Hello Mountains, I'm Back!

The view of Seoul from the peak of Mt. Gwanaksan. Matt took this shot with his snazzy camera.

The spring thaw has begun here in Korea, and with it, my return to nature. On Sunday, Matt, Sun and I climbed 관악산 (Gwanaksan), a mountain just South of Seoul. The skies were a vibrant blue, the air was clear, and it was warm enough to only wear one layer. We hiked for about 7 hours, climbing all the way to the top but taking our damn sweet time in doing it. And, it felt GREAT. I knew I missed being out there, but I didn't realize how much until Sunday.

My hiking buddies, Matt and Sun

This sign shows the wildlife of the area. Notice the picture on the far right -- tigers lived here at one point, but have since disappeared.

Stacks of rocks populate the mountain as well. If you can add a rock without knocking over the stack, it's good luck. If you knock it over, it's bad luck.

The sounds of nature were punctuated by the sounds of baseball - Korea was playing Japan in the World Baseball Classic playoffs, so many people brought along their radios to listen as they hiked. We even saw some carrying small boom boxes! This woman was a bit more practical. Korea lost the game, unfortunately.

A man plays an ocarina to entertain hikers.

Recharging our solar powered batteries.

We spent some time sitting inside one of several temples at the peak. As I watched a woman praying, I thought about how Buddhism in Korea can be a very active religion -- not only are many of the temples located at the tops of mountains, but the prayer practice involves performing full forehead-to-the-ground bows, then coming to a full stand, over and over again. This woman was bowing the entire 15 minutes we were in the temple.

(The photos from inside the temple were taken by Matt. Mine came out blurry because I didn't want to use flash.)

Lanterns lined the ceiling of the temple. Each one is purchased, and a wish or prayer is attached. The lantern, and the prayer, remains up for one year.

Golden Buddhas lined up in perfect rows. Like the lanterns, each one is purchased, a prayer is attached, and it remains for one year.

Dozens of figurines lined up around outside the temple.

The most famous part of Gwanaksan, Yeonjuam Temple, which has perched on this ledge since the mid-600's

Shoes lined up outside the temple.

At the top of Gwanaksan, tired but happy.

After coming down the mountain, I had a serious hankering for Kamja Tang, a super spicy stew full of meat, potatoes and other wonderfulness. Totally hits the spot after 7 hours on the mountain! Luckily, we found a place serving it, and it was so lovely that I just had to take a photo.

Ah, it was a great hike. It was quite a shock to my poor legs, which have been in winter mode for so long now and didn't appreciate being forced to drag me up to the top. My calves still hurt 4 days later, but my soul felt like it had come back to life. Such is the beauty of Spring.