Zgornja Rečica (cerkev bl. Antona Martina Slomška) - Gozdnik

Access to starting point:
We drive into Laško, and then at the traffic light crossroad we drive in the direction of Spodnja Rečica. Further on, Laško ends, and we arrive in Spodnja Rečica, and later also in Zgornja Rečica, where we drive to the parking lot by the cemetery below the church of Blessed Anton Martin Slomšek.

Route description:
On the road by which we came to the starting point, we return a few minutes back, then we turn onto a side road, by which there are signs for Šmohor. For a few minutes we ascend on the grassy part, then the road passes into the forest, where at a few crossroads we follow the blazes. We leave the asphalt road slightly below the farm Brezovar, where we turn right, then we ascend to the mentioned farm, where we continue through the yard; above the farm, the path passes into the forest and continues on a cart track. The cart track first ascends diagonally towards the right, then flattens and crosses some smaller springs, where the path becomes gradually more overgrown; a little further, it leaves the cart track and turns left onto a footpath, by which the blazes continue, and for a few minutes becomes entirely overgrown with tall grass, young bushes, and partly with blackberries.
The overgrown part we traverse in a diagonal ascent towards the right; the path becomes easier to pass when we reach a forested cart track, on which we continue to a meadow near the homestead Štitnikar, where we turn left towards signs for Šmohor. The path ahead leads us on a cart track that returns to the forest; at the first crossing, we go right, at the second straight, and then signs for Šmohor direct us to the right, initially slightly downwards, onto a cart track that continues without significant changes in altitude, crossing the slopes towards the right. In the last part of the crossing, we walk on grassy terrain, and the farm, which we reach in a few minutes, we bypass on the lower right side.
At the farm, we also reach the road, to which, a little further, a path from the starting point in Spodnja Rečica joins from the right.
Here we continue straight, and along the road we walk to the first crossroad or junction, from which we turn left (sharply left toward the church of St. Mohor - the path that bypasses the Dom na Šmohorju, straight to Malič and Laško), and we continue walking along the marked hiking trail, which leads us in three minutes of further walking to the Planinski dom na Šmohorju.
From Dom na Šmohorju we continue in the direction of Kal, Mrzlica and Gozdnik. The path ahead first crosses a larger meadow, then passes into a strip of forest, through which it descends to the nearby road. When we step on the road, we continue in the same direction, and we walk along it to the spot where it splits into two parts. This time we continue on the left road, along which in a few dozen steps we arrive at the church of St. Mohor.
From the church, by which numerous old linden trees grow, we descend along a marked hiking path, which soon returns to a macadam road. We continue along the road, which bypasses the peak of Pernice on the right side, then it begins to descend moderately and brings us to a marked crossroad. From the crossroad, we continue in the direction of Kal and Mrzlica and proceed along a noticeably narrower macadam road, which past a shrine and a spring brings us to the next crossroad, where we continue straight. The road then flattens and after a few dozen meters brings us to the spot where signs for Kal, Mrzlica and Gozdnik direct us right onto an ascending cart track. The path ahead leads us past the NOB memorial, after which we soon reach the next junction. This time we continue right in the direction of Gozdnik (slightly left downward to Mrzlica), and we continue along the cart track to the spot where the forest thins a little. Here a narrower cart track branches off to the right, along which we soon notice blazes, and it gradually turns into a footpath. The path ahead steeply ascends for a short time, then flattens and gradually brings us to the ridge of Mali Gozdnik. There follows walking along an initially gentle ridge, then the path ascends more steeply and quickly brings us to the indistinct summit of Mali Gozdnik.
Next follows a short descent and the path brings us to a saddle between both summits of Gozdnik. The path ahead gradually begins to ascend ever more steeply, leading us along a relatively steep ridge that is especially slippery when wet and dangerous. The path higher flattens and brings us in a few minutes of further walking to the summit, in the middle of which there is a wooden bivouac.
Zgornja Rečica - Dom na Šmohorju 1:40, Dom na Šmohorju - Gozdnik 1:45.

Along the route: Dom na Šmohorju (784m), Mali Gozdnik (981m)

We recommend: trips from the same starting point, similar trips, summit register