Hello, I'm a newbie on hribi.net.
Anyway, I'm starting this new thread because I see they have their own sections for mountain running, mountain biking, but for Nordic walking there's only exactly 1 post so far.
A short note on Nordic walking. It's regular but faster walking, usually done with one-piece poles and a special strap so you don't have to grip the pole tightly all the time.
I do a subtype - sports Nordic walking, mostly on flat. This isn't athletic race walking with unnatural hip twisting, no it's completely natural walking with slightly longer steps and strong arm pushes so that arms hurt too. Since I have nice flat paths in my town, I mostly train there, to bigger hills I already have to take the car. If you walk Nordic very fast (8 or 9kmh) the pulse climbs to the top even without ascent.
Well lately I've started discovering Slovenia in Nordic style and I find you have to be quite inventive to find a suitable path. To briefly present what is important to me for a path to be Nordic. I also look at it from the view that the path is such that a Nordic competition could be held on it (they are not rare across the border).
1. Surface: It's important that we can properly plant the poles, walk diagonally (meaning left arm and right leg move together). Suitable surfaces are asphalt, gravel, cart track ok, also path if not too narrow and pole can be planted. Very disturbing are uneven surfaces, roots, very stony or rocky path as quality one-piece carbon pole can break.
2. Gradient. If you want to walk properly Nordic, push and accelerate even uphill, it shouldn't be too steep. Depends on hiker's fitness too, but I'd say around 100 to 150m ascent per km is the upper limit.
3. Length not so important, mainly depends on fitness, can be 2 km, can be 20 km.
In Slovenia hiking tradition is big, almost every place has its hill and lots of markings to it. From my experience these marked hiking paths, shortcuts through bushes and roots are not too suitable for Nordic style. Let me give a nice example, Sveti Jakob above Preddvor. I knew the marked path before, classic hike, but not really suitable for Nordic style. These days I discovered there's also a gravel path right to the top and walked it. It's wide all the way and just right for Nordic walk. My watch showed me 4.8km and 450m elevation, nice to walk all the time, and great view from top.
Let me give a few more examples of Nordic paths with ascents: Path to Sv. Primož at Kamnik, also mostly gravel, there a bit steeper as for similar 400m ascent we need good 3km.
Path from start of Logarska dolina to Rinka waterfall. Here best follow green signs for bike path, and my watch showed me over 8km and also about 400m ascent.
If anyone is interested can add their suggestions or better experiences here, which paths are suitable for walking with Nordic poles. Maybe we'll collect enough descriptions to add to search or path description tag Suitable for Nordic walking.
Off the top of my head I'd say around Pohorje and Rogla there are surely many suitable paths due to terrain. Also on coast and Prekmurje. But more interested in central Slovenia and Gorenjska as closer to me.
Glad for any well-meaning comment on this topic.
Lp