Srednja vas - Velo polje (Za Ribnico and via Planina Spodnji Tosc)

Access to the starting point:
From the motorway Ljubljana - Jesenica take the exit Lesce and follow the road towards Bled and on to Bohinjska Bistrica. Just before Bohinjska Bistrica, at Bitnje, take a sharp right in the direction of Pokljuka. After a short climb, the road flattens out and quickly leads into the Upper Bohinj Valley. Here, at the crossroads, continue left (Pokljuka on the right) and follow the road to Srednja vas. Here, in the second part of the village, you will see signs for St Martin's Church, which direct you to the right onto a narrower and rather steep road, which then quickly leads to the church and the primary school. Park in a suitable place next to the school or church.

Path description:
From the church parking lot, walk a few steps down to the primary school, and from there continue towards the viewpoint on Kresu. The way forward leads us along a narrower asphalt road, which quickly leads to a larger water reservoir, where we see signs for Uskovnica. Continue along cart track, which turns into a forest, and at the right-hand bend, step out of the forest and a beautiful view of Rudnica and part of the Upper Bohinj valley opens up. Continue along cart track, which leads through a slightly narrower passage, then in a cross-climb to a place where you reach the road leading to Uskovnica. The road reaches the beautifully landscaped lookout point at Kres, from which a view opens up towards Srednji vas, the Upper Bohinj valley and the Lower Bohinj mountains in the background. Continue along the road for a short distance, and then at the end of a gentle left-hand bend, signs for Uskovnica direct you right to cart track, which leads you through the woods, lane bushes, and higher up through the woods again. A few minutes higher, we reach the dirt road again, but this time we leave it immediately as we continue in the direction of the footpath to Uskovnica. Cart track soon forks, and we continue along the left one, where we see a marker on a power pole. Continue along the power line for a while and follow the markings. Soon a path branches off to the left, leading to Uskovnica via Lom, and we continue on the path, which turns slightly right and passes onto the steep slopes of the area called Za Ribnico (Ribnica is a stream deep below us). Higher up, we reach the newer cart track or logging trail, and follow it to the right. The newer logging trail ends after a few minutes and continues to cross the slopes to the right. A little further on, at a small crossroads, continue along the upper left path, along which there are signs for Uskovnica and which is visibly more beaten. Further on, climb a little steeper along the path, from which an unmarked path branches off a little higher up towards Lom (the sign says "cheese, cottage cheese, milk and more").
Continue again in the direction of Uskovnica, then in a few minutes reach a macadam road (reach the part of the road where it is already closed to public traffic), which you follow to the right. Once on the road, join the trail from Stara Fužina, the trail from Srednja vas via Lom and the trail from the starting point or Lom parking lot. The winding macadam road leads quickly to the cottages on Uskovnica, and then, just past the water trough, leave it and continue left on cart track towards the Cottage on Uskovnica. After about 50 metres of ascent on cart track, you will reach the Hut on Uskovnica. From the hut continue in the direction of Tosc, Draškega vrh, Viševnik, Vodnikov dom, Rudni polje and Praprotnice along the path which first crosses the grazing fence and then quickly joins the macadam road, which you follow to the right. The road then leads between bumpy meadows, and after crossing the next fence you quickly reach a crossroads at the Chapel of Our Lady Queen of Peace at Uskovnica.
After the chapel, continue left (straight mountain pasture Konjščica, right Rudno polje) along a sloping road which leads across the extensive meadows of Uskovnica, and then leads to the edge of the forest, where it begins to turn into the initially wide cart track. The cart track, which then begins to climb moderately, has a few forks, and we follow it in the direction of Vodnikov dom and Triglav. Higher up, the cart track, most of which runs through the forest, turns into a footpath, which quickly leads us to a pleasant little spring. At the well, continue straight ahead (hunting lodge on the right) and continue the ascent along the gently sloping path, which leads us slightly further up the steep slopes. Soon after we have reached the steep slopes, the fixed safety gear are helpful in crossing the steep ravine. The route continues along relatively steep and, especially in wet conditions, slippery slopes. While crossing the steep slopes, the path climbs steeply for a short time and then descends again. In the last part of the crossing, some very steep ravines are crossed, over which the path is in places completely destroyed (high risk of slipping). The crossing ends at a large torrent (usually a small spring), after which you enter a softer world of grasses.
A few minutes of easy walking and the path leads to the abandoned mountain pasture Lower Tosc. The way forward begins to climb moderately and soon leads us to a small crossroads where we continue to the sharp right (straight on an old, partly abandoned path) along a well-traced trail. The way forward starts to climb steeper and steeper and quickly leads us out of the belt of sparse forest between dwarf pines, where it starts to turn more and more to the left. The path soon becomes straight and from dwarf pines it leads us to grassy slopes, over which we climb in a few minutes' further walking to the Pokljuka - Triglav route. Continue left, and the road ahead crosses the slopes of Tosc. The path then crosses a short strip of sparse forest in a gentle downhill then leads to steep slopes. A little further on, the path crosses the precipitous slopes of Tosc on an artificially made wide ledge in a gentle descent. As the path is quite wide it does not cause any problems (caution due to falling rocks, rock fall in 2008). The path then climbs slightly again and leads us to a crossroads where we continue slightly left in the direction of Velo polje (sharp left Voje, straight Vodnikov dom). The way forward begins to descend crosswise to the right and quickly leads us to an unmarked crossroads. Continue on the right marked path (left hunting lodge), which soon becomes a track and then continues crossing the slopes below Vodnikovi dom. After a few minutes the path turns slightly to the left and starts descending towards Maly and Velo Polje. After a short descent, the path from the Voje valley joins us on the left, and we continue to the right and after a few 10 steps reach the shepherd's huts at mountain pasture Velo polje.

On the way: Razgledišče na Kresu (619m), Koča na Uskovnici mountain hut (1154m), Kapelica na Uskovnici (1180m), Planina Spodnji Tosc (1675m)

We can extend the trip to the following destinations: Planina pod Mišelj vrhom, Jezerski Stog, Koča na Doliču, Šmarjetna glava

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