Bistriški jarek (Verdinek) - St. Lorenzen ob Eibiswald

Access to starting point:
A) We drive to Dravograd, and then we continue driving towards Maribor. After the road sign 8.0 km we need to pay attention, because we will a little behind the bus stop and a pedestrian crossing, turn left in a settlement Gortina (turn off from the main road isn't marked). Immediately, when we leave the main road we get to the settlement Gortina, and then we drive in the direction of Muta, we turn left at the marked crossroad, where we notice signs for Bistriški jarek. The road then quickly brings us in Bistriški jarek, through which we are gently ascending. After the homestead Verdinek and still before the road sign 6.0 km slightly to the right a macadam road branches off, which leads towards the homestead Štrigel. At the crossroad, where a little to the right there are also red signposts, there is the beginning of the described path.
B) First, we drive to Maribor, and then we follow the signs for Dravograd. When we already cross the river Mučka Bistrica, a little after the store Tuš we drive right in the direction of the settlement Muta 1. The path ahead brings us in Muta, where on a crossroads we follow priority road, from a little bigger crossroad we go left, so that we are further driving towards Gortina. A little after the settlement Muta ends, from marked crossroad we drive right in the direction of Bistriški jarek. The road then quickly brings us in Bistriški jarek, through which we are gently ascending. After the homestead Verdinek and still before the road sign 6.0 km slightly to the right a macadam road branches off, which leads towards the homestead Štrigel. At the crossroad, where a little to the right there are also red signposts, there is the beginning of the described path.

Path description:
From the starting point, we continue even a little more to the right than the side road branches off, on a footpath in the direction of Sveti Jernej and Bricnik. At first the path ascends diagonally through the pasture, and then it passes into the forest, where at the religious symbol entirely flattens. For a short time, we still cross the slopes towards the right, and then we continue by the small stream. Higher by the small stream for some time runs also a national border, and the path higher brings us on a cart track, on which we are few minutes ascending. From the cart track then signposts point us sharply left, and we are for some time ascending through the forest, and before the homestead Lubej we for some time step on the road.
Before the homestead we continue slightly right, on a worse footpath, and above the homestead we reach the cart track which we follow to the right. A well-marked path few minutes higher brings us to a crossing, by which there is an information board with the description of Knafelc blaze with green border.
At the mentioned crossing, we leave the path which leads to the church of St. Jernej and we continue sharply left, on the path which entirely flattens and quickly passes on the Austrian side of the national border. The path soon turns right and it brings us to an older chapel, where we continue left. Few strides ahead path branches off to the left towards Mlake / Laaken, and a little ahead we reach an asphalt road which we follow to the right. On the road, we get to the farm Pušnik / Puschnigg, and after the farm we leave the road and we continue right downwards and through the pasture, where the footpath isn't visible, we descend to the edge of the forest, where the footpath and blazes again show up. A short descent follows to the nearby stream, where the path leads us past the ruins of mill Pušnikov mlin / Puschnigg - Mühle, and then follows an ascent to few minutes distant macadam road. When we step on the road, we continue straight, so that nearby chapel we bypass on the right side. After the nearby homestead, the road changes into a cart track, and from the cart track we go right on a marked path, which descends into the forest and a little lower crosses another stream. Next follows a little longer ascent through the forest, and higher we reach the road which we follow to the right. At the nearby crossroad, we go straight, and then blazes point us to the left on a footpath, on which we get to few houses and when we come on the road we get also to a marked crossing.
From the crossing, we continue straight (sharply right Bricnik), and then past houses and a chapel we get to the next crossing, where we go slightly right in the direction of Sveti Lovrenc / St. Lorenzen. We quickly get to the mentioned settlement, where there is a church of St. Lovrenc and a little below it also church of St. Lenart.
Description and pictures refer to a condition in the year 2018 (October).