Mežica - Koča na Pikovem (via homestead Jesenik)

Access to starting point:
From Črna na Koroškem or from Ravne na Koroškem, or through the border crossing Holmec or Mežica, we drive to Mežica, where signs for the Mirje cemetery direct us towards the west on a local road. We also drive past the old cemetery, and then we park on a marked parking lot.

Route description:
From the starting point, we continue on the asphalt road upwards; when the road turns left, we leave it and continue straight on a cart track in the direction of Pikovo. We continue on the cart track, which ascends along the route of a former ski track; today along the path we notice the Mežica disc golf course. Initially, looking back, we still see Mežica and the surrounding hills; then the path, along which there are almost no blazes, enters a valley between a 729-meter-high hill on the left (unnamed peak on maps) and Štalekarjev vrh on the right. When the valley turns towards the west, a marked cart track branches off to the left from the ski track, on which we continue. The cart track quickly turns even a little more to the left and then ascends diagonally to the ridge, where we continue right in the direction of the Koča na Pikovem mountain hut. For some time the path follows the ridge, then it gradually veers slightly left onto the slopes, across which we ascend mostly transversely. Higher up we bypass the Jesenik homestead on the lower left side, where the path leads us past the ruins of an old house. A little further we cross a macadam road (to the left we descend into the valley or continue to the Koča na Pikovem mountain hut on the old path; right, Jesenik homestead), then we ascend more steeply on the cart track, which we follow all the way to the saddle, from which a view opens towards the southwest.
From the saddle we continue straight in the direction of the Koča na Pikovem mountain hut and quickly descend to the point where we join the Vrh šteng - Koča na Pikovem path.
We follow the path to the left; a little further, an old path also joins from the left. We continue again in the direction of the Koča na Pikovem mountain hut and ascend through the forest to a wooden cross, beside which there is a quite old bench.
We continue straight (left Pikov vrh) and gradually begin to descend. When we step out of the forest, another path to Pikov vrh branches off to the left, but we continue straight to the nearby Pik homestead, after which the surrounding area got its name. A few more minutes of walking on the road follow, from which we first get some views in the direction of Peca, then through the forest we reach the church of St. Helena, behind which is the Koča na Pikovem mountain hut.
Description and pictures refer to the situation in 2018 (May).

The trip can be extended to the following destinations: Pikov vrh, Veliki vrh (above Mežiška dolina)

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