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The day before yesterday (Sunday, May 15) from the end of the road in Lučka Bela to Planina Šibje, along the hunting path to Presedljaj, across to Planina Stare Stale, along the lower path over Grofov Štant, over the ridge and back to Planina Šibje.

That day I was lucky: at Šibje or where this pasture used to be, I accidentally spotted a trail branching right up towards Lastovec. A bit further on the other side of the dry streambed, a rock with a red label and arrow: "Lovska Pres". Following the red marks, after about ten minutes right below the edge of the scree area, I came upon a completely untrodden but long ago clearly man-made hunting trail towards Presedljaj.

The path is well traceable, for a hunting trail almost too well marked. The last few meters of the path right below Presedljaj had almost untouched brush along the trail, the path somehow concealed from the eyes of visitors who wander here on marked trails. From Presedljaj I descended about fifty meters back and followed the left fork that I had spotted on the way up. After two or three hundred meters, the trail got lost for five or ten meters in a steep, sandy and crumbly gully that dropped precipitously far down into the valley. The crossing seemed quite demanding to me. Higher up a spring flows from the wall, a bit further about fifteen meters of slanted black slabs block the path. Tiny holds and steps in the solid black rock were a real balm for the soul after the experience with dangerous crumbly sand down there.

Planina Stare Stale, a round clearing at over 1600 meters altitude and about 170 meters diameter seemed really pleasant to me. From its other side a small waterfall was gurgling refreshingly. It was hot.

From the pasture a marked path leads towards Šibje. At the saddle, the upper hunting path over Grofov Štant branches off first. After about ten minutes towards Šibje, at a hidden dried tree, a hard-to-follow trail branches left from the marked path. After two hundred meters it leads to Zijalka under Starimi Štalami, a hole about 15 meters across like from a fairy tale. Lower down is a modest hunting blind with a nice view over the entire Grofov Štant area. On the other side of the slope I spotted a bushy little ridge that I reached last time. From the blind the trail leads across to the left, then down and through partially overgrown scree terrain. From there towards the distinct pot-bellied conical tower with a narrow top tip ended by three unusual stone fingers.

The passage under the tower was undemanding. Quite another story was on the other side of the tower. Narrow sandy clearing, above which the rock had not a single reliable hold led to a short wall. From afar the steps and holds over there looked even comfortable. But on the wall everything was wobbling. Here and there a stone fell from under me, bounced off the wall a few times and crashed deep down on the scree. Carefully I cheated my way across there onto the scenic bushy ridge and further to the ridge edge, to which there were only a few dozen meters of real hunting path above the precipice.

On the other side I descended along a barely perceptible trail that I already knew. After ten minutes, at the place where I lost it last time, from the gully by the fallen tree I turned onto the grassy ridge where I found it again this time. After a nice passage under the rocky barrier I followed it to about 100 meters above Planina Šibje, where it hopelessly disappeared under numerous fallen trees. Among them I searched for a passage and surprisingly reached the pasture right along that trail I had spotted completely by chance in the morning.

At five large rocks in the dry streambed, about 70 meters before entering the watery valley of Bela, out of curiosity I crossed the streambed once more. Through the forest I climbed straight up to the path to Presedljaj known from the morning and returned down it to find its start. But a few dozen meters above the streambed this trail also disappeared. Many years ago I heard rumors that hunting paths deliberately start only a bit higher in the forest, because they are thus hidden from unwanted visitors. Maybe there's something to it.

I still had a little strength and peeked into the valley under Presedljaj. Cold pools were a real refreshment after the hot day. The soul will probably give peace now for a while. At least two to three days would be decent.

More details on Modrina neba.

The day before yesterday, on Saturday, November 20th, up via the passage from the title and down the hunter's path to Žagana peč.

The far right passage from Kurje Valley to Kalce is described ascetically briefly in the climbing guide Kamniška Bistrica (Golnar, Morojna, Pollak, Horvat): "Hunter's passage: I Into Kurje Valley and right to the shoulder by Hlev. Via passages to the top" (I probably first difficulty grade).

