Podrožca / Rosenbach - Klek

Access to starting point:
Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive into Austria, and then we drive on the motorway towards Beljak, which we leave at the first exit. From the place where we left the motorway, we follow the signs for the settlement Šentjakob v Rožu / Sankt Jakob im Rosental. When we arrive in the mentioned settlement, we leave the main road and continue driving right in the direction of the settlement Podrožca / Rosenbach. After a few kilometres of further driving, we arrive near the railway station in Podrožca, where we continue left downhill, then at the next junction right in the direction of the valley Medji Dol / Bärental. Further, we drive on a somewhat narrower asphalt road, which we follow to the first junction, next to which we notice the mountaineering signposts. We park in a suitable place by the road.
From the toll station at Hrušica to the starting point is approximately 23 km.

Route description:
From the starting point, we head onto the left road following the signs for Rožca / Rosenbachsattel (straight Kepa / Mittagskogel). The road first crosses a bridge over the stream Gračenica / Schönbrunnen, then starts first gently, later moderately ascending through the forest. Further on, we ascend for quite some time on the forest road, then arrive at a marked junction at an altitude of 900 metres.
Here, a road branches off to the left towards Golica / Kahlkogel, and we continue slightly right in the direction of Rožca. From the junction onwards, the road temporarily descends to the nearby stream, which it then also crosses. On the other side of the stream, we start ascending again, and the marked path splits into two parts. We can continue further on the road, or left onto the marked footpath, which starts to ascend more steeply and continues through the forest. Higher up, the path returns to the road and leaves it again at a sharp right bend. We continue through the forest, on an occasionally steeper and in the upper part also more overgrown slope. Higher up, we join a cart track and follow it to the left. From the cart track, we soon go left onto the path towards Rožca, while to the right the path to Koprivnjak continues.
The path ahead crosses a torrent, then we ascend for a few more minutes through the forest. A little further, the path turns right and takes us out of the forest, where we quickly reach the mountain pasture Rožca, where on the right side we notice a larger shepherd's hut.
A little before the hut, the yellow mountaineering signs direct us left in the direction of Koča na Golici, the saddle Rožca and Hruški vrh. The path ahead first leads transversely across the mountain pasture, then starts first gently, then moderately ascending, following the blazes at this point, as the trail across the mountain pasture is occasionally hard to follow. When we reach the edge of the mountain pasture, the path turns somewhat to the right and becomes clearly visible. Further on, in a few rare zigzags, we start ascending towards the state border with Slovenia. Higher up, with ever better views, we reach the border ridge, from where we also get a nice view of the Slovenian mountains.
From the saddle, we continue left (slightly left Koča na Golici, straight downhill Koča na Rožci, right Hruški vrh) and start ascending along the border ridge. Initially still a gentle path soon becomes steep, then with nice views of the Karawanks and other hill ranges it steeply ascends for a good 10 minutes. A little below the summit, the path levels out, and we reach the summit of Klek without major difficulties.
Podrožca - planina Rožca 2:45, planina Rožca - Rožca 35 minutes, Rožca - Klek 20 minutes.

Along the route: Roschitzaalm (1407m), Rosenbachsattel/Rožca (1587m)

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