Poljana (Završnica) - Hochstuhl/Stol (Žirovniška pot)

Access to starting point:
From highway Ljubljana - Jesenice we go to the exit Lesce and follow the road ahead in the direction of Žirovnica and Jesenice. After few km of driving, we will get to a crossroad, where the road in Žirovnica and Moste branches off to the right (from the direction of Jesenice left). Only few meters ahead in the next crossroad, we turn left in Moste (right Žirovnica). Further, we drive past a monument to fallen soldiers, where the road starts ascending on a hill below the railway track. On top of the slope, we turn right (at the sign Vila Karin), and then drive towards the lake Završniško jezero and Valvasorjev dom. The road then flattens and it brings us to a crossroad, where the road to Valvasorjeve dom branches off to the left. Here we continue straight towards Završnica and then after 100 meters we park on a well-settled asphalt parking lot.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we return on an asphalt road to the crossroad, and from there we continue in the direction of the mountain hut Valvasorjev dom pod Stolom and mountain pasture Potoška planina. From the crossroad, for some time we walk on a scenic macadam road, and then blazes and signs for Valvasorjev dom point us to the left on a marked footpath which gently descends to the nearby stream Rečica. Through a footbridge we cross the mentioned stream and then we get to a larger meadow, through which we gently ascend slightly towards the left. On the other side of the meadow, the path goes into the forest and passes on a relatively steep cart track, on which we ascend to an indistinct small saddle between the peaks Sivo rebro and Smolnik.
From here only for a short time, we continue on a cart track, and then signs point us to the right on a footpath which ascends diagonally over a short rough slope. Well maintained path then turns to the left and is further ascending diagonally over occasionally steeper slopes of the peak Smolnik. All the time quite wide path, higher brings us to a forest road which we only cross. On the other side of the road, we go right and we continue the ascent on a poorly marked path, which higher also has some unmarked shortcuts. This path, which is in the upper part because of numerous footpaths also orientationally a little harder, we follow all the way to the mountain hut Valvasorjev dom pod Stolom.
From Valvasorjev dom we go right on a footpath in the direction of Stol. The path soon goes into the forest, where it slightly ascends and it brings us to a smaller crossing, where we continue right. The path then brings us out of the forest, where crosses slopes below Monštranca. This gentle path, which a little further crosses a short lane of a forest we follow to a crossing on Žirovniška planina.
We continue left in the direction of »Stol - Žirovniška pot« (slightly right Stol Zabreška pot) on the path which only a little higher passes into a dense forest, where we continue next 10 minutes. Forest then gets thinner, and the path passes among bushes, through which it then ascends all the way until we get in the next lane of a forest. When we again step into the forest, we will get to a pile of logs and a sign above them, which "asking", that if we can, carry one of them to the mountain hut Prešernova koča. A little further, we step out of the forest, by the edge of which we are then ascending steeper. Higher, the path turns a little to the left and crosses a short slightly exposed grassy slope. The path then for a short time slightly flattens and it brings us to a pleasant resting place, from which a nice view opens up on Gorenjska.
The path ahead is again steeply ascending, this time on a slope, which is mostly covered with dwarf pines. Higher, the path is turnning slightly to the right and from dwarf pines brings us on grassy slopes, where we also come on a less noticeable crossing. We continue slightly right (left Potoški Stol and Vajnež) on a still relatively steep path, which soon passes on the ridge of Mali Stol. This more and more scenic path, which higher leads past memorial, we follow all the way to the mountain hut Prešernova koča na Stolu.
From the mountain hut, we continue slightly right, where past the sign in few steps we ascend to the summit Mali Stol. Next follows a short descent and the path brings us on a small saddle between the both peaks of Stol, where there is also a marked crossing. We continue in the direction of Stol (right mountain hut Celovška koča and Zelenica) on passing path, which after 10 minutes of additional walking brings us on the highest peak of Karawanks.

On the way: Valvasorjev dom pod Stolom mountain hut (1181m), Prešernova koča na Stolu mountain hut (2174m), Mali Stol (2198m)