I've been there for checks twice already, last time alone a good month ago. This time friend Professor joined the team, with whom we sometimes wander around. We didn't start too early, but we did. The sun was already nicely warming the peaks above Bistrica. At views of the warm Kogljeva wall triangle we both sighed. Skuta and Štruca higher on blue sky were already debate fodder. I mumbled about "tempi passati", Professor firmly against such shameful surrender. We synced our views when realizing I eyed the overhanging Belly of Štruca, he the South crack of Skuta.

From end of upper cart track heading toward Hlev but soon ending, turned obliquely left up to start of collapsed gully to Kapela cave. Then right to forested ridge. 100m higher slot cave with cute name Kurje zjalo. Discovered March 2019, cataloged this spring. After steep passage 100m right of cave scratched to Shoulder by Hlev (also Jankov turn, some on turn names at gore-ljudje).

In ridge above turn/shoulder carved chimney with rock bypassed right (detail ~II). Then ~3 pitches nothing harder, just steep grass mixed rocky base, occasional tree for psych support. Rock good except loose holds in grass that pull out.

Above section at prominent chimney found left passage over few meters wet grassy dirty slabs (II or bit more) then up. Slope above thin grass, foot slipped badly. Then ~70m easier, arrived right under summit of Zeleni (or Ramšakov turn, who knows real name).

After gentle bushwhacking stood on first turn summit, soon second. Steepness concrete here and there, bit exposed, felt like great path on Rušnata and Požgana Mlinarica. Views to Kalški and Čmaževski turns and surrounds excellent.

Descent to grassy ridgelet to hunter path easy. Spotted pruned bush twigs once or twice, sign summits visited sometime. To hunter hut where we ended the ascent just over five minutes walk. All lonely wild unique late autumn experience reminding of first climbing days half a century ago. And, of course: thanks to Pastirica for selfless advice and details on these spots!

NOTE: Though guide calls hunter passage, more climbing route. Easier overall but ascent here much harder than other local hunter passages (Najnar štant, Mokrica from Kurje Valley, lower Gamsov skret secured at key spots, Za vratami gully I think even harder than Repov kot to Srebrno sedlo). Upper half more direct line to turn top, but possible easier variants. Lower chimney with rock (~II) above Jankov turn key unbypassable spot. Not suitable for descent.

More thoughts and pics, and also approach description, posted on Modrina neba.

Yesterday another ramble around Velika Planina, which is suspiciously becoming a habit for me. We left the car at Rakova Ravan, then for a while along the road to Ušivec and soon sharply left towards Gojska Planina. At the turn-off for Domžalski Dom I spotted the last living soul, then no one to the end of the trail. At the top of Bukovec a strong gust of wind hit us, but it calmed quickly. The descent was leisurely; in Tiha Dolina we paused briefly by the crumbling cable car hut. Then we pushed up towards Mali Griči, where a small but splendid and nearly untouched stash of pršut was waiting just for us. We happily devoured it two or three times. Mačkin Kot parking is a few minutes around one or two corners, the road from there to Ušivec and beyond is driven on but not plowed. It goes a bit up and down at first, from Ušivec only downhill. Comfortable, but nothing special.

We gauged the cold at about -8 or -9 degrees, colder by the gauges. Snow on the trail blown to around 10 or 15 cm, in places more or less as shaped by the wind. But enough for carefree touring on touring skis. It felt somehow primeval, truly original to me; skis were probably used mostly for travel back then. And we viewed the Kamnik-Savinja Alps from an angle I'd rarely seen before. Let the photos say more.

From Zeleni Rob we heard snowmobile rattling from afar; also on the road to Ušivec a noisy driver approached us, but turned before us, leaving us in a cloud of stinking exhaust.

Daily parking above Podvolovljek is 12€, annual pass 40€, road is plowed. Other side under cable car parking is free.

Today from Ušivec across Mala planina to Gradišče and back. A few cm of fresh and trodden snow covered sections of old ice, no slipping. Walk was actually very pleasant, even a bit crunchy. Met about a hundred walkers.

Won't discuss views much. Let those two or three pics I took speak.

I enjoyed it.

