minute leave it and head onto the marked path that brings us to a rest area and viewpoint with a bench in a few minutes of further ascent.
The path ahead returns to the forest and initially ascends gently, but the easy walk soon ends as after crossing the forest road we begin ascending in switchbacks through the forest again.
Here, before we start the steep ascent, the path from Bašelj joins from the left, then we ascend in switchbacks on the steeper slope, crossing the forest road several times, always following the markers. Higher up, we occasionally get nice views towards Gorenjska, followed by a somewhat longer traverse to the right. Later, at about 1330 m elevation, the path turns left and, except for a few switchbacks, ascends to the left. When leaving the forest, we arrive at the edge of Planina Kališče, a little further to the junction at Spodnje Kališče, where there are a few benches for rest.
When the path above Spodnje Kališče returns to the forest, the path from Laški (also the path from Bašelj past Partizanska bolnica Košuta) joins from the left. A few more minutes of walking through the forest and we arrive at a nice viewpoint from which opens a beautiful view towards the nearby Dom na Kališču, Mali Grintovec, the ridge of Lanež, Krvavec... From the viewpoint, only a short ascent remains and we are at Dom na Kališču.
Behind Dom na Kališču, notice the mountaineering signpost with numerous route continuation options. Continue along the gentle and scenic ridge path towards Storžič, Bašeljski vrh..., which continues northwards. After a few minutes of easy walking with beautiful views reaching to the Julian Alps, arrive at a junction, continue right (straight Storžič) towards Bašeljski vrh. The path ahead steeply ascends through a belt of dwarf pines and brings us to the dwarf pine-covered ridge of Bašeljski vrh with nice views of the neighbouring Mali Grintovec, where in the next few minutes arrive at the next well-marked junction, continue along the lower right path (left Bašeljski vrh) towards Mačensko sedlo.
Follows the traverse of Bašeljski vrh along a path with some shorter ascents and descents. When the traverse ends, arrive at Mačensko sedlo, where the marked path from Bašeljski vrh joins from the left, and from the right an unmarked path along the Suha valley.
Continue straight towards Mali Grintovec along a path that begins relatively steeply ascending the western slope of the mentioned mountain. After about half an hour of walking from Mačensko sedlo, arrive at a marked junction where the path from Dolga njiva joins from the right. Continue left and after a few dozen more steps arrive at the summit of Mali Grintovec.

Starting point - Studenci 0:25, Studenci - za Goro 0:40, za Goro - Spodnje Kališče 1:10, Spodnje Kališče - Dom na Kališču 0:15, Dom na Kališču - junction at Kališču 0:10, junction above Kališče - junction below Bašeljski vrh 0:15, junction below Bašeljski vrh - Mačensko sedlo 0:25, Mačensko sedlo - Mali Grintovec 0:30.

Along the route: Studenci (737m), Za Goro (975m), Planina Kališče (1450m), Razpotje pod Kališčem (1509m), Dom na Kališču (1534m), Razpotje nad Kališčem (1570m), Razpotje pod Bašeljskim vrhom (1634m), Mačensko sedlo (1622m), Razpotje pod Malim Grintovcem (1791m)

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