A Walk to Falls & Villages in Slovenia - No Talk, No Music, Just Nature. - 4K Virtual Hike

A virtual countryside and forest walk & hike to mountain villages & Kozjak Falls in the Julian Alps of Slovenia, with no talk, no music, no close-up shots of my ugly mug... just nature (well, mostly) & relaxation. The full journey in real-time, 4K video.

And now for something a little different! I was very privileged last year to cross off a destination long at the top of my bucket list: Slovenia, an endearingly compact nation that packs a mighty punch scenery-wise. Soaring gray peaks, surreally blue rivers, and a sea of emerald forests, fields, & rolling hills - it's seriously the greenest country I've ever seen (with a charming capital to boot). Hopefully this hike showcases a little bit of each.

Cozy, tourist-oriented Kobarid is the launching point for this trip, which first goes from the town center to its outskirts (included for those curious what a Slovenian town is like), then crosses Napoleon Bridge before strolling along the high banks of the beautiful Soča River. Next is a sidetrip through a small gorge to unique Kozjak Falls, then up and away on tranquil backlanes to an upper valley & two mountain villages - Magozd and Drežnica. Finally, a scruffy circuit loops down past farms and eerily quiet woods, atop another gorge, and back to the bridge.

Next will be 1 or 2 more "traditional" hikes in Slovenia, then back to our regularly scheduled program in the Pacific NW. Big thanks to Roy Clark, Justi Carey, and @CiceronePress for their invaluable "Walking the Julian Alps of Slovenia" guidebook, without which I would've never discovered the wild & woolly second half of this walk (and might still be stumbling around the backwoods to this day). Enjoy!

Highlights:
00:00 - Intro
00:48 - Kobarid
13:30 - Napoleon Bridge (Napoleonov most)
27:46 - Soča River Views
30:00 - Bridge Divers
35:35 - A Cave, & More Views
43:36 - Entering the Kozjak Gorge
47:45 - Kozjak Falls (Slap Kozjak)
56:48 - A Junction; Up through Forest
1:08:55 - The Meadow Pasture; Mt. Krn Views
1:13:48 - A Clearing & More Meadows
1:20:07 - First Valley Views & a Distant Village
1:25:20 - The Village of Magozd
1:30:13 - Church Bells & Back Roads
1:47:50 - First View of Drežnica Village
1:56:15 - More Valley Views (and Sheep!)
1:59:00 - The Village of Drežnica
2:08:55 - San Fermin Church
2:17:37 - Loop Down the Village (& one shy cat)
2:25:28 - Parting Shots of Village & Valley
2:27:55 - Quiet Country Lane & Farms
2:33:55 - (Invisible) Goats; Into the Woods
2:39:45 - Old Farm Buildings; Overgrown Tread
2:44:03 - Ročica River Gorge Rim
2:49:40 - Last Views of Mt. Krn; Continued Descent
3:15:30 - Distant Village View, Then Even Further Down
3:24:02 - The Road At Last, & One More Detour
3:34:10 - Closing the Loop (but where on Earth am I?!)
3:46:34 - Outro & Ratings

Hike Stats:
Distance: 8.1 mi / 13 km
Elevation Gain: 1050 ft / 320 m
Trailhead GPS: 46.24695, 13.57965

Filmed July 2022. I'm still ironing out the camera setup, as well as the format/structure for future videos. Please feel free to comment on the good, the bad, or the ugly; this is an on-going learning experience. My hope is for each video to improve on the last.