Today we did one of the hardest hikes I've ever been on. Ever. The hike up to Ulsanbawi rock in Seoraksan national park is only about 3 km (Burgie knows conversions?) and the first half is really lulls you into thinking this is no bigs. There are temples and restaurants nestled along the trail. Lady cooks are churning out bibimbap and noodles with red pepper paste, the latter of which, as an aside, is my favorite Korean dish and which I've eaten no less than 7 times since entering this country AND which I ask Ed after every bowl if he thinks he will be able to replicate in America because oh my god if I can't have it anymore we're moving to Korea for good. People look moderately fatigued and are drinking Soju (why not?) at picnic tables and you finish the first half and think, I do not know what all the hoopla is about, that was easy peasy lemon squeezy (2 points, England). We can probably bang this thing out and have time for another hike this afternoon.
And then you get to a temple that was built in a cave in 652 - can you believe that people were building temples in caves in 652? - doesn't that just seem like infinitely so long ago that it can hardly be possible? And there is a guy selling soft serve and camp kids throwing ice at each other and then you see a tiny wooden sign that reads "Ulsabawi Rock, 1km." What the sign should say is "you are so screwed" or, better yet, "it'd be in your best interest to turn back here" because from there you basically climb steep metal stairs which change to steeper metal ladders along sheer rock face for 1 straight kilometer.
Unfortunately, today the fog got so bad that by the time we summited the big rock we didn't have any view. That said, we were so excited to be at the top and sitting down, we barely cared.
Here's a picture from the Korea tourism website, our own sweaty shots coming soon:
3 comments:
Wait, how much do I love the "shit we climbed up" tag? Now I want red pepper paste noodles. This is such a bad blog to read during my period of enforced starvation.
I agree with Yelena. Food torture. I am not envious of the climb up the rock though. You can stick that up your bleedin' jumper and no mistakin'. 1 km is just over half a mile by my reckoning. Owch.
I am off to France for a while and will return significantly fatter to catch up on your antics. Until then, travel well my Lovelies.
This post makes my calves hurt. (I originally wrote "makes me calves hurt" hurt, but decided in favor of not talking like a pirate.) You guys are getting prepped for the really hard climbs ahead-- up the interminable stairs at Shibuya station.
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