Potoče - Planinska koča Iskra na Jakobu (via Francijeva koča)

Access to the starting point:
a) From the motorway Ljubljana - Jesenice, take the exit Kranj - East, then continue driving towards Jezersko. When you arrive in Preddvor, leave the main road and continue driving to the left, then after a few 10 m, opposite the Jelovica company, continue to the right in the direction of the villages of Potoče, St. Jakob and Potoška gora and Lake Črnava. The road continues through the village of Hrib, above which we reach a crossroads where we continue straight on (Hotel Bor and Lake Črnava on the left, the Senior Citizens' Home Preddvor on the right). There is a gentle climb of 100 m to a chapel, where the road turns right, and we follow it past a few more houses, then turn left in front of the Senior Citizens' Home into a large gravel parking area.
b) From the motorway Jesenice - Ljubljana, take the exit Kranj - West and continue left at the first junction. Continue through the underpass under the motorway and then to the roundabout, from where you continue in the direction of Golnik. The road continues through the village of Mlaka at Kranj, and at the end of the village we turn right towards Srakovlje. We then drive through Srakovlje, Spodnja Bela, Srednja Bela to Zgornja Bela, where we turn right towards Preddvor. At the end of Preddvor, just 10 m before the road joins the main road Zgornje Jezersko - Kranj, turn left towards the villages of Potoče, St. Jakob and Potoška gora and Lake Črnava. The road continues through the village of Hrib, above which you reach a crossroads where you continue straight on (Hotel Bor and Lake Črnava on the left, Preddvor Senior Citizens' Home on the right). There is a gentle climb of 100 m to the chapel, where the road turns right, and we follow it past a few more houses, then turn left in front of the Senior Citizens' Home onto a larger gravel parking area.

Path description:
A few steps before the start of the parking lot, by the fence of the Senior Citizens' Home Preddvor, we will see mountain direction signs, and we will take the path in the direction of Senčnica Josipine Turnograjske. The trail starts at the aforementioned fence and then continues through the forest. Through the forest we climb quite steeply for a few minutes, and then the path is laid and leads us to Senčnica Josipine Turnograjske, where there is also a registration box with a registration book.
From the top, there is a short descent along a forest path, and then you reach a forest road, which you follow to the left, and then descend gently for a short time. Soon you reach another wider road (the road leading from the parking lot near the Senior Citizens' Home Preddvor and bypassing Senčnica Josipine Turnograjske), which you cross slightly to the left, where you see red mountain direction signs as you enter the forest (you can also follow the aforementioned road to get here).
Continue in the direction of the ruins Novi grad) and the footpath towards St. Jakob and Potoska Gora. The path continues to climb moderately through the woded valley, then splits into two parts.
Continue slightly right in the direction of St James, Potoška gora and Javorov vrh (Novi grad on the left and Juhant's path) along a path that gradually recedes from the valley more and more to the right. The marked path, which occasionally climbs steeply, crosses the forest road leading to St James, Planinska koča pri Franciju and Planinska koča Iskra na Jakobu a few times. Once higher up, at the red marker, rejoin the road and follow it to the left. After some 10 m, a path branches off slightly to the right, leading to Planinska koča Iskra na Jakobu, and we continue straight ahead along a lesser road, which is joined by the Juhantova trail a little further on. Continue along the road, which quickly leads to the Planinske hut pri Franciju.
From the hut we return a few steps to the nearby crossroads, and from there we continue along the marked mountain path towards the Iskra Planinske hut at Jakob. The way forward leads us through a short lane of forest, and then, with beautiful views, we reach the aforementioned mountain hut.

On the way: Senčnica Josipine Turnograjske (570m), Planinska koča pri Franciju mountain hut (930m)

We can extend the trip to the following destinations: Mihčeva kopišča ( 25 min), Baba ( 50 min), Potoška gora ( 40 min), Zavetišče v Hudičevem borštu (2 h 20 min), Javorov vrh, Dom na Kališču (3 h 40 min), Cjanovca (3 h 10 min), Srednji vrh (3 h 25 min)

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