Poče - Medrce (winter way)

Access to the starting point:
a) From the regional road Idrija - Tolmin, at the village of Straža in the hamlet of Želin, turn right at the semaphore-controlled intersection in the route Cerkno (turn left if coming from the route Tolmin). Continue along the valley of the river Cerkno, past the Petrol station until you reach Cerkno, where at the crossroads behind the Church of St. Jernej (there is also a cemetery and a parking lot next to the church), turn left in the direction of Železniki, the ski resort Cerkno, the Franja Hospital and the centre of Cerkno. At the next marked crossroads, turn left in the direction of Zakojca and Gorje. Continue through Trebenče and past a large picnic area to a marked crossroads where you turn right towards Poče (left Gorje). After a short climb you reach the fire station at the beginning of Poče, where there is a bus turning point and the NOB (National Liberation) monument. The start of the footpath is a little further on in the centre of the village. There are some parking possibilities in the middle of the village, but you can ask the locals where you can leave your vehicle.

b) From the road Škofja Loka - Žiri, after the settlement Trebija turn right in the direction of Sovodnja and Cerkno (from the direction of Žiri turn left before Trebija), from where you first go to Sovodenj, and from there over the pass Kladje (the pass is located in the settlement Podlanišče) start descending towards Cerkno. At the first major crossroads in Cerkno, continue straight on (right to reach the point centre and St Anne's Church), and then at the second crossroads, about 300 m further on, turn right in the direction of Železniki, the Cerkno ski resort, Franja Hospital and the centre of Cerkno. Cerkno is the first major crossroads in Cerkno, and then turn right in the direction of Železniki, the Cerkno ski resort, Franja Hospital and the centre of Cerkno. At the next marked crossroads, turn left in the direction of Zakojca and Gorje. Continue through Trebenče and past a large picnic area to a marked crossroads where you turn right towards Poče (left Gorje). After a short climb you reach the fire station at the beginning of Poče, where there is a bus turning point and the NOB (Polish National Liberation) monument. The start of the footpath is a little further on in the centre of the village. There are some parking possibilities in the middle of the village, but you can ask the locals where you can leave your vehicle.


c) From the road Škofja Loka - Podbrdo, at Zali Log, turn left in the direction of Davča and the ski resort Cerkno (if you are coming from Podbrdo or Soriška planina, turn right at the end of the settlement). The road ascends first to Davča and then starts descending towards Cerkno. In the centre of Cerkno, by the post office, turn right towards Zakojca and Gorje. Continue through Trebenče and past a large picnic area to a marked crossroads where you turn right towards Poče (left Gorje). After a short climb you reach the fire station at the beginning of Poče, where there is a bus turning point and the NOB (Polish National Liberation) monument. The start of the footpath is a little further on in the centre of the village. There are some parking possibilities in the middle of the village, but you can ask the locals where you can leave your vehicle.

Path description:
From the centre of Poč, continue right towards Labinjske lehe (on the left, a steep and sloping path to Porezen), and follow the signs through the village. When you reach a wider dirt track, follow it up above the village to reach a small hamlet where two paths branch off to the left towards Porezno, both joining the sloping or steep path.

At the newer house, still unfinished at the time of writing (July 2020), turn slightly left onto a track which then climbs crosswise over a hayfield. When the path leads into the woods, slightly above the nearby farmhouse, which is located below the path, follow the signs at several crossroads. Higher up, where the path from Cerkno joins us, we cross the road, and from there we go a few steps further, at the crossroads where the path from Dolenji Novaki joins us, to the left in the direction of Porezno.

After the crossroads, you leave the forest and arrive at the hayfields of Labinjske lehe, from where you have a beautiful view of the Cerkljansko region, with views as far as the Krim, Snežnik and the Trnovski Forest.

At the upper part of the hayfields, the path turns slightly left and passes onto the slopes called Počanska gora. There is a slight to moderate cross-climb to the left, and we walk along a well-maintained path, which is well guarded and easy to follow on the short, steep terrain.

After the guarded part the path splits, and we continue slightly right along the upper path in the direction of the winter direction (slightly left is the usual path). The way ahead starts to climb steeply, but after 15 minutes the steepness eases and we emerge from the forest onto the pleasant meadow of Vrše, where we merge with the path from Raspeta. Continue left (right Kopa and Črni vrh), where you first climb crosswise through lane of sparse forest, and then approach the road. Continue along the track which continues along the road, leaving the wider track a little further on and continuing in the direction of the winter direction. There are a few more steps of ascent, but after the hunting observation post the path disappears at the edge of the pasture, and we descend to the saddle Velbnik, where we join the normal path (the hunting lodge at Šaš is located slightly to the left of the path here).

From the saddle Velbnik, where the forest road leading to Dom na Poreznu once again comes quite close, we climb through a narrow lane of forest, and then, crossing a pasture fence, the path splits.

Continue along the ascending path (the left path bypasses the Medrce peak and is not marked, but is slightly shorter, and leads on to Porezen), and in 10 minutes climb to the Medrce lookout peak, from where we have a beautiful view of Porezen.
Poče - Labinjske lehe 1:05, Labinjske lehe - Velbnik 1:25, Velbnik - Medrce 0:10.

The description refers to the situation in July 2020, the images are from July 2020 and October 2018.

On the way: Labinjske lehe (962m), Velbnik (1331m)

We can extend the trip to the following destinations: Dom na Poreznu, Porezen ( 45 min)

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