Podrošt - Krekova koča na Ratitovcu

Access to starting point:
A) We drive to Železniki, then continue driving towards Soriška planina and Petrovo Brdo. When we reach the crossroad where the road to Petrovo Brdo and Tolmin branches off to the left, and straight ahead the road continues towards Sorica and Soriška planina, we are in Podrošt, where we notice the mountain signposts for Ratitovec. There are no suitable parking places by the mountain signposts, so we park at a suitable spot nearby.
B) We drive to Baška grapa, then continue driving towards Železniki. After Petrovo Brdo the road starts to descend, and we drive to the crossroad where the road from Soriška planina joins us. Here we turn right, and along the road we notice signs for Ratitovec. There are no suitable parking places by the mountain signposts, so we park at a suitable spot nearby.
C) From Bohinjska Bistrica we ascend to Soriška planina, then begin descending towards Sorica and Železniki. When we arrive in the valley, we are in Podrošt, where a little further from the crossroad where the road from Petrovo Brdo joins us, we notice signs for Ratitovec. There are no suitable parking places by the mountain signposts, so we park at a suitable spot nearby.

Path description:
The signs for Ratitovec direct us from the main road onto a side road that leads past the Podrošt refreshment stand, then we continue past the barrier that prevents further driving. Behind the barrier on the left we notice a smaller pond, above which there is a smaller accumulation pond. We leave the road a little further on and continue right onto the marked path, which begins to ascend diagonally to the left. The path ahead leads along what was once a nicely arranged and wide path, but which today is damaged in several places, especially poorly trodden and consequently quite overgrown. While crossing the slopes of the peak Lajtnik, where we walk above the bed of the Štajnpoh stream, the path splits several times, but we follow the blazes or signs for Ratitovec at all of them. When we are already somewhat higher, on some sections when looking back a nice view opens towards Porezen, otherwise the path mostly runs through the forest. Higher we reach the bed of the torrent stream Ravenska grapa, which we cross; at high water levels the crossing is quite awkward due to the slippery rocks around the stream. We walk alongside the stream for a short time longer, then reach a macadam road, which we follow to the right (the left road ends below the summit Štoment). Here we cross another streamlet, then go a little further left onto the marked path, along which we quickly ascend to a pasture, where we ascend for some time along its left lower edge, and higher we enter the belt of shrubs through which we ascend to another road, where we reach the village of Ravne.
Further on the path leads past a few individual houses, and occasionally we cross a road or continue along it briefly. After crossing the asphalt road, along which it is possible to continue to the village of Torka, Ravne ends, and we continue to follow the signs for Ratitovec. The still relatively well-marked but poorly trodden path then leads us along the route of the high-voltage power line, and along the power line we continue to the marked junction on the saddle Povden.
We continue in the direction of the Koča na Ratitovcu; the path takes us on the right side of the information board marking the Natura 2000 area into the forest. This is followed by an ascent through fairly dense forest; when the path levels out somewhat, the path from the village of Torka joins us from the left. From the junction we walk briefly along the cart track, then the signs for Ratitovec direct us right onto the mountain path. The path ahead begins to ascend more steeply, and at around 1500 meters altitude it brings us out of the forest. We continue amid ever finer views along a steeper slope, where in winter there is a high risk of triggering snow avalanches. Higher the path leads over a short secured section (easy), then the path turns left and levels out. A few more minutes of easy ascent over the pastures of Ratitovec follow, and we arrive at the Krekova koča na Ratitovcu.
Podrošt - Ravne 1:20, Ravne - Povden 40 minutes, Povden - Krekova koča 1:00.
Description and pictures refer to the conditions in 2018 (May).

On the way: Ravne (1024m), Povden (1264m)

Trip can be extended to: Gladki vrh (Ratitovec) ( 5 min) , Altemaver (Ratitovec) ( 20 min)