Today was a day for Rodica. Or not, depending on who. Reports during the drive reported 50 km/h westerly on Kredarica, at the turnoff for Nomenj it was all foggy, sky clouded over.

I parked at the end of the road that leads from Laški Rovt. There was no moisture in the air here, sky clear, up there in the direction of Suha pasture the howling of the wind could be heard..

Continuous snow cover started at Suha pasture, but in a nasty form: on the frozen crust you either slipped or it broke through. Not too deep, but those few hundred meters of gradually ascending plain took quite some energy from me. I avoided the crossing of the gully on the left side via a traverse path about fifty meters higher. Crampons here crisply gripped the snow, actually I could hardly wish for better conditions. In the little valley below Mala Rodica and further I kept somewhat to the right in shady spots so crampons gripped better, and there was no wind. To the summit I huffed up the northwest ridge. There too there was just the right hardness of snow for comfortable walking with points.

Up there it was windy, not too bad, but not too pleasant. Views to the west, north and east beautiful, Primorska side covered with clouds. As forecast.

I returned the same way. The path to Rodica from the south side is almost bare, if you go from the north, winter gear is quite necessary.

Speechless! Congratulations!

The path running along the slopes between Rutarski Vršič and below Vrh nad Mužici, i.e., along the slopes of Rušje orographically on the left side of Macesnov graben, I've had in mind for a while and it posed a special challenge for me. Also because of the name Green Hell, as mentioned by Tine Mihelič. Of course, it interested the Professor too, so we decided to join the trail via the narrow gully tongue leading right from the entrance to Macesnov graben upwards towards Siljev rob. The small gully ended with an overhanging barrier, which we bypassed on the right, then a bit along the first and then the second gully to the right to about 1470 m, where we stumbled upon a barely noticeable trail.

Heading towards the ridge, the path (it's a marked trail of course) avoids barriers and gullies. Through increasingly dense bushwhacking, it goes up and down even 20 meters or more. At the third, nice gully carved into the rock, the "Green Hell" begins. The trail and traces disappear several times, about 200 meters of bushwhacking battle awaited us to the next fourth gully under the big green head. We arrived a bit too high, so we had to descend to even enter the gully. The continuation on the opposite side looked like a trace that occasionally disappeared, but we somehow kept the direction. Without major complications, we bypassed the next 200 meters and scrambled into the Big White Gully, after parasitizing for a while on bushy ledges along the exposed edge of the gully. Just an interjection: through overgrown bushwhacking where the path mostly disappears and traces are barely noticeable, you don't move very fast. We needed about an hour for the first 200 meters and just as much for the next.

From here on, there shouldn't be more problems with orientation and bushwhacking, we thought then.

The gully has a drop, which you bypass on the vegetated terrain on the left, so we decided to continue on that terrain. Later we assessed that it might have been better to stick closer to the gully edge or in it. Anyway, under the wall at the top we turned left and continued over the next and then into another (seventh) gully. This one had a demanding and crumbly rocky exit, about 15 meters high, from which rocks flew into the precipitous gully below and it took us some time again. The trail became more visible further on, the next two gullies were passable without major issues. Ahead we spotted a tower with two vegetated summits, steep grass leading to it. It wasn't too bad, just a few-meter traverse on the other side was crumbly and a bit exposed.

A comfortable little trail led to the next gully, where it ended. Period. The map says to cross this and the next gully diagonally left upwards towards the ridge under Vrh nad Mužici. But we couldn't do it there. Crumbly, steep, dangerous, and each of the two gullies had a drop at the end where the story could end unpredictably. Lower down, a green grassy tongue promised passage to the edge. But how to get to it?

The Professor went a bit further up the first gully to check, I was practically pondering right at the end of the path. We debated for quite a while, of course each on his side of the gully. Call 112? Horrible!

The grassy tongue was tempting, but it was about 50 meters lower, and the map showed up... Finally it dawned on us. From the other side of the gully, the Professor spotted much lower down near two larch trees a small passage where it would be possible to get from the first to the second gully. In the first gully there was scree from slightly larger stones. He carefully descended along it to the trees. The sand held despite the steepness and didn't slide over the drop. Crossing to the adjacent gully was tolerable. I followed him, it held for me too.

