Podkorita - Krekova koča na Ratitovcu

Access to starting point:
From the Ljubljana-Jesenice highway, we take the Lesce exit, then continue driving towards Bled and Bohinjska Bistrica. When we arrive in the municipality of Bohinj, we slowly start paying attention to the left turn-off. Just before the main road crosses the bridge over the Sava Bohinjka river, we continue slightly left onto a macadam road which runs parallel to the river. From the main road, we drive along the macadam road for another 2100 m, then park in a suitable place by the road.

Path description:
From the starting point, we continue on the macadam road, which immediately leads us over two successive streams and a smaller wooden hut that we notice on the left side. A little further ahead, or right after the small bridge, we reach a small junction where a short road branches left towards the nearby apiary. We continue towards the apiary (straight to waterfall Grmečica and Nomenj, the right road ends on the nearby meadows) and behind it straight into the belt of bushes, where we first notice a faint path that becomes more distinct just a few metres higher. The path ahead leads us across a short scree field, where it turns right and transitions onto an old cart track. Continuing, we ascend the cart track, following it to the right at two less noticeable junctions. The cart track then veers slightly right and brings us to a small valley, where it almost completely disappears. We continue a few steps along the valley or broad gully, then the path takes us left onto the slopes, where the cart track becomes distinct again. A little higher, we cross a forest road; above it, the path first ascends through a belt of bushes, then enters the forest, through which it begins to climb more steeply. Higher up, there are a few almost imperceptible junctions again; we follow the "main" path, which brings us higher to a more rocky cart track partly overgrown with tall grass. Here, we continue left, and then after a few metres, upon reaching a small valley, right onto a gently sloping cart track, by which we ascend to the nearby macadam road. We follow the road to the right, and after some 10 metres at a small right bend, slightly left onto the cart track, by which we ascend to the lower part of Bitenjska planina. Once out of the forest, we continue slightly left, and after a short ascent, we already spot the first huts on the pasture, to which we walk across an increasingly panoramic meadow.
Above the pasture, we step onto an asphalt road, which we follow to the right (left to Železniki), walking along it to the nearby junction, where we notice the first signs for Ratitovec.
We continue left onto the road towards Ratitovec; initially, the still-asphalted road quickly leads us into dense forest. We walk about 10 minutes along the said road, then the markers direct us slightly left onto a marked footpath that continues along a grassy cart track beside the Bitenjski graben stream. Higher up, we return to the road, reaching it right at a small junction. We continue along the upper right road, quickly arriving at Ribčeva planina.
From Ribčeva planina, we continue along the road, which a little higher brings us to a junction, where we go right. From the junction, we walk along the road for about another 2 minutes, then the signs for the footpath to Ratitovec direct us left onto a marked cart track, which higher turns into a somewhat steeper mountain path that soon crosses a forest road and flattens behind it. On the other side of the road, we continue along the cart track but soon leave it as the markers direct us right onto a forest path that initially ascends moderately, then gradually descends to the nearby forest road, which we follow left. We continue the ascent along the road, walking along it in a few minutes to its end, where there is a larger parking lot and turning area.
From the parking lot, we continue along a wide cart track that begins to ascend relatively steeply through the forest. After about 10 minutes of walking, the cart track flattens, then a little further brings us to the huts on Pečana pasture.
A few steps above the mentioned huts, we emerge from the forest onto grassy slopes; we continue along the right side of the pasture for just a few more metres, then at the junction go right towards Krekova koča (straight to Kosmati vrh). The path ahead begins to ascend moderately through increasingly sparse spruce forest. Higher up, we finally step out of the forest onto the expansive pastures of Ratitovec, where we leave the cart track and continue the ascent along a somewhat less visible but marked path that, after a few more minutes of walking, brings us to the summit slopes of Ratitovec, where the path from Soriška planina joins from the right. We continue left along the increasingly panoramic path, which leads past the winter bivouac, all the way to Krekova koča na Ratitovcu, which we reach after less than 5 minutes of further walking.

On the way: Bitenjska planina (901m), Ribčeva planina (1115m), Planina Pečana (1472m)

Trip can be extended to: Gladki vrh (Ratitovec) ( 5 min) , Altemaver (Ratitovec)