Seoraksan

This weekend, the climbing group and I went to Seoraksan, Mt. Seorak, here in South Korea. It is the third highest peak in South Korea--2nd largest on the peninsula as Jeju Island has the highest. For some wikimation (wikipedia information), check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seoraksan .

Before I get to any hiking stories, I have to mention a video from school this week. This is Woody's "Marble Maze" that he made at an art academy. I forgot how much I used to LOVE these things when I was younger. This is just another reason why I love Woody:


So, onto the hiking: When we got to Seoraksan (a 4 hour bus ride east from Seoul), it was about 1pm. We had some lunch and then took off. I volunteered to be part of the 'fast' group...which proved to be a very smart decision for me because a.) I love to be pushed physically, b.) we flew up the mountain and c.) I had already had enough nighttime hiking from the weekend before. The 'slow' group did not arrive to our shelter until ~9:00 and had been in the dark for an hour or more.

When we got to the shelter, it was a large group of Koreans cooking an eclectic gathering of food. Our group had some pork to grill, which was a shock to me. I did not know Alex was carrying a huge pack of frozen pork on his back for 5 hours. We also had some ramyeon noodles. It was a very delicious meal. Harald began making friends with some other foreigners outside the shelter and before long a grand ole time was being had.

For a while, we were not sure where we would be sleeping...to the point where we almost had to sleep outside. I do not think the second group fully understands how nerve-racking this was for about an hour as we scrambled to find a place to sleep. I was already a bit sick as it was...add in some frigid temperatures with wet conditions and a large group of Koreans and foreigners with minimal sleeping bags and blankets and you get a really bad situation. All worked out though.

Even in the shelter (we went to bed ~ 10:30pm), no one slept much. Except the Koreans, who snored like no tomorrow. Luckily, I learned in Europe to always bring earplugs whenever I do not sleep in my normal sleeping location. This kind of helped. However, there were other...events that equally led me to not sleep/want to get up as soon as friggin possible that I shall not mention here. I think I slept for a few hours...like 1-3. I do not really know. I do not look at my phone/watch in times like this because I do not want to know as it will only pysch me out.

We woke up at 3:30 am, went outside, helped clean up the prior night's festivities and got ready for the day in general. We hiked up to the peak of Seoraksan at 4:30 and prepared for the sunrise:


It was still pretty cloudy, but a LOT better than the night before. The most amazing part of the morning, to me, were the stars when we woke up. I do not think I have ever seen stars so clearly as that morning. We even saw a few shooting stars:


When we finally saw the sun, everyone was really excited. It made the whole trip even more worth it. The way down from the peak was pretty spectacular as well...as we could finally see more than 10 meters without seeing clouds/mist. The color is just beginning to change there, as well:


Eventually, though, we ran into some more clouds and mist. It was nice though, for me at least. The mist was light enough that we could see the rocks around us, or silhouettes of the rocks, and what we could see was pretty spectacular; it left the rest up to the imagination:


Overall, despite getting a little bit sick (which I am no fighting by trying to sleep for as much as possible every night), it was an amazing time. I want to go back whenever I can, as long as I have a somewhat more secure sleeping plan. Thanks to everyone who made it an amazing trip!

Alan