Ruše - Ruška koča na Arehu

Access to starting point:
A) We drive to Maribor, then follow the signs for Ruše. When we arrive in Ruše, we park at one of the parking lots in the settlement, preferably near the Ruše post office.
B) From the road Dravograd - Maribor, after the settlement Selnica ob Dravi, we turn right towards Ruše. This is followed by driving across the bridge over the Drava River (the bridge is expected to be closed until 31.10.2022), after which we soon arrive in Ruše, where we park at one of the parking lots in the settlement, preferably near the Ruše post office.

Route description:
From where we parked, we first walk to Trg vstaje square, where we notice red hiking direction signs, but we head onto the road towards Ruška koča, Glažuta and Martnica. For a short time we walk along the asphalt road towards Lobnica, then the markings direct us left, where we first ascend between houses, then the path enters the forest. After a few minutes of ascent we arrive at a viewpoint from which a nice view opens up of Ruše, surrounding areas and Kozjak, and near which there are three crosses. The path continues into the forest and ascends to an asphalt road, which we follow to the left. This is followed by walking along the asphalt road, passing individual houses, and higher up we arrive at a small saddle by which there is a cross.
We continue slightly right along the marked road (sharply left to Lorbekov vrh and Dobnik homestead), from which after a few steps we turn right again onto a worse road, along which we continue briefly, then the markings lead us left into the forest, through which we ascend more steeply for a while, then quickly return to the road, which we follow to the left. The road soon turns right and takes us to the nearby house, where we ascend across the yard.
Above the house we continue for a while along the edge of the forest, then at the chapel we reach another road, but we continue right to the nearby asphalt road, where we go left. Along the road in a few dozen steps we arrive at Martnica, from which a nice view opens towards the valley and Kozjak. A little further we leave the road to the right and ascend below the power lines, crossing the road a little higher, and a few more steps ahead we reach another road. We continue along the road, which forks, but we go slightly right towards Areh and the hunting hut (slightly left to Čander farm). There are also a few more junctions ahead, where we follow the markings for Areh (to the left a path branches off towards Glažuta, to the right a little further a path towards the hunting hut).
Before Hleb farm we leave the road and continue right onto the marked footpath, which continues through the forest and bypasses the mentioned farm on the right side. A few minutes higher we reach the NOB monument, after which we cross a wider macadam road. Just a little further we cross the road again, then follows a longer walk through the forest where we follow the markings. Higher we cross the ski slope, then ascend through the forest to the Areh hotel, after which we arrive at a marked junction.
We continue straight across the asphalt road in the direction of Ruška koča (right to Žigartov vrh, Šumik waterfall..., left to Mariborska koča), which we reach in two minutes of further walking.
Ruše - Martnica 1:00, Martnica - Areh 1:45.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in May 2022.

Along the route: Lobnica (482m), Martnica (682m)

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