From the hut, walk along the road in the direction of Kladje to reach the Vrhovec farmstead, where the route turns right off the road an up a slightly inclining path. Pass the Šanc peak (1,048 m) to reach a derelict building that once served as Italian barracks, and climb down through the forest to reach the road. Follow the road for 100 m until you reach the crossroads. Turn right here and follow the partly overgrown dirt track, which gently descends past the Jeram farmstead. You will come to a crossroads on the Vrh Ulce pass (814 m), where there is a wooden sign. This is the watershed between the Black and Adriatic seas. 50 minutes. Walk right along the Kladje - Hotavlje road, and soon after turn off the road into the forest along the well-kept former Italian road which ran between Novake and Kladje. You will reach a meadow, where a view of Porezen (1,630 m) opens up ahead. Continue walking along the road around the sharp right bend to reach the southern slopes of Škoflje, then start climbing up a gentle slope. Follow the road all the while, until you reach the settlement of Dolenji Novaki. Turn right and walk down at the crossroads and continue in the same direction through a second crossroads. The comfortable path leads you to the edge of a clearing. Follow the poorly visible path across the clearing to a livestock pen, behind which is the Cernica stream. Cross the stream to reach the regional Cerkno - Črni vrh road at the settlement of Dolenji Novaki (450 m). 50 minutes. Walk around the bend in the road towards Cerkno and you will reach a road junction. Turn onto the tarmac side road, which leads up a hill to an inn at the entrance to the Pasica gorge, where the Franja Partisan Hospital lies. The walk from the bridge takes 20 minutes. If you wish to take a tour of the hospital, it is 10 minutes away in the gorge and accessible by a well-kept tourist path. The Via Alpina route crosses the Pasica stream through down the gorge, then turns west along the road to the foot of Drnovo hill (1,004 m). Walk past the hamlet of Podnjivč to reach the village of Poljane (510 m), a 40-minute walk. Walk through the village to reach the meadows and pastures above, then climb up the very steep path through the forest, following course of the Trševka stream. The route is very steep at places. When you reach the forest road, cross it and continue climbing. There is a junction at the Labinjske lehe meadows with the road from the village of Cerkno. Walk across the meadows towards the steep slopes of Cumprovka (Koap, 1,360 m), then climb up the highland meadows to the forest. When the path narrows, you will reach the Velbnik pass (1,331 m), on the left of which is a hunting lodge. The hike from Poljane takes 2h 10 minutes. The road continues on to Porezen, but your route goes across Jalovec (1,410 m) to reach Medrce, where there is a crossroads of several balcony trails and the forest road. Follow the road until you reach Dom Andreja Žvana - Borisa on Porezen(1,590 m), which lies just below the northern rock face of Porezen peak (1,630 m). 40 minutes from the pass. The entire stage takes 5h 30 minutes.

Source: Dobnik, Jože; (1998). Slovenska planinska pot. Planinski vodnik. Publisher PZS. Atlas Slovenije. (1996). 3. izpopolnjena in razširjena izdaja. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga in Geodetski zavod Slovenije (GZS). Škofjeloško in Cerkljansko hribovje. (1993). Izletniška karta. 1:50.000. Ljubljana: GZS. Julijske Alpe - vzhodni del. (2003). 1:50.000. Ljubljana: Planinska založba PZS in GZS.
(Peter Šilak)

The hut at Ermanovec stands next to the border between Italy and the former Yugoslavia, and is a good spot to rest. After the First World War, the watershed ridge that separates the waters of the Adriatic from those of the Black Sea came to mark, with little deviation, the national boundary between the two countries as set out by the so-called Treaty of Rapallo. After much political haggling by the major powers, a large part of the Slovene national territory was given to Italy, which occupied it for the next two decades. Italy to the west and Yugoslavia to the east began fortifying their border positions, building roads, guardhouses, fortifications and bunkers. The Yugoslav fortifications were called the Rupnik Line and the Italian equivalent was the Alpine Wall. Bunkers comprising the Rupnik Line once stood on Ermanovec, whilst the ruins of Italian military caverns lie just a stone's throw away at the Vrhovec farmstead, in the direction of Kladje and Škofje. There were many fortifications on our previous trails, in the Pivka basin and beyond, but we did not pay much attention to them.
The route from Ermanovec to Porezen runs past the Škofje hill. This has always been an important trade route and was used by migrating peoples. The Romans strengthened and secured it with a series of roadblocks such as those on Hrušica. One of the few copper mines in Slovenia was once locate here and the hill itself has been heavily tunnelled. Our route follows the former Italian military road which bypasses the peak and was built out of sight of the enemy's eyes. The road leads to Novaki, a small village tucked into a narrow valley below Porezen. Hidden deep inside a wild gorge is a monument to the Second World War, during which the Slovene people underwent a terrible ordeal in the face of aggression from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. They resisted the aggression and persecution through the Partisan resistance. The Franja Partisan Hospital is a marvellous monument to this war of resistance, as well as to humanity and remarkable human resourcefulness. Hidden from prying eyes, the Partisan hospital, a complex of hospital barracks, operating theatre and x-ray room, lies along a stretch of rapids deep inside the Pasica gorge. The nationally-minded residents of Novaki, from which the path to the museum hospital today leads, ensured that the enemy never found the hospital.
The villages of Cerkljansko, a hilly region below Porezen, have a characteristic architectural style. A fine example of this architecture can be seen in Novaki, near the Partisan hospital. The hayrack belongs to the Kalmonarša farmstead and is a symbol of Slovene architecture.
Fortified positions, leading all the way up to the peak of Porezen, remind us of the war-time period. Fortunately, human wounds are healing and the concrete and steel are being overgrown by a variety of multicoloured flora.
Sources: http://www.ars-cartae.com/siteo/index.htm (Rupnikova linija in Alpski zid) http://oreh.pef.uni-lj.si/~markor/kaverne/ (Alpski zid) http://www.cerkno.si/turizem/ http://www.burger.si/MuzejiInGalerije/MestniMuzejIdrija/Franja/BolnicaFranja_Uvod.html http://www.muzej-idrija-cerkno.si/carmina/franjas.html Aleksander Jankovič - Potočnik. (2004). Rupnikova linija in Alpski zid. Vrhnika, Galerija 2. Tomaž Pavšič. (1999) Ob stari meji. Idrija, Založba Bogataj.
(Igor Maher)