Libeliče - Šteknetov vrh (via Trotov križ)

Access to the starting point:
a) From Slovenj Gradec or the Mežiška Valley, drive to Dravograd, then turn left before the bridge over the Drava River in the direction of Črneče and Libeliče. Cross the Mežá River first, then go through Črneče and later through Gorce. After Gorce, you arrive in Libeliče, where you turn right at the chapel, then turn right again and park in the large asphalted parking lot next to the Libeliče fire station.

b) Drive to Dravograd, then continue driving towards Slovenj Gradec. Shortly after the bridge over the Drava River, turn right towards Črneče and Libeliče. Cross the Meža River first, then drive through Črneče and later through Gorce. After Gorce, you arrive in Libeliče, where you turn right at the chapel, then turn right again and park in the large asphalted parking lot next to the Libeliče fire station.

c) Via Border crossing Ljubelj or Jezerski vrh drive into Austria, then follow the signs for Pliberk / Bleiburg and then Labot / Lavamünd. Before Labot, before crossing the River Drava, signs for Potoče / Bach and Libeliče / Leifling direct you to the right onto a slightly narrower road. Continue through Potoče, and shortly afterwards, via Border crossing Libeliče, you will arrive in Slovenia, where you will park in the parking lot next to the fire station in Libeliče.

Path description:
From the fire house, the first ascent is to the parish church of St Martin, located in the north-western part of Libeliče. In front of the church, where the 11th-century ossuary is located, there is a well-trodden path on the left before the walls, which ascends crosswise into the woods.

As we climb through the forest, we are initially accompanied by signs for the nearby Ethnological and Natural Heritage Libeliče, which we follow in the opposite direction, so that the numbers on the signs become smaller. Through the forest we mostly climb on forest trains, but higher up, along the avenue of tepkas, we climb to a farmhouse where there is a viewpoint.

Continue through the courtyard, and from the crossroads behind the farmhouse, take the road to the right, which leads you past a sign. There is a cross-country climb with fine views from Golica / Koralpa via Huhnerkogel to Pohorje, and then cart track takes you into the forest, where you reach a macadam road. Follow the road to the right, and after a left serpentine, leave it and continue slightly right on cart track, which leads past a hunting observation post to a large clearing. On the other side of the clearing, we return to the forest and the path leads us to the border with Austria. We climb along the state border to a point where the state border turns sharp right, and we follow a track through hay fields to the next farmhouse, which we pass on the left and at which we cross another road at the next sign. We climb up to the woods, taking in the beautiful views. In the forest, the cart track splits, and we take the left, more difficult cart track, which continues on a gentle ascent, crossing the eastern slopes of Požegovo vrh. During the crossing, the path leads past an older cross and over a small spring, and then soon reaches a macadam road, which is reached at the crossroads to the Jorgač farm.
Follow the road to the right, crossing it to a slightly larger crossroads by the NOB memorial, where you continue straight on towards Ravne na Koroškem (Strojna on the right). The way ahead leads you past the Trot Cross (a triangular-shaped chapel with saints depicted in frescoes), and before you emerge from the woods, a road branches off sharply to the right, towards the Utek farm (Vutek on the maps). Continue straight ahead, and at a fork in the middle of the meadow, bear slightly right. There is a short walk with beautiful views of Pec, and then the path splits again as you enter the forest. This time take the road slightly left in the direction of the hunting hut Strojna (slightly right Ravne). Further on, the road turns into the forest, and once again a beautiful view of the peaks above the Mežiško valley opens up above the Trot homestead. The way forward leads us along a gently sloping macadam road which crosses the slopes of Trot's Peak, and we walk along the road to a right turn where, at the beginning of an undistinguished valley to the left, cart track branches off, after which we climb through the woods to Trot's Crossroads, where we choose the right path. A few minutes of ascent follow, and when the path is laid, you will reach the western headland of Šteknetov Peak. There is a small descent and then a gentle climb to the 1061-metre summit.
Description and figures refer to the situation in 2019 (February).

On the way: Trotov križ (863m), Trotovo razpotje (972m)

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