Križe - Storžič (through southwest groove)

Access to the starting point:
a) From the motorway Ljubljana - Jesenice take the exit Naklo, then continue in the direction of Žeje, Spodnje and Zgornje Duplje until Retnje, where you turn right towards Križe. Continue past the NOB memorial, the sports ground Križe to the parking area next to the cemetery and the parish church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
b) From the motorway Jesenice - Ljubljana, take the exit Podbrezje and then continue towards Ljubelj and Tržič. Before the Petrol station in Bistrica pri Tržiču, turn right and then drive to Tržič. When the road descends into the valley, take a sharp right in the direction of Pristava and Križ, and continue along the main road leading to Zgornji and Spodnje Duplje, leaving the main road at Retnje, where you turn left in the direction of Križe and Golnik. Continue past the NOB memorial, the sports ground Križe to the parking area next to the cemetery and the parish church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Path description:
From the parking lot, continue along the road to the east, where the path leads you first past the church, then past the post office, the Benk Inn and the bakery to the crossroads at the chapel, where you continue left in the direction of Pristava. The road then leads us past the Tušek market Markič shop, and then we see the first mountain signs for Gozd, Kriško gora and Storžič, which lead us right onto Planinska cesta. At the crossroads through the village, follow the markings, and then the road loses its asphalt coating and turns into a forest. A few minutes higher up, at the junction of dirt roads, continue right, and then gradually emerge from the forest, from where a beautiful view opens up towards Gorenjska. After the viewpoint, the road becomes asphalt and leads to a place where you join the road leading to the Forest. Follow the road to the left, and walk along it for only a short distance, as the signs lead you to the right to cart track.
Leave the road at a small information board informing you that the Shelter in the Woods is open. From cart track continue immediately 2 times to the left, so that the ascent continues along the forest path, which soon joins another cart track, after which you return to the asphalt road in a few minutes. Walk along the road for a few steps, then the path from Tržič joins from the left, and the footpath or cart track continues on the right towards Zavetišče v Gozdu (straight ahead on the Koča na Kriški gori road - a steep path).
Continue along the right-hand path (track), which initially runs parallel to the road and then leads past a water trough. A little further on, leave the track, as the markings lead you left on a slightly steeper path, which soon returns to the track, which in turn returns to the asphalt road. Follow the road to the right, and we walk along it for a few minutes, or until we reach the point, when we see a large parking lot on the right and Zavetišče v Gozdu next to it.
From the shelter we walk to the nearby church, then we come to a marked crossroads where the path from Golnik joins from the right. Continue left up the deteriorating road, which will take you to the crossroads in a few minutes. Continue along the right-hand track in the direction of Storžiča, Tolsti vrh and Male and Velika Poljana (Koča na Kriški gori on the left). The cart track, which climbs transversely eastwards, has a couple of switchbacks in the lower part, but these are well marked, so there are no major problems with orientation. Higher up, the track turns into a gradually steeper footpath, which leads out of the woods onto the grassy slopes. After a while, the path lays down and leads us to a pleasant lookout point with a bench, next to which we notice a memorial.
The path then crosses a steep grassy slope (danger of slipping and, in winter, of avalanches) and then passes into a dense forest, where it reaches a marked crossroads. Continue straight ahead in the direction Velika Poljana (Tolsti vrh on the left), where you will cross wooded slopes for a short time, then the forest gradually thins out and changes to the steeper slopes of Štajnarice, where it continues with a few short ascents and descents, with a few rocks to help you on the harder parts. In the last part of the Štajnarica crossing, we cross a steep grassy slope, from where we get our first close view of Storžič. Behind the bench, the path passes into the forest and then begins to descend crosswise towards Mala Poljana, which is reached after a few minutes. Once out of the forest, you will also come to a track which will take you down to the hunting lodge at Mali Poljana.
From Mala Poljana, where the path joins Tolsti vrh, Dom pod Storžičem and Zaloga, continue along the left side of the hunting lodge, following the path in the direction of Velika Poljana. The path, which continues along a track, goes quickly into the woods, where it then climbs steeply. After a few minutes' walk, you will reach a viewing slope from which you will have a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains. Just a little further on, the track turns to the right and after a short climb leads us to the upper edge of Velika Poljana, where there is a marked crossroads.
Continue straight into the forest along the path in the direction of Storžič across the Psico (right Koča na Velika Poljana 1 minute). The path ahead starts to climb quite steeply and then turns slightly to the right and the steepness eases slightly. This path soon leads us out of the forest and to the crossroads of the path below Psico.
At this crossroads, a very difficult path continues to the left along the ridge of Psica, and we continue to the right in the direction of the easier path to Storžič. From the crossroads onwards, the path descends and ascends again several times, leading us along the slopes of the Psice, from which we occasionally get some views, but otherwise the first part of the crossing is mostly through the forest. After a further 30 minutes' walk, we arrive at a crossroads where the crossing ends, and we join the path leading to Storžič along the south-west gully. Follow the above-mentioned path up to the left (right down mountain pasture Javornik, Povlje, and you can also reach the hamlet of Laško and the village of Bašelj) and start climbing steeply along the path that leads you along the south-west gully of Storžič. After the ridge, from which we have increasingly beautiful views towards Gorenjska, we climb for a good hour, and then the path turns slightly to the right and leads us to the south-west ridge Storžič, where we are joined on the right by an unmarked path leading along the ridge.
Continue along the ridge, the marked path then turns slightly to the right and soon we are joined by other paths from Dom pod Storžičem and Kališča. From here it is a short climb to the summit, which we can already see in front of us, and then it is a short climb with wonderful views.
Križe - Zavetišče v Gozdu 1:15, Zavetišče v Gozdu - Mala Poljana 2:00, Mala Poljana - Velika Poljana 15 minutes, Velika Poljana - Storžič 2:35.

On the way: Zavetišče v Gozdu mountain hut (891m), Mala Poljana (1325m), Velika Poljana (1410m)

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