Ryan's First Hike: Gwanak-san

Hey everyone!
Or should I say, "Annyeong haseyo!"
I will now, finally talk about my very first experience of real, hardcore hiking. It's hardcore cuz there was also rock climbing involved--the manly kind without any gloves or fancy ropes or caribeeners or whatever. Just bare hands and tennis shoes and ROCKS (warning: rocks may be harder than they appear).


I hiked on Gwanak-san, or Mt. Gwanak (san means mountain in Korean). There were really like 5 or 6 peaks that we hiked. So we'd go to the top of one, then back down, up, down, etc., along the spine of this little range until we got to the highest peak--Gwanak-san. 629 meters (=2,063 feet)!

Ok, PICTURE TIME!



What's the most important piece of gear to bring on a hike? Ok, probably water. And shoes. And a pack. But after all those...
Hiking Buddies! Especially one that knows the way :-)

So this is my co-teacher and new buddy Mark. He had hiked this mountain just a couple weeks earlier, so he was our guide (a very good one at that). Mark's from Cali and is super helpful at showing me the ropes at work, as well.




Hiking buddy, co-teacher & new friend #2: Yen.
Yen arrived in Korea just a month before I did, so we have been sort of figuring things out together. He lives in the same building as me, so that's convenient for hangin out.

He went to USC, the South Carolina one, haha. So he's a fellow SEC-er, but booo Gamecocks. He also speaks Chinese but not Korean yet, so we are helping each other learn.

The first notable thing we encountered was this really cool Buddhist temple near the foot of the mountain. It had this very ornate gate at the entrance:

Oooooo.... Aaaaahhhhh....

Here's the temple (yea that car kinda seems outta place, right?)











And a VERY large stupa (a monument to Buddha). The tiny thing wearing yellow in the bottom right is a person.










Here's me, scaling that rock cliff with the aptitude of a pro. Gloves? don't be a pussy. Ropes? PUHleeeeze..












Oh. Did I say no ropes? Welllll, there were a few.
But NOT everywhere! It's not like I asked for them, they were just there.

There was REAL climbing involved!









Like this!











And this! Reeeal rock climbing.
(This one's for the ladiez...)














Even rock lifting (ladiezz...)











EVEN rock... surfing?

Ok that's enough.








Btw, my hat says:

"Rashan
You are my own personal
Mad monster Since 1923
Los Angeles Chapter"

So... prize to anyone who can figure that one out.



Here's a little informative interlude. Take it away guest host Morgan Freeman,

On this mountain there were several concrete bunkers with places for gun turrets--remnants of the 3-year Korean War. Yet, some of them still seem well maintained and blocked off from nosy hikers. Mark informed me that if there were an invasion from the North that took Seoul (just north of these mountains), this range would be the last line of defense protecting the rest of the lower country to the south from attack.
I don't want to think about that though.




There were also entrances to underground tunnels, bunkers, and trenches scattered about, like this one.













Hope it's not booby-trapped!












Forget poison ivy, they gots barbed wire!













We claim this mountain for the Republic! (of Korea!)
















Van Damme style.















Jackie Chan style.












Gangsta style.


















Quite a view. I like that it's green with trees and not all rocky and snowy.































Ohhhhmmm.....












Big bonsai tree.

Views from the top:

Big city

So this old couple took the above picture of all of us. They must have been in their sixties just hiking the mountain. OH! And we ran into this one guy who actually spoke pretty good English. He seemed like he was in really good shape, so I had to ask how old he was. 68!
And how often does he walk through these mountains?
E V E R Y D A Y ! ! !
I know right!? That's awesome! I know, I totally should have gotten his picture now that I think about it.




Finally at the very top!

As you can see, it says Gwanak-san. Or maybe you can't read Chinese characters.

Well, you can definitely read at the bottom where it says 629 m. So there's proof of how high it is.

OK, that's all I have for now. After reaching the top, it was faster just to jump down. Hope ya'll had an explosive 4th of July. I just went clubbing, no fireworks but good enough. I'll let you know when I take some more pictures.

Peace out everybody!