As you may recall, a few months ago Max, Kate, and I unsuccessfully attempted to climb Bomunsan, a mountain in Daejeon. For the Chuseok holiday, Kate and I decided to give it another go with Lon and Lisa . . . this time, sans monsoon rain.
We quickly surpassed our previous best, walking past the decrepit amusement park and abandoned swimming pool. We then came to a memorial to a Korean War battle in Daejeon. In addition to being totally badass, it was also foreigner friendly. We turned past the monument and continued on.
The weird thing about Bomunsan is that all the way up, you're constantly being surprised by random structures. First, there are the random restaurants, which can't be at all convenient when it's time to deliver supplies. Next up, there was a random set of badminton courts, with a pretty intense game going on. Finally, there were a number of outdoor gyms, with low-impact exercise equipment. I really pitied the guy who had to carry the bench press three quarters of the way up the mountain.
The climb got steeper. Eventually, we came to a series of burial mounds. Again, I felt sorry for the people who had to carry the corpses up there. Finally, we made it to the peak, where we were greeted with a beautiful view of South Daejeon and a lovely lunch that Lisa had packed.
You'd think that the hike down would be the easy part, but by this point my legs felt like jelly and were quaking on the way down. At the foot of the mountain, we saw a couple of interesting things. First, an elderly chap was playing saxophone, accompanied by a soundtrack from his laptop, which was plugged into his car lighter (P.S., I'm a superior saxophonist). We also ran into a mother and daughter from Seattle. Small world . . .
Pictures.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Stunning! Many thanks for posting those great photos. You all are hiking warriors.
Post a Comment