Rute (Zavrh) / Bärental - Mačenski vrh / Matschacher Gupf (via 668)

Access to starting point:
A) Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive to Austria, and then we drive on the highway towards Beljaku, which we leave on the first exit. From the point, when we left the highway, we follow the signs for Šentjakob v Rožu / Sankt Jakob im Rosental. When we get to the mentioned settlement we drive on the main road past Podgora / Maria Elend and settlement Sveče / Suetschach to the settlement Bistrica v Rožu / Feistritz im Rosental, where before the stores Billa and Penny we turn right in the direction of the valley Rute / Bärental. About 100 meters after we leave the main road we continue left and then on a little narrower and ascending asphalt road we drive to the parking lot, where a macadam road branches off to the right towards the church of St. Mihael, grave of former Carinthia's Landeshauptmann Jörg Haider and homesteads Štefan, Žnidar and Plavc. At the crossroad, which is situated about 100 meters before Stouhütte, are signs only for "zur Gedenkstätte".
B) Through a border crossing Ljubelj we drive to Austria, where on the main road towards Celovec / Klagenfurt am Wörtersee we drive to the second roundabout, from where we continue driving in the direction of exit Bistrica v Rožu / Feistritz im Rosental (main road towards Celovec we leave before we cross a river Drau). In the mentioned settlement immediately behind the stores Billa and Penny we turn left on a road in the direction of the valley Rute / Bärental. About 100 meters after we leave the main road we continue once again left and then on a little narrower and ascending asphalt road drive to the parking lot, where a macadam road branches off to the right towards the church of St. Mihael, grave of former koroškega Landeshauptmann Jörg Haider and homesteads Štefan, Žnidar and Plavc. At the crossroad, which is situated about 100 meters before Stouhütte, are signs only for "zur Gedenkstätte".
C) From Dravograd or Slovenj Gradec we drive to Ravne na Koroškem, and then we continue driving in the direction of border crossing Holmec. When we drive in Austria at first we drive towards Pliberk / Bleiburg, and then we follow the signs for Globasnica / Globasnitz and ahead Železna Kapla / Bad Eisenkappel, Borovlje / Ferlach. Behind Borovlje at the roundabout, we join the road through the border crossing Ljubelj. Here in first roundabout we continue in the direction of Celovec / Klagenfurt, in the second in the direction of Bistrica v Rožu / Feistritz im Rosental. In the mentioned settlement immediately behind the stores Billa and Penny we turn left on a road in the direction of the valley Rute / Bärental. About 100 meters after we leave the main road we continue once again left and then on a little narrower and ascending asphalt road drive to the parking lot, where a macadam road branches off to the right towards the church of St. Mihael, grave of former koroškega Landeshauptmann Jörg Haider and homesteads Štefan, Žnidar and Plavc. At the crossroad, which is situated about 100 meters before Stouhütte, are signs only for "zur Gedenkstätte".

Path description:
From the parking lot, we go slightly right on the road, by which there are signs "Zur Gedenkstätte". The road immediately starts ascending and turns right. We quickly get to a crossroad from which we continue right (the left road leads towards the homestead Žnidar / Schneider), and then we quickly ascend to the next crossroad, where we continue left (straight - newer church of St. Mihael in Rute / St. Michael (Bärental) and the grave of the former Landeshauptmann Jörg Haider - 1 minute).
Further, we are ascending on the macadam road, from which for some time a nice view opens up on Mačenski vrh / Matschacher Gupf. Few minutes higher, we get to meadows and a crossroad, by which there is a wooden religious symbol, and we continue straight towards the nearby homestead Plavc / Plautz, which was the first time mentioned already in the year 1490. At the mentioned part when we look back a nice view opens up on the highest peaks of Karawanks, and only a little after the homestead we get to a marked crossing.
We continue right in the direction of Bistrica v Rožu / Feistritz im Rosental (left - Mačenski vrh over saddle Mrzla raven / Gipssattel, on the path 669) and we still continue on the macadam road, and at the crossing of a grazing fence it splits.
We continue slightly left (slightly right - old church of St. Mihael, 3 minutes) and we diagonally ascend on a panoramic slope. The road a little higher makes a left hairpin turn, and few 10 strides ahead we leave it and we continue right into the forest on a marked path 668. Further, we are mainly ascending through the forest, and during the ascent, we 3 times cross the forest road, the first time and the third time for some time we also stay on the road. After the last crossing of the road, the path passes on the eastern to southeastern ridge of Mačenski vrh, where it starts ascending steeply. For quite some time, we are steeply ascending on a forested ridge and then the forest starts to get thinner and beautiful views start to open up towards Stol and surrounding mountains, and occasionally a nice view opens up also towards the north. A little higher we finally step out of the forest, and the path to which joins also the path over saddle Mrzla raven, flattens. Next follows few more 10 strides of easy walking and the path brings us to the cross, which is situated on Mačenski vrh.
The starting point - Plavc 40 minutes, Plavc - Mačenski vrh 1:35.
Description and pictures refer to a condition in the year 2018 (June).

On the way: Sv. Mihael (Rute (Zavrh)) / St. Michael (Bärental) (982m), Plavc / Plautz (1130m)