I went as rank 15-16 on my main and alts =) I stayed on the path and made sure to steer clear of the wolves. When you head into owl's nest, there is a chance that footpads can spawn in the tunnel, but I was lucky that the area was pretty active at the time and higher level folks were clearing mobs for us lowbies! I think you may be okay at 23, as the mobs were all 26-29 for me.

As for getting there, it's completely safe from Gridania into Coerthas, west of Emerald Moss. Again, just follow the road in Coerthas but feel free to get off the path if it means steering clear of the wolves. If you can get some folks to accompany you, it should be fine =) Good luck!