Adventures...
So I've actually ventured beyond this immediate area the past couple of days. On Monday night, Michael, Mike, Shatan and I tried going to a movie in Bucheon but the movie Michael thought was playing wasn't playing there and there wasn't anything else we wanted to see (the theater was only showing a couple American movies).
Yesterday Mike and I went up to Bukhansan National Park (near Seoul) to go hiking. He said it would be a strenuous hike but I didn't realize that a strenuous hike meant climbing a 838 meter mountain. It was rough but the view from the top was worth it. We left Incheon at about 7am and took a bus into Seoul and then a subway up into the mountains where we caught another bus to take us to the park entrance. We accidentally got off too early though (we were following the lead of some Korean hikers) and went to the wrong ticket booth so we had to walk from there to the main entrance to the park (about 2 km total).
The trip from the ticket gate to the top of the mountain only about 10 km (6 miles). The trip up Baegundae, which is the highest of the 4 peaks that make up Mt. Bukhansan, from where that trail splits off is only 1.5km, which isn't too bad except it was very steep and rugged. The trail is not really a smooth path but rather mostly rock steps or just rocks that you have to climb up. Then the last 300m is pretty much straight up the side of a sheer rock face using footholds and a cable handrail that's anchored into the rock. It was just a bit frightening. Going up was rough...going back down was terrifying, especially when I accidentally stepped on the shoelace on my other boot and untied it. I couldn't believe that some of the Koreans were climbing down places that weren't on the actual trail so they had nothing to hold onto.
The view was abslutely incredible. You could see all of Seoul from the top on three sides of the mountain. Seoul is so huge I couldn't believe it. The view really made all the suffering worth it. Going down was somewhat easier than going up but it was still a lot of work. We ended up getting back to the ticket booth at the bottom around 6:30 pm and got back to Incheon around 9.
I really wasn't prepared for such a long, strenuous trip. I've done strenuous hikes before when I was out of shape but this was something else. I don't have an actual backpack here with me in Korea so I used this one-strap bag I have with me which wasn't the best thing to take. I definately didn't bring nearly enough water for that long of a trip. I refilled my bottle twice from a well we passed on the trail (the Koreans were drinking it so I figured it was safe), once on the way up and once on the way back down but I still got dehydrated. I ended up throwing up in Seoul while we were waiting for the bus. It was not good but I feel better today, except for the muscle soreness over my entire body. I've never really climbed anything that high before so it was quite an accomplishment. I just wish I had been in better shape when I'd done it so it wouldn't have been so tough.
Oh...and pictures from my trip are here.
Yesterday Mike and I went up to Bukhansan National Park (near Seoul) to go hiking. He said it would be a strenuous hike but I didn't realize that a strenuous hike meant climbing a 838 meter mountain. It was rough but the view from the top was worth it. We left Incheon at about 7am and took a bus into Seoul and then a subway up into the mountains where we caught another bus to take us to the park entrance. We accidentally got off too early though (we were following the lead of some Korean hikers) and went to the wrong ticket booth so we had to walk from there to the main entrance to the park (about 2 km total).
The trip from the ticket gate to the top of the mountain only about 10 km (6 miles). The trip up Baegundae, which is the highest of the 4 peaks that make up Mt. Bukhansan, from where that trail splits off is only 1.5km, which isn't too bad except it was very steep and rugged. The trail is not really a smooth path but rather mostly rock steps or just rocks that you have to climb up. Then the last 300m is pretty much straight up the side of a sheer rock face using footholds and a cable handrail that's anchored into the rock. It was just a bit frightening. Going up was rough...going back down was terrifying, especially when I accidentally stepped on the shoelace on my other boot and untied it. I couldn't believe that some of the Koreans were climbing down places that weren't on the actual trail so they had nothing to hold onto.
The view was abslutely incredible. You could see all of Seoul from the top on three sides of the mountain. Seoul is so huge I couldn't believe it. The view really made all the suffering worth it. Going down was somewhat easier than going up but it was still a lot of work. We ended up getting back to the ticket booth at the bottom around 6:30 pm and got back to Incheon around 9.
I really wasn't prepared for such a long, strenuous trip. I've done strenuous hikes before when I was out of shape but this was something else. I don't have an actual backpack here with me in Korea so I used this one-strap bag I have with me which wasn't the best thing to take. I definately didn't bring nearly enough water for that long of a trip. I refilled my bottle twice from a well we passed on the trail (the Koreans were drinking it so I figured it was safe), once on the way up and once on the way back down but I still got dehydrated. I ended up throwing up in Seoul while we were waiting for the bus. It was not good but I feel better today, except for the muscle soreness over my entire body. I've never really climbed anything that high before so it was quite an accomplishment. I just wish I had been in better shape when I'd done it so it wouldn't have been so tough.
Oh...and pictures from my trip are here.