This Saturday our school (and indeed the Dunsan campus, and RT-Genius) went hiking. This was actually supposed to have happened many months ago, but we had managed to push it back to a time we thought would never come. That time was April 11th, and as none of us died in the meantime, the date did manage to come.
We were all told we had to be at the Dunsan campus at 9:20 so that we could leave by 9:30. With much pissing, moaning, and general bellyaching we complied. After they’d packed us into one of the ReadingTown buses, we got on our way. They passed around some Krispie Kream doughnuts (yes, they have those in Korea), and small boxes containing red, ReadingTown-branded towels. The whiteys sat in the back of the bus and discussed the things that interested us, such as recent pay discrepancies and predictions as to when this would end and we’d get to go home.
We arrived at the base of the mountain, were divided into “teams” based on school (which nobody bothered to stay with, and were never mentioned again), and they distributed snacks. We got a half-liter bottle of water, an orange, an apple, and a smallish cucumber. The initial ascent was deceptively easy, and spirits were reasonably high.
An hour later, closer to the top things were getting steep, rocky, and the trail had enough ups and downs that we were wondering if we might not be walking around the mountain, instead of up it. I had to stop twice, as I’m apparently out of shape, and Brett and I eventually found where everyone had stopped. We were mid-pack.
Where everyone stopped wasn’t quite the summit, but it was reasonably close. There was, it turned out, a pair of stone pagodas and a Buddhist shrine there. There were also hundreds of Koreans, in dress ranging from ‘casual’ to ‘full-costume hiking commando.’ That’s the thing about Korea: if you decide you want to get away from the city and go take in some nature, you can be guaranteed a thousand other people are going to be doing it with you.
Fortunately, nobody felt like making any sort of speech at the top. We just took a couple group pictures, and were directed to the path we would be taking back down. This path was a mile and change of decent path, with a questionable addition of slanted, slick rocks. I’m glad it was dry, as if the stones had been wet I would have assuredly broken open my skull and died a tragic death in a foreign land, which I told several people I wasn’t going to do, and I don’t want to be made a liar.
I really should have taken more pictures of the ajuma (아잠마) on the trail. Their clothes were the absolute best: Visors, face-masks, and hiking poles. The Korean ajuma deserves an entire post, and I’ll try and make one happen.
Mrs. Kim, my boss, didn’t have a hiking pole or a face mask, but she did have an enormous, pink visor. It’s perhaps one of the very best ajuma visors I’ve seen. You’ll be able to pick her out in the pictures below.
Colin and I eventually made it down the mountain. He and Brett then went off to find a cab, or a bus, or something and disappear towards home without informing anyone. Nobody seemed to notice they’d gone. The rest of us were treated to lunch where we had a spicy bibimbap, and they served us all makgeolli. It was pretty decent, considering I was sore, sweaty, smelly, and wanted to sleep more than eat.
Then we walked probably another mile or more to find our bus, and went home. All told, it was about seven and a half hours of adventure. It was an alright time, but I’d prefer they not get it in their heads to take us on any more mandatory, unpaid Saturday outings.
One Comment
hmm…fascinating. You should do it every weekend.