Mače - Mali Grintovec (via Sveti Miklavž and Dom na Kališču)

Access to starting point:
A) From highway Ljubljana - Jesenice we go to the exit Kranj - east, and then we continue driving in the direction of Jezersko. When we get to Preddvor we leave the main road and we continue driving left towards the center of the mentioned settlement, from there we follow the signs for Mače. When we get to Mače, at the marked crossroad we continue right (left Bašelj, straight church of St. Miklavž (church isn't accessible with a car)) and on a narrow road we drive above the village, where there is a larger marked parking lot.
B) From highway Jesenice - Ljubljana we go to the exit Kranj - zahod and at the first crossroad, we continue left. Further, we drive through the underpass below the highway, and then we get to a roundabout, from where we continue driving in the direction of Golnik. The path ahead leads us through the settlement Mlaka pri Kranju, and at the end of the settlement, we continue right in the direction of the settlement Srakovlje. Next follows driving through Srakovlje, Spodnja Bela, Srednja Bela to Zgornja Bela, where we continue right towards Preddvor. In Preddvor we notice signs for Mače, which point us to the left past the primary school on a road which ascends to Mače. When we get to Mače, at the marked crossroad we continue right (left Bašelj, straight church of St. Miklavž (church isn't accessible with a car)) and on a narrow road we drive above the village, where there is a larger marked parking lot.

Path description:
From the parking lot above Mače we return on an asphalt road back to the center of the village, and from there we continue in the direction of St. Miklavž (turn-off of the road in the middle of the village towards St. Miklavž is well marked). From the center of the village we continue on a dead-end street and there we start moderately ascending. The road soon flattens and it brings us to the spot, where we notice the next sign for St. Miklavž, which this time points us left on the road which leads us past some yards towards the nearby stream. Still before we descend to a stream next sign points us right, where we continue past the garage and by concrete retaining wall. When already worse road descends entirely to a stream Suha, over smaller wooden bridge we also cross it. On the other side of the small bridge we ascend to the edge of yard of the nearby residential house, and then we continue right, where we start ascending by mesh fence. After a short ascent, we step on the edge of a larger meadow, from where a nice view opens up on Tolsti vrh and Storžič. We continue by the edge of the forest or entirely on the right side of a meadow, to the spot, where the footpath returns into the forest. When we step into the forest footpath widens into a cart track, and we continue there only few 10 strides, and then we go right on a well-beaten footpath. A little further, we reach the next cart track which we cross diagonally towards the left.
From the cart track ahead we are ascending on a moderately steep path, which quickly leads out of the forest on a larger meadow below the church of St. Miklavž. From here only a short ascent follows and we are already at the church, from which a nice view opens up on Gorenjska's settlements, Polhograjsko and Škofjeloško hribovje and in good visibility also on Triglav.
Continuation of the path, we notice on the eastern side of the church, where we ascend through a short lane of a forest to a pleasant bench and nice viewpoint. We continue on the right side of bench, on the path which in a gentle ascent crosses slopes towards the right. After few minutes, we reach the cart track which we only cross and we continue the ascent on a well-beaten and still unmarked path, which ascends a little steeper. When the path flattens, we reach some kind of a ridge, where we step on other, relatively new cart track, on which we are ascending towards the north. By occasional nice views on Triglav, Mali Grintovec and more, we ascend by indistinct edge of the forest, where we leave the cart track and we continue slightly right on an easy to follow footpath (because cart track is relatively new (April 2014) the beginning of the footpath is a little harder to notice), which gradually passes into the forest and a little further joins the normal marked path from Mače towards Kališče.
The marked path little ahead brings us on the next cart track, and we walk there to the spot, where blazes lead right upward on a steeper path, on which in few minutes we ascend to nicely settled viewpoint with a bench. After a viewpoint we return into the forest, where we are only gently ascending. A little further, we again reach one of many cart tracks on that part, and marked path for some time continues parallel with it, after a time when lane of a dense forest ends, it returns on it. With a view on Tolsti vrh and Storžič, then in a minute of additional walking, we walk to a crossing north from Gora, peak which we bypassed on the left side.
From the crossing, we continue on a marked path in the direction of Kališče. Few minutes we are ascending through a dense spruce forest and then we join a worse road, on which we few minutes continue the ascent. We leave the road, when on the right side we notice a continuation of the mountain path (turn off is well marked). The path ahead passes on a steeper slope and is in numerous zig-zags relatively steeply ascending. Higher forest for some time gets thinner and a nice view opens up towards the south. On the part of thin forest a wooden bench offers pleasant rest, and a little ahead "surprises" us working clock on a tree. Further a little for some time we cross towards the right, so that we reach forested south ridge of Kališče. On the mentioned ridge path turns sharply left and then in few hairpin turns ascends to Spodnje Kališče, from where a beautiful view opens up on Storžič.
When above Spodnje Kališče path returns into the forest from the left joins the path from Laško (also the path from Bašelj past hospital Košuta). Next follows few minutes of walking through the forest and we get to a nice viewpoint, from where a nice view opens up towards the nearby mountain hut Dom na Kališču, Mali Grintavec, ridge of Lanež, Krvavec... From the viewpoint only a short ascent follows and we are already at the mountain hut Dom na Kališču.
From the mountain hut Dom na Kališču we continue on a wide ridge path in the direction towards Storžič. After few minutes of pleasant panoramic walking we get to a marked crossing, where from the left joins a little worse beaten path from Bašelj (path past the church of St. Lovrenc), in the direction of straight continues the path on Storžič, and we continue right in the direction of Bašeljski vrh, Mali Grintovec and Srednji vrh. From the crossing ahead we start ascending through dwarf pines, and the path quickly brings us to the next crossing, where we continue on the bottom right path (left Bašeljski vrh) in the direction of saddle Mačensko sedlo.
Next follows traversing of Bašeljski vrh, on the path which continues with some shorter ascents and descents. When the traversing ends we get to a saddle Mačensko sedlo, where from the left joins the marked path from Bašeljski vrh, and from the right unmarked path through the valley of Suha.
We continue straight in the direction of Mali Grintovec, on the path which starts relatively steeply ascending on the western slope of the mentioned mountain. After approximately half an hour of walking from the saddle Mačensko sedlo we get to a marked crossing, where from the right side, the path from Dolga njiva joins. We continue left and after few 10 strides of additional walking, we get to the top of Mali Grintovec.
Mače - Sveti Miklavž 20 minutes, Sveti Miklavž - Kališče 2:25, Kališče - Mačensko sedlo 45 minutes, Mačensko sedlo - Mali Grintovec 30 minutes.

On the way: Sv. Miklavž nad Mačami (651m), Planina Kališče (1450m), Dom na Kališču mountain hut (1534m), Mačensko sedlo (1615m)