Jirisan

Sam, Ju-Hi, Derek and I went to Jirisan on Tuesday. Daycations like this are the reason that I enjoy being in Korea. Seoul has it's good points, and there are many, but something refreshing occurs in one's self when they leave the soot- and smog-smeared air of the city for the Korea in which the other Koreans live. That's not to say that other Koreans don't live in other cities as well. They do. That's just not how I imagine it. In fact, most Koreans now live in the cities, and about half of them live in Seoul or the surrounding metropolitan area.
The bus ride seemed much longer than it actually was-- just under four hours. My throat was sore from a previously acquired sickness that I had not yet worn off, and that had almost ruined the prospects of me taking any trip further than The Metro, the convenience store outside of my apartment building, for hydrating supplies like water and iced coffee. I came with one adequately packed daypack (see below) that I had gotten from Itaewon several months ago. My inventory included the following: a daypack, multi-purpose Victornox knife, compass, swim trunks, extra shirt, money, desk notebook, pocket notebook, horrible camera, two pens, toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, medicines and bandages, Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume, Korean Language Book, cap, sunglasses, and a built in Camelpak for water. I tried to minimize, but this is what I ended up taking. It was just about everything I needed, and it seemed to work out quite well, in the end.
After the bus ride, we got into town and had some delicious pork dish with a bunch of vegetables. I neglected to take any pictures of the food, but it was quite good, and there were, I think, 12 dishes in all. One of the best things about Korean food is the variety of food that one receives with each meal. Jirisan, according to Ju-Hi, is known for is known for people with a culinary prowess. I happen to agree.
When we got to the park, we started hiking almost immediately. We went into the trail, which looked something like a "Charlie in the trees" scene from every movie dramatizing the Vietnam war, not to mention the fact that Derek and Sam had bought these ridiculously large-brimmed straw hats from an outfitter down the road from the restaurant where we ate.
The amount of wildlife in this park was more than I had seen anywhere else in Korea, including the venture to Songnisan. Songnisan, however, had a much better temple. The streams are equipped with miniature waterfalls, and are particularly inviting. The water felt about a few degrees above freezing, but it was still worth it to get in, if not for anything else but the draw of novelty and the need to operate on our lizard brains, as other smaller-minded ancestors of the human race have likely done for a very long time. That's part of the reason I enjoy hiking so much. It synergizes several tasks into one, while making each more enjoyable. It can be exercise, meditation, therapy, sport, concentration, and survival all rolled into one. Once you've walked for a period of time that you deem to be substantial, and then you see something beautiful that you didn't expect to see, you have no questions about whether or not it was worth it to do all of the work that it took to get wherever you have gone. It's not necessarily about reaching the summit (although that is a reward in it's own right), but rather, it is about getting somewhere, and not having gotten somewhere. Oh yeah, and you see how absolutely crazy nature is.
After we decided that it was a good idea to turn around because of the massive thunderstorm that was about to ensue, we saw one of the coolest things I have ever seen an animal do. There was this snake, about 2 feet in length that had just brushed off the trail because it had heard us coming down. In it's mouth was half of a frog with its front legs and head sticking out of the mouth of the snake. Well, needless to say, we knew that this was a good opportunity to get some photos of this fair-weather enemy of humans, the (possibly) death-inducing, venomous snake that had too much to eat. We spent a few minutes trying to get pictures of it while we put peace signs directly above predator and prey. I shall not say anymore about this, suffice it to say that Sam did get video, and with his permission, I will be posting it here at a later time.
It started raining as we were exiting the park and trying to get back to the bus terminal to go back to Seoul. The cab driver took us to the train station instead, telling us that there were no buses to Seoul for the rest of the day, and that we'd have to take trains. I'm glad he did that. having never traveled on a train before. I intend to do so in the future, and frequently. Also, I need to get to the mountains again. I'll work on it.