Kopačnica - Škofje (via valley of Podkovščica)

Access to the starting point:
a) First, drive to Gorenjska vas in the Poljane valley (reachable from Škofja Loka, the new bypass road that bypasses Škofja Loka Horjul or Polhov Gradec), then continue driving towards Žire and Cerkno. When you reach Hotavlje, turn right in the direction of the village Leskovica and the ski resort of Cerkno. The road then soon leads to Kopačnica, where you will see signs for Ermanovec, directing you left over a bridge. As there are no suitable parking places at the starting point, it is better to drive a car slightly up the narrower road, which leads us through the hamlet Kopačnica into the ravine of the Podkovščica stream. Park above the village in a suitable place along the road.
b) Drive to Žiri (reachable from Vrhnika or Logatec), then continue to Škofja Loka. When you reach Hotavlje, turn left in the direction of the village Leskovica and the Cerkno ski resort. The road then soon leads to Kopačnica, where you will see signs for Ermanovec, directing you left over a bridge. As there are no suitable parking places at the starting point, it is better to drive a car slightly up the narrower road, which leads us through the hamlet Kopačnica into the ravine of the Podkovščica stream. Park above the village in a suitable place along the road.

Path description:
Above the village, the road along which we parked gradually turns into cart track, which climbs moderately along the Podkovščica stream. Cart track crosses the stream a few times and then, after a partial dip in a ravine, turns sharp left, where it also climbs slightly steeper. The path continues for a few minutes cross-climbing, and then leads us to a broad undistinguished ridge, where it turns to the right again. Next, follow the markings, and the path leads us in a moderate climb through the forest to the nearby forest road, which we follow to the right (there are no markings at the point where we step on the road).
The ascent continues along the increasingly scenic road, which, with beautiful views of Blegoš and the surrounding hills, leads us to the homestead Erženovše. Above the farm, macadam is replaced by asphalt, and after 3 minutes of further walking we reach a marked crossroads, at which we see a larger chapel.
From the crossroads, which is located in the main ridge of the 1005 m high Štor, we continue to the right (left Koča na Ermanovcu - 5 minutes) along a fairly scenic asphalt road, which in a few minutes will take us to the informative signboard of the Rapallo border and the restored border stone from 1920.
A few steps further on, signs for the Franja Hospital direct us to the right, onto a dirt road that leads through the yard of a nearby house. On the other side of the house, continue left on cart track, which leads over a grassy slope into the woods. Follow the signs through the forest at several forks, and the path visibly descends behind a building dating from the time of the Rapallo border. Lower down, the path leads us out of the forest, from where we have a beautiful view of Škofje. A few steps lower, at a hamlet of a few houses, we come to an asphalt road leading from Koča na Ermanovcu to the Kladje pass, which we follow briefly to the right, and then the next signs for the Franja Hospital direct us to the right to cart track, which continues to descend. The descent follows, first through the forest and then across the hay meadows to the next well-marked crossroads, where the path from the Kladje Pass joins us on the left.
Continue straight ahead (right Jeram - ICPP stamp) along the gently sloping cart track, which crosses the lane of the forest, and then, without any major changes in altitude, leads us in a few minutes to the next marked crossroads. At the crossroads, just cross the asphalt road (left down Cerkno and Franja Hospital) and continue over a short grassy slope into the forest (follow the footpath and not the nearby cart track). Continue climbing along the edge of the forest, and the trail takes you right next to the extensive grassy slope of Škofja. Higher up, the path leads us out of the forest onto a grassy ridge, where it turns to the right and continues to climb along an increasingly scenic ridge. This is followed by a gently sloping and very scenic walk along the grassy ridge (nice view of Kojca and Porezen), and then the path passes into the forest and after a few minutes of further walking leads us to the top of Škofja. Descend by the ascent route, or by a slightly shorter but unmarked path (road) through the Podplečice valley.

On the way: Vrata (831m)

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