End of road on Pokljuka - Visoka Vrbanova špica
Starting point: End of road on Pokljuka (1340 m)
Starting point Lat/Lon: 46.3386°N 13.9045°E
Time of walking: 6 h 10 min
Difficulty: very difficult marked way
Difficulty of skiing: no data
Altitude difference: 1068 m
Altitude difference (by path): 1160 m
Map: Triglav 1:25.000
Access to starting point:
From highway Ljubljana - Jesenice we go to the exit Lesce and follow the road ahead towards Bled. In Bled at the traffic lights, the signs for Pokljuka point us to the right. Ahead we drive through Gorje and past the abandoned ski slope Zatrnik to Rudno polje on Pokljuka (large parking lot, barracks and shooting range). From here we continue straight on a macadam road which a little further brings us to a crossroad, where we continue right (left Uskovnica). We follow this road to a parking lot at the end of the road (near are signposts for a mountain pasture Konjščica).
Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue right upward on a cart track in the direction of the mountain pasture Planina Konjščica.. Cart track that at first ascends steeply soon becomes gentle and a bit higher turns into a footpath. Next follows a moderate ascent on the path that is ascending by the stream Ribnica which in the upper part has a watterfall that we can see from the path. Further, the path crosses a well and passes to grazing area of the mountain pasture Konjščica. After few ten strides path crosses the next well and ascends a little to cheese cottage on the mountain pasture.
From the mountain pasture, we continue on a gently sloping meadow slightly upwards to the other side of the pasture.. There path passes into dwarf pines and at first, it starts gently ascending, but then it becomes steeper and steeper. In the last part of the ascent the path from Rudno polje joins us from the right. Only a short climb by the torrent follows to reach the grassy plain Jezerce. Here the path turns left and after few steps it brings us into central area of Triglav national park. Next, we ascend by a well towards Studorski preval. A little higher we cross a torrent and the path turns a little to the right into grassy slopes surrounded by dwarf pines. The path then ascends diagonally to Studorski preval from which a nice view opens up to Bohinj side.
The path ahead at first descends a little and then crosses slopes of Veliki Draški vrh and Tosc with few gentle ascents and descends. Eventually, the path brings us to a grassy south slope of Tosc. Here the path on Tosc branches off to the right, and only few meters ahead, the path from Uskovnica joins from the left. We continue straight, and the path ahead continues crossing slopes of Tosc. The path then in a gentle descent crosses a shorter lane of thin forest and then it brings us on steep slopes. A little further ahead, the path on a carved wide ledge in a gentle descent crosses precipitous slopes of Tosc. Since the path is quite wide it doesn't cause problems (carefully because of falling stones, rockfall in the year 2008). The path then again slightly ascends and it brings us to a crossing, where we continue right in the direction of Vodnikov dom. Next follows approximately ten minutes of walking without large ascents or descents to Vodnikov dom.
From the hut, we continue straight in the direction of Triglav (right upward Bohinjska vratca). The path ahead is moderately ascending and crosses slopes below Vernar. Soon we run into the first steel cable, which helps us pass the short ledge. The path ahead is ascending on the scree and then brings us to a steep rocky jump. A well-secured path on steep stairs brings us to the top of that jump. Next follows few meters of crossing on a steep slope, and then the path brings us on ample slopes near the saddle Konjski preval. We reach it after a short descent.
From the saddle Konjski preval we continue in the direction of Kredarica and Staničev dom (left Planika, right Krma), and follow a wide path towards Kredarica only few steps, after that a sign on rock Staničev dom points us slightly right on easy to follow, but poorly beaten footpath. The path ahead with some shorter ascents and descents crosses the slopes towards the right, and crosses some gullies, which in the early summer can still be under the snow. The path ahead crosses a lane of dwarf pines, and then it passes on a grassy slope over which it ascends diagonally. The path after that flattens and only a little further crosses a path which leads from Krma through Kalvarija on Kredarica.
We continue in the direction of the mountain hut Staničev dom (sign on rock) and we continue the ascent on a moderately steep path, which is getting closer to scree below Rž. On a pleasant path over Ržki podi, we get to on the already mentioned scree, through which we start ascending diagonally. When we get on the other side of the scree, the path turns slightly left and starts ascending steeply on a rugged rocks. The steepness quickly decreases and after few minutes of additional walking joins the path which leads from Krma.
We continue in the direction of the mountain hut Staničev dom and in few minutes of a moderate ascent we get on an indistinct ridge, where the marked path on Rjavina branches off to the right. We continue straight and the path which starts moderately descending, with a view on Triglav, Begunjski vrh, Visoka Vrbanova špica, we follow to the mountain hut Dom Valentina Staniča pod Triglavom, which we reach after approximately 10 minutes of descent.
From the mountain hut, we continue straight in the direction of Begunjski vrh, Visoka Vrbanova špica and Cmir. And quite gently sloping path already after few meters of additional walking brings us to a crossing, where the path branches off to the right on Vrbanove špice. More panoramic and relatively easy path then in few minutes brings us to the summit of Visoka Vrbanova špica.
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