Destination: Samarske Stijene - western group and Zub (about 1280 m)

Starting and ending point: Crossing at 13th km of the road Mrkopalj - Jasenak (or Ratkovo Shelter) - (1100 m a.s) 

Length: 5,5 h / 6,5 km    Ascents: 600 m;   Highest point: 1302 m;

Difficult level: Fit:   🥾🥾⚪⚪  (moderate)   Technical: difficult/very difficult

Tagline(s): A rounded challenging route (with some optional easy climbing details) through the labyrinth of the Samarske Stijene with optional ascent to the peak called Zub (Tooth).  The route covers a few summits of Samarske Stijene (The Summit of Samarske Stijene, Piramida, Stepenica..).

Area description:

• Samarske Stijene (The Saddle Rocks) are a great labyrinth which consists of about 20 cliffs of unique beauty cut by carst sinkholes and with the dense old forest. They are the closest neighbour of Bijele Stijene (The White Rocks), but they have a different structure and different forms.
• Bijele Stijene (The White Rocks) and Samarske Stijene (The Saddle Rocks) are protected as a strict nature reserve. Mrkopaljski planinarski put (Mrkopalj Mountaineering Trail) - MPP which leads through their heart is one of the most interesting (and most difficult) mountaineering trails in Croatia.
• In Samarske Stijene there is mountaineering shelter named as Ratkovo sklonište (Ratko's shelter) that is one of the best placed shelters in Croatian mountains. It is only about half an hour of walking far from the road and it can be the starting point for other trips:
  
  • ascent to the summit of Samarske stijene (1302 m): 40 min
  • MPP: 4 h (Northern loop) or 6 h (Southern loop)
  • Bijele Stijene (via Vihor Trail):  4 h
• Samarske Stijene area is the habitat of edelweiss. The edelweiss is a highly protected plant in Croatia!
• Traditional approach for accessing Bijele Stijene leads from Jasenak village (24 km from Ogulin). The position of Ogulin you can find here, and more information about Ogulin here. Jasenak is connected with Ogulin by local road Ogulin-Jezerane. It is needed to follow signs for HOC Bjeloasica. Ogulin is only one hour of driving distanced from Zagreb (highway A1, exit Ogulin).

Route:  "13th km" (1100 m) ->  The summit of Samarske Stijene -> Stepenica -> Piramida -> Grand Canyon -> Ratkovo Shelter  - 4:00 h

    Ratkovo Shelter -> Zub  -> Ratkovo sklonište -> "13. km"  - 1:30 h

Route description:

• There is a forest road leading to Samarske stijene that separates from the crossroads called "13th km". We take this road and after 350 m and on a small pass, the path separates to the left towards Ratko's shelter (and Vihoraški Put). We continue straight, and after a total of 30 minutes of walking we reach the end of the road. Here we turn left uphill and go towards the top of Samarske Stijene. Shortly before the top, the branch "Kapelski Planinarski Put" (from Matić poljana) comes to us from the right, and in front of the top, there is  the trail to Ratkovo shelter to the left. Reaching the pass, there is 5 min to the top.
  From the summit we return to the pass and turn left towards the second peak - Stepenica (Stairs). A branch takes about ten minutes to reach Stairs. To rich the rock of the Stepenica, you need a little climbing, it is easier to reach the stamp, and a little more demanding to the top.
• From Stepenica, we return to the crossroads and in 20 minutes we reach another rock - the Pyramid. A branch leads to the top, which takes 5 minutes, and is less demanding than the climb to Stepenica.
• From the Pyramid we go up - down through a maze of rocks and sinkholes. We pass by Vidikovac (10 min ascent) and reach the Grand Canyon. The harder variant requires climbing (UIAA level II), and the easier one bypasses this.
• From the Grand Canyon we pass a rock called Sugarloaf Head, connect with the road leading to the Southern Group (coming from the right) and soon arrive at a small pass / crossroads near Ratko's Shelter.
  5 minutes after the pass we reach Ratko's shelter. The shelter is visible only from the immediate vicinity.
• To climb Zub, From the shelter it is needed to get back about 50 m and to deviate on the right via the ridge. The trail practically disappears but we are following the signs from stone to stone. A little climbing is needed just bellow and up to the summit. The climbing is short and it is not difficult because there is a lot of vertex for arms and feet. On the summit there is room for a few people, only.
• After descending from Zub, we return to Ratko's shelter, but just before it we turn right and return to the starting point. After the pass on the right, the Vihoraški trail joins, but we continue straight for another 20 minutes and reach the road on which we started the tour.

Difficulties: Up to the shelter there are no difficulties but after that some climbing skills are required.

Approach and Accommodation:

• The description of the approach to Bijele Stijene and Samarske Stijene with accommodation information is here

• The point (a crossing) "13th km" (1100 m) on the road Jasenak-Mrkopalj.  This is about 13 km far from Mrkopalj and about at the same distance from Jasenak
• From "13th km" to Ratko's shelter there is about 40 min of walking

The most appropriate season:

• Springtime, summer and autumn when the weather is dry.During winter, early springtime or late autumn the road Mrkopalj - Jasenak can be impassable due to high snow.

Equipment:

• rucksack, hobnailed shoes, water, food
• sleeping bag and bedding in case of the sleeping planned in the shelter. In Ratko's shelter there are no mattresses.

Maps:

• Bijele i Samarske stijene, Map No 11a, SMAND d.o.o., Varaždin, 2002.
• Bjelolasica, Map No 11b, M 1:25.000, SMAND d.o.o., Varaždin, 1995.
• Topographic map TK25 Delnice 4-2 (368-4-2), M 1:25000, Državna geodetska uprava, Zagreb

Related trips:

• Bijele stijene - Vrh - Vihoraški put
  

Other interesting places:

• Begovo Razdolje - the highest village in Croatia (1078 m)
• Matić Poljana  - monument to frozen 26 partisans in 2nd world war
• Kamačnik Canyon
• Bijele stijene - Ljuska - The Vihor's trail
• Samarske stijene - Mrkopaljski planinarski  put

Control points of Mointaineering trails:

• Zub is not the control point of mountaineering trails but Samarske Stijene are covered by the following trails:
  
  • Hrvatska planinarska obilaznica
  • Hrvatske planinarske kuće
  • Kapelski planinarski put
  • Goranski planinarski put
  • Mrkopaljski planinarski  put

Notes:

• On the trail there is no water, but there are no problems with summer heats!
• There is a small cistern at Ratko's shelter, but without drinking water (disinfection is needed).
• The area of Bijele Stijene and Samarske Stijene is poor with signal for mobile phones. It is recommended to use other communication equipment - radio-stations.

References:

• Bijele and Samarske Stijene (by Dinaric-ZG on SummitPost.org)
• The list of other mountaineering references is here