Today I took to the hills. The diminutive Hongsan hills, that is. A week later, I returned to the trail my teachers had finally shown me, nearly a year after my arrival. It seems strange that no one would have shown me this earlier, knowing as they do that I love to hike, but I suppose it doesn’t matter now. I do have another year to explore it.
This initial exploration actually ended up being more lengthy than I intended. The price of adventure is very often time: you get lost, things take longer than you expected, there are detours, etc. This was no exception. The only maps I could find were not oriented in any particular direction, so I could never tell where I was. Additionally, they were labeled primarily in Chinese characters—not my strong suit by a long shot. I just kept climbing along the ridge, hill after hill. None of them were very tall—I think the highest I got was around 400m—but considering I started out at nearly sea level and that I was moving up and down constantly, it ended up being quite a workout. Though it wasn’t raining, water hung in the air and I’m pretty sure I’ve never sweated so much in my life. The humidity is tolerable now because I’m acclimated, but I think it’s going to be very difficult to readjust to in August. Sigh. Anyway, there I was, trudging along, with glimpses of the now-familiar Hongsan countryside every so often between the trees. Visibility wasn’t that good, since I certainly didn’t go above treeline (essentially a foreign concept in Korean hiking), but my internal compass was good enough that I could tell where I was. For a while. After a bunch of twists and turns, I gradually realized I wasn’t really sure where I was. Perhaps I should have panicked and turned back, but the adventurer in me refused to do so. I was determined to make a loop, to cut back down the mountain and figure out where I was and above all, continue the exploration rather than backtrack. Plus, it had been hard going. These trails are evidently seldom used—I got lost a few times following false trails that melted away, and my legs are scratched up from all the brush. I was not anxious to repeat the experience in reverse. Unfortunately, there were no trail offshoots for quite some time. I was stranded on the mountain! I finally reached a remote mountain temple around 5, four hours after I started. It was gorgeous, secluded in a lush forested gorge, but the effect was somewhat ruined by the satellite dish perched on the roof. I started down the road there, which led me a windy 5 kilometers to the bottom, and from there I found my way back on roads. I didn’t get home until 8. I think it was a little over 10 kilometers to the temple and then I probably walked at least another 15 on the roads home. 15 miles…not bad at all. My feet were killing me by the end, though. And by the time I was back on familiar ground, I found the shortcut trail I knew must have existed: 1.7km to the temple. I took an unnecessary 10+km loop. Excellent. At least I know this trail is here now. Another mission for Explorer Jen upon her return.