Gozdec - Dom Petra Skalarja na Kaninu

Access to starting point:
We drive to the center of Bovec, where from the intersection at the main square we continue along the ascending road that begins to climb past the post office towards the nearby church. We bypass the mentioned church on the left side, then arrive in Kaninska vas. Bovec then ends, and the road leads us westwards for a while longer. At a smaller junction, we leave the main asphalt road leading to the village of Plužna and continue driving along the slightly right road (after the intersection, signs for Gozdec road). Beyond the nearby farmhouse, the road forks again, and this time we choose the slightly left road (slightly right Zavrzelno and the trailhead for Rombon). We then ascend along the gravel road, which higher up brings us to the B station of the Kanin cable car. At the B station, the road turns sharply left, then after approximately 1 km of further driving in a transverse ascent, it brings us to the next intersection. From this intersection, we continue left or straight ahead (sharply right to planina Krnica), following the road from the intersection only briefly. Soon along the road we notice signs for Kanin, and we park about 20 meters further on, at a small parking area by the road.
From Trga Golobarskih žrtev to the starting point is approximately 9 km.

Route description:
From the starting point, we go back a few steps, then head onto the marked trail in the direction of Visoki Kanin and Vrh Laške planje. The trail immediately starts to ascend steeply, mostly leading us through dense forest, with only occasional views of the surroundings. During the ascent, the trail takes us below the cliffs of Turn v Skednju (1555 m). When the cliffs end, we reach an unmarked junction, where we continue slightly right on the marked trail (slightly left unmarked trail leading to Veliki Babanski Skedenj 2121 m); this soon steeply climbs over a short steep slope, where there is a greater risk of slipping especially when wet. The steepness soon eases, and we arrive at the abandoned Planina Gozdec, which we bypass on the right side.
We then ascend through increasingly sparse forest, so that we get some views from the trail towards the Bovec Basin and the Krn Mountains. A fairly even ascent follows, and while looking at the walls of Veliki Skedenj, we reach a small spring located to the right of the trail. Even further on, the easy-to-follow trail is covered with grass that can be quite wet after rain, in the morning, and in the forenoon. After a while, the trail turns more towards the west and gradually becomes less steep. A few more minutes of scenic ascent follow, and we reach the ruins of the old Peter Skalar hut, which burned down in 1972.
We bypass the hut on the left side, then ascend gently to moderately for a while through more grassy terrain. The trail then turns more southwards, giving the feeling that we are going in the wrong direction. A somewhat steeper ascent follows, but the trail slowly turns right, so that afterwards we mostly walk westwards. A few more minutes of easy walking follow, and we reach a marked junction, where we continue right downwards in the direction of Dom Petra Skalarja na Kaninu (straight to Visoki Kanin and Vrh Laške planje).
After a short descent, the trail levels out, then crosses the flat areas. An ascent follows through the high mountain landscape of the Kanin Plains, where there is mostly no path, but the markers are fairly frequent, so orientation in good weather is not a problem, though it is entirely different in fog. The trail further leads over scree and among screes, pits, and cracks, so caution is advised, and in wet conditions the smooth slabs can be quite slippery. We then traverse upwards along the slopes of Velika Gnila glava (2114 m) for a while, and the trail brings us to the next marked junction on this section.
We continue slightly right (left returns to the trail towards Vrh Laške planje) and carefully follow the faint path and markers further on. We follow this trail, which offers truly beautiful views of the Kanin massif, all the way to Dom Petra Skalarja na Kaninu, from where we get an even better view to the east.

Gozdec - Planina Gozdec 0:45, Planina Gozdec - Stara koča 1:25, Stara koča - Mali dol 0:30, Mali Dol - razpotje pod Gnilo glavo 0:40, razpotje pod Gnilo glavo - Dom Petra Skalarja 0:55.

Description and photos refer to the conditions in 2019 (July).

Along the route: Planina Gozdec (1305m), Old mountain hut on Kanin (1814m), Mali dol (1959m), Razpotje pod Gnilo glavo (2045m)

The trip can be extended to the following destinations: Konjc ( 10 min), Vrh Osojnic ( 25 min), Prestreljenik (1 h 30 min), Visoki Kanin (2 h 35 min)

We recommend: trips from the same starting point, similar trips, panorama, summit register