Rute / Hermsberg - Dobratsch / Dobrač

Access to starting point:
Via the border crossing Korensko sedlo we descend into Austria and when we reach the main road Trbiž / Tarvisio - Beljak / Villach, we continue left towards Trbiž. We follow the main road to the settlement Ziljica / Gailitz, and there at the roundabout we turn onto the road towards the settlement Šmohor / Hermagor. From the roundabout we drive along the road towards Šmohor approximately 11 km, and then signs for Plajberk pri Beljaku / Bad Bleiberg point us to the left. Further, we drive through the underpass and the road brings us to the center of the settlement Čajna / Nötsch im Gailtal, from there we continue driving towards Plajberk pri Beljaku. Further, we drive on an ascending road, on which we quickly arrive at a large quarry, and from here we follow it only about 100 m, and then signs for village Rute / Hermsberg point us sharply right on a narrow and steep road. After a short ascent we arrive at the mentioned village, and only a little above it we turn right onto a bad macadam road, on which after roughly 100 m of further driving we arrive at a smaller marked parking lot, where we park.

Route description:
From the parking lot, we continue on the forest road which is closed to public traffic by a traffic sign. After a few minutes, a marked path from the valley (starting point Čajna / Nötsch) also joins us from the right, and we follow the road only a short time longer because then signs for Dobrač / Dobratch and mountain hut Ludwig Walter-Haus point us right onto a marked footpath. The path ahead ascends gently to moderately through the forest, crossing the nearby cart track several times. A little higher we cross a torrent gully, and a somewhat steeper path brings us to a forest road, where a path from the settlement Wurzach joins us from the left. We follow the road to the right, and it brings us to a smaller crossroads after just a few meters, where we continue sharply left. Just a little after the bend, hiking signposts direct us right onto the path leading to Dobrač. A little higher, another path from the aforementioned settlement and from Bleiberg Kreuth joins us from the left, and we continue in the already familiar direction.
The path ahead starts to ascend steeply, and occasionally beautiful views open up onto the Gailtal valley and Gailtal Alps. Higher up, the path flattens and crosses the slopes to the right. Further on we also cross a pasture fence, and a few minutes later the path brings us to a smaller unmarked junction, where an unmarked path branches off to the right to the nearby hunting hut, and we continue slightly left on the path which starts to ascend more steeply in zigzags. During the ascent the forest starts to thin out, and the quite steep path brings us into a belt of dwarf pines, where it turns right and gradually flattens. We continue the ascent on an increasingly scenic path (views of Mangart, Jalovec, Kanin, Viš, Montaž, Gailtal valley, Gailtal Alps...), which mostly crosses the slopes to the right. The path ahead leads us across a few gullies that can still be snow-covered in early summer, and once again a steeper path brings us onto the side ridge of Dobrač, where a small cross stands.
When we reach the ridge we continue left and continue the ascent on a path that is initially moderately steep but very steep higher up, which in the upper section also crosses some very steep slopes where there is a risk of slipping especially when wet.
When we ascend diagonally across the steep slope, we already see the Slovenian church on Dobrač ahead of us, only a few steps away.
From the church we walk in a few steps to the nearby summit, and from there we can reach the German church and mountain hut Ludwig Walter-Haus in a few minutes.

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