At the second gully we used the same technique. Just before the drop we turned right onto rocky terrain that safely brought us to the grassy tongue, at the top of which we expected easier terrain and soon the trail from Črlovec. The grasses were very steep, but it went. In a few minutes we were at the edge.

Maybe a tip if anyone else goes there: check if passage is possible left under the tower with two vegetated summits and not over it. Looking back, we sensed direct access there to the grassy tongue, via which it might be possible to easily avoid the rocky gullies.

On the ridge, a great view awaited us left towards Rutarski Vršič and right towards Triglav, only straight ahead wasn't nice at all. After a few tens of meters of exposed ridgelet, a rocky collapse of indeterminate difficulty pressed on the soul. We took a deep breath and tackled it. Technically not too hard, but holds and footholds flew into the depths like in a bet. Mistakes not allowed in such terrain, so slowly. At the end, an exposed traverse left followed, but to the great joy of two already slightly worn parasitic creatures, the crumbly rock was replaced by solid bushy branches. One or two more steps, and we were in the bush belt. We really sighed with relief.

But not for long. Tine's term "Green Hell" was probably meant only for the lower part of the path, but we actually felt its full weight only on this overgrown ridge. Not too tall bushwhacking (about 1.5 m) was densely interwoven in all directions. The path drawn on the map leads along the ridge, right where we were. But there was no sign of it, not even a few meters right, left is precipice anyway. No traces, cut twigs, small depressions from animal or human passage. The path, if it ever existed, disappeared as if buried forever.

Again we spent an hour or more, this time just for 70 or 80 meters of intense thrashing and choking. Finally, from the right appeared a trimmed but poorly trodden hunter's path from Črlovec. Then it disappeared again. To top it off, the summit we hoped was Sleme turned out to be just a fore-summit. Luckily, towards its top in the direction of the path continuation, there were some stone steps in good rock allowing real enjoyable scrambling. We quickly reached the top. I admit, a bit fearful if there's no crumbly notch towards Sleme or something similar. There wasn't. A superb passage right along the ridgelet with excellent white rock brought us to Sleme.

Uhhh!

We were late, so we didn't go down via Cijanica and Smrajka as initially planned, but via the looong path to Mojstrana. That descent drained the most energy from the whole day. How we got from Mojstrana to the car left at the Podkuža parking is another story. I'll tell it on some long winter evening over a beer. Maybe some other adventure from wandering through Green Hell. Like how a whole bunch of larch needles shook out of my clothes at home, and in my vest I found a cone that the bushwhacking put in my pocket. Maybe for luck. Or I'll just stay silent.

Some more pics on Modrina neba.

P.S.: Some pics contributed by Professor. Thanks!

Tone, technology confirms your finding.

Read with pleasure. Congrats on the looong and beautiful story!

Excellent! Route and pics alike. Congrats!

Yes, Marjan, it will hold. Although I think that with the general trend of stupidity, the astonishment will slowly die out too. Unfortunately!

Tone, this is quite an epic in the good old style. Nice! Congrats!

I also tested the card. From Stahovica to Domžale, a friend drove me. To Rudnik (Lj.) then with the card. Total from Stahovica: 3h 15m. Useless for anything serious in the mountains!

About the late pilot:
https://www.24ur.com/novice/tujina/v-nesreci-na-veliki-planini-umrl-ustanovitelj-strani-the-pirate-bay.html

Parking and cycling: updated nature conservation law is being prepared.

400 euros fine (previously 100 euros) is newly prescribed for an individual who "rides a bicycle in natural environment outside hardened paths or on paths that are not hardened."

From 800 to 1,200 euros threatened fine for anyone who "drives, stops or parks a motor-powered vehicle in natural environment and the vehicle does not stand or is not parked in a five-meter strip outside the roadway."

Already at altitude 1,000 meters the vehicle with which the offender was caught in the above-mentioned offense is mandatorily confiscated. Vehicle handed to court.

Equally strict treatment for vehicle offense on protected area or Natura 2000 area.

And many more details here.

Ahh, a friendly story, already a bit spring-like...

Goodbye publicly accessible forests... only against payment