Gaber pri Semiču - Smuk (via Semenič)

Access to starting point:
A) From highway Ljubljana - Brežice, we go to the exit Ivančna Gorica, and then we continue driving in the direction of Črnomelj. After Črmošnjice, the road is for a short time still ascending, and then starts steeply descending. At the end of the longer right turn, where we will on support wall notice a sign "pozdravljeni v Beli krajini", we turn left and then immediately right. We park about 50 meters ahead on an appropriate place above mountain signposts.
B) From highway Brežice - Ljubljana, we go to the exit Novo mesto, and then we continue driving in the direction Dolenjske Toplice and Podturn pri Dolenjskih Toplicah. In Podturnu we join the main road Ivančna Gorica - Črnomelj, and we follow it left in the direction of Črnomelj. After Črmošnjice, the road is for a short time still ascending, and then starts steeply descending. At the end of the longer right turn, where we will on support wall notice a sign "pozdravljeni v Beli krajini", we turn left and then immediately right. We park about 50 meters ahead on an appropriate place above mountain signposts.
C) From Bela krajina at first we drive in Semič, and then we continue driving towards Črmošnjice and Soteska. Before we get to the left turn with the caption "Pozdravljeni v Beli krajini" at settlement Gaber pri Semiču we leave the main road and we turn right and immediately once again right on the road Smuška cesta. We park about 50 meters ahead on an appropriate place above mountain signposts.

Path description:
From the starting point, we walk to mountain signposts, and from there we continue on the road Smuška cesta in the direction of Smuk. At first, we walk on an asphalt road, on which we quickly get to some houses. Here the road slightly descends and it brings us to signposts, for the church of St. Primož, which point us slightly left on a footpath which continues through the forest. After a short ascent, we step on a cart track which we follow to the right to the near church of St. Primož and Felicijan.
From the church, we continue in the direction of Semenič and Smuk, on the path which continues through the forest and is further marked with letter S, which is situated in white circle. The path ahead is gently to moderately ascending and after approximately 20 minutes of additional walking brings us on a forested Semenič.
From Semenič we continue on a marked path which starts gently to moderately descending. A little lower, the path splits on a shorter right and a little longer left path. Already after few minutes both paths join again, and we follow the signs S for some time on the forest paths, and for some time on forest cart tracks. Further, we cross few more side paths, and then we get to a forest road which we reach at some sort of turning point.
From here we continue in the direction of Smuk and we return into the forest on a gentle footpath. A short time without large changes in altitude we cross quite gentle slopes, and then we get to a marked path or forest road which we follow left upwards.
We continue on a little steeper road, and it quickly brings us to a marked crossroad, from where we continue in the direction of Smuk. Here we leave the road and through a lane of a forest we get to panoramic meadows of Smuk, through which in less than 5 minutes of additional walking, we ascend on the summit of Smuk.

On the way: Sveti Primož in Felicijan nad Semičem (465m), Semenič (590m)