Wallyudong Mountain

Hyeji and I woke up early this morning to go hiking with her mom's hiking club. They left at 7:30am, so we ate rice and kimchee about 7am, and headed out the door to catch the subway. We arrived just in time to catch the greyhound-like bus that would take us to ChungCheong-do, just south of Gyeonggi-do, and 3 hours north of Busan-si. It would have been kinda cool to actually hike in Busan, but I've never been to this province before, and it was really beautiful. I know waht you are thinking....hiking in this weather...are you crazy? Yeah, that's what I said. But I figured there might not be another opportunity for me to hike with Hyeji. Besides, hiking with Koreans is an experience in itself. There were probably about 20 people in the club too. Koreans don't want to be tan, so they cover up when the sun comes out. Pants, long sleeve shirts, bandannas, visors with large brims, hats, arm covers for those in short sleeves, sun screen, etc. You name it, these guys wear it. They also carry retractable metal sticks for balance, and backpacks full of water, a blanket, lunch, a change of clothes, and who knows what else. All I know is that they are big, and often really nice too. I tried the arm covers for a while because her mom offered them to me, but it didn't take long before I felt as though I was suffocating under the harsh, unbearably scorching sun. I did manage to keep the bandanna that had been given to me though. Of course, it didn't take long before that, along with my hair, face, shirt, and everything else was dripping with sweat. My eyes often stung from the sodium content.

There are five peaks (summits) in that mountain range, and we hiked up and down to all of them, which took about four or five hours. The hike began with a 30 minute walk on a paved road alongside vineyards and rice patties. Shortly after, we started up the mountain, which are nicely shaded by many trees. I began this venture refreshed, and ready for a day's hike. Little did I actually know just how much the heat would bear down on me. Up we went, and the faster the better for me. I love to climb. However, the downhill, especially if its a steep one, is often more difficult to me. Grass, soil, pine straw, and large rocks are fine, but sand and tiny rocks just provide a slippery slope for sliding. Not to mention, my 99,000W Reebok EasyTone's were just walking, jogging, and running shoes; not hiking. I had planned on buying hiking shoes when the weather got cooler and I had more money. So, once again, I was caught sliding down the mountain on several occasions. Now this is Korea, so of course the leader of the pact was always by my side, holding my head and helping me along if necessary. He was very strong, and could balance quite well when I happen to fall. I think I have made it a goal to one day not fall down while climbing down a mountain. So far, there is no hope in sight of that ever coming to pass, which is quite frustrating to me sometimes. Shoes, I blamed it on the shoes. So, I got new shoes. Now what? Oh, the type of shoe. It's not a hiking shoe; its a running shoe. Ok, so then when I fall with the hiking shoe, then what? What do I get to blame it on then?

No one needed to help me climb up the mountain, and up until just before lunch time, no one needed to help me climb down. However, due to heat exhaustion, coupled with the wrong shoes, and the sting in my eyes, I became unable to hike downhill alone. In fact, if they would have stopped and allowed me to take a nape right then and there, I would have. What was wrong with me? I don't remember ever feeling like this while hiking before. All I know, is that Koreans have a unique tolerance of heat that I am unable to withstand, but longed for at that moment. Hyeji's mom prepared lunch for the three of us. Rice, some sort of crab cake thing, egg, and kimchee. I was also fed apple, grape, peach, orange, and cherry by various ajuma's and ajushi's from our group along the way. After lunch, my body began to resist walking downhill even more. I felt as though I couldn't really even think straight either. The help I needed at that point was quite embarrassing. But, as I said before, Koreans are quite kind, and had no qualms about helping me (I think I used that word correctly). The leader, Hyeji, and her mom were joking about how this man, who was a bit older than me, was holding my hand. Eventually I just said, "Fine!" jokingly, and took my hand away. But soon enough, I slipped, and needed it once more. Shucks! One Korean offered me their hiking stick, which was quite nice, and helped me gain independence for a short while. There happened to be this one incredibly slippery spot which made me unsteady, wobble, slip, wave and flail my arms about, and then steady myself once more just as the leader ran back up the hill to grab me. We thought it was such a heroic act of kindness, bravery, and shiver, that we decided to reenact it for a photo shot. So it's official, my clumsy self will be posted all over the world wide web when they post the group pics on their website....nice!

All in all, the climbing was great and the views were breath-taking! To top it all off, we had to cross two fast moving, cold water streams at the bottom of the mountain range in order to get to the bus. We took off our shoes, and left on our socks, walked across some rocky terrain, and began to cross. The current was so fast, I had to rely on the strong men that had helped me before to hold me up and keep me from falling. The stream floor was covered in large rocks, which also made it difficult to get a firm grip on any sort of solid, level ground. The water felt amazing!! After crossing, the leader let me ride piggy-back so I didn't have to walk on the rocks without shoes. Once reaching the other side of the second stream, I was so soaking wet, I just dived right in. I was sooo hot and the water felt sooo good!!

The leader bought Hyeji and I ice cream (which can mean ice cream, sherbert, or popsicle) from a nearby convenience store. Restrooms breaks, snacks, and relaxation in the shade. Another hiking club showed up and decided to share their grapes, meat, and veggies with us, which is typical Korean culture, and very nice of them. Soon after, we all went to a public bathroom to cool off, shower, and relax. After seeing many friends, friend's moms, and co-workers (all female of course) naked, I don't even think about it anymore. It has become normal to me. I really like it too. I really think its a good step in helping girls and women be comfortable with their bodies.

We walked from there to dinner, where we ate some sort of mildly spicy soup with meat on the bone and vegetables in it. Of course I took out the meat and gave it to someone else. I enjoyed my rice, radish kimchee, and soup. We had coffee and ice cream on the bus thanks to our fearless leader. I also had a dough-like bun with bean paste in the middle that had been steamed for a snack later on. It would be the same bean paste roll that mom and I had eaten at home in Florida several years ago after a friend had bought it from a local Korean store. Yum!!

A three hour bus ride, and 20 minute subway ride put us at Emo's apartment around 10:30pm or so. She welcome us with cold squash soup and tomato juice, both of which she makes with her "magic bullet." I didn't even know Koreans had their own version of a Magic Bullet, a small, single serving, hand held blender. She starts by putting cold boiled and mashed pumpkin in the blender with milk.....whirl and enjoy! Yum! Then, cut up some tomatoes, whirl, and enjoy! Double yum!!