Mače - Mali Grintovec (via Bašeljski vrh)

Access to starting point:
From the Ljubljana - Jesenice motorway, take the Kranj - east exit and continue along the road towards Jezersko, but only as far as the village of Tupaliče. Here, the sign for Preddvor directs us left, and we then follow the road to the neighbouring village of Mače. Through the village of Mače, follow the mountain signs for Kališče. Shortly after the village, we will notice a marked parking area where we park (further driving is prohibited).

Route description:
From the parking lot, we return a few dozen steps back, i.e., to the road from which we turned into the parking lot, and continue uphill along it towards Dom na Kališču and Storžič. We walk along the road for just under half an hour, then at Studenci the path forks.
Choose the left path, marked for Kališče (right Srednji vrh), cross the stream, then immediately begin a steep ascent. A few minutes higher, we reach a forest road, which we also leave immediately and continue following the markers. We continue on the marked path that runs between two forest roads, higher up we ascend moderately in switchbacks for a while. Higher up, we reach the forest road again, follow it uphill, after a minute leave it and head onto the marked path that brings us to a rest area and viewpoint with a bench in a few minutes of further ascent.
The path ahead returns to the forest and initially ascends gently, but the easy walk soon ends as after crossing the forest road we begin ascending in switchbacks through the forest again.
Here, before we start the steep ascent, the path from Bašelj joins from the left, and we then ascend in switchbacks on the steeper slope, crossing the forest road several times, always following the markers. Higher up, we occasionally get nice views towards Gorenjska, followed by a somewhat longer traverse to the right. Later, at about 1330 m elevation, the path turns left and, except for a few switchbacks, ascends to the left. When we leave the forest, we are already at the edge of Planina Kališče, a little further at the junction at Spodnje Kališče, where there are a few benches for rest.
Above Spodnje Kališče, as the path returns to the forest, the path from Laški (also the path from Bašelj past Partizanska bolnica Košuta) joins from the left. A few more minutes of walking through the forest bring us to a nice viewpoint from which we have a good view of the nearby Dom na Kališču, Mali Grintovec, the ridge of Lanež, Krvavec... From the viewpoint, only a short ascent remains, and we are at Dom na Kališču.
Behind Dom na Kališču, we notice a mountaineering signpost with numerous route options. We continue along the gentle and scenic ridge path towards Storžič, Bašeljski vrh..., which continues north. After a few minutes of easy walking with beautiful views reaching to the Julian Alps, we reach a junction where we continue right (straight to Storžič) towards Bašeljski vrh. The path ahead ascends more steeply through a belt of dwarf pines and brings us, with nice views of the neighbouring Mali Grintovec, to the dwarf pine-covered ridge of Bašeljski vrh, where in the next few minutes we reach the next well-marked junction. At the junction, the path to Mali Grintovec and Srednji vrh branches right, we continue straight and, with a view of Storžič, continue the ascent. The path, which runs along and on the dwarf pine-covered ridge, is joined just below the summit by the path from Jekarica and Bašeljski preval. Here we continue right and along the somewhat narrower ridge reach Bašeljski vrh in one minute of further walking, from which we have a nice view towards the mountains above Jezersko, extending to Košuta, Obir and the Labotniške Alpe in Austria.
From Bašeljski vrh, we begin a relatively steep descent towards the east to northeast, along a path that runs along and on the ridge, which is mostly covered with dwarf pines, and where there are none, a bit more caution is needed. After about 15 minutes, the descent ends and the path brings us to Mačensko sedlo, where the marked path from Kališče and the unmarked path along the Suha valley join.
We continue straight towards Mali Grintovec, along a path that begins to ascend relatively steeply up the western slope of the mentioned mountain. After about half an hour of walking from Mačensko sedlo, we reach a marked junction where the path from Dolga njiva joins from the right. We continue left and after a dozen or so steps of further walking reach the summit of Mali Grintovec.

Start - Studenci 0:25, Studenci - za Goro 0:40, za Goro - Spodnje Kališče 1:10, Spodnje Kališče - Dom na Kališču 0:15, Dom na Kališču - razpotje na Kališčem 0:10, razpotje nad Kališčem - razpotje pod Bašeljskim vrhom 0:15, razpotje pod Bašeljskim vrhom - Bašeljski vrh 0:20, Bašeljski vrh - Mačensko sedlo 0:15, Mačensko sedlo - Mali Grintovec 0:30.

Along the route: Studenci (737m), Za Goro (975m), Planina Kališče (1450m), Razpotje pod Kališčem (1509m), Dom na Kališču (1534m), Razpotje nad Kališčem (1570m), Razpotje pod Bašeljskim vrhom (1643m), Bašeljski vrh (1744m), Mačensko sedlo (1622m), Razpotje pod Malim Grintovcem (1791m)

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