I ate a breakfast nearly identical to the previous night's dinner and got packed up and ready to go. There were plenty of others up, making breakfasts that seemed to be much more elaborate than any meal at 3:30am should be, but when it comes to hiking, among other things, Koreans tend to do things full on. This includes spending all day hiking, dressing head to toe in hiking specific gear and equipment even for casual hikes, hanging banners all around trails, and preparing the above-mentioned unnecessarily large meal even if it means hauling around pounds of cooking gear and side dishes.
Cheonwangbong, South Korea's highest mainland peak, and second highest peak after Hallabong on Jeju Island, is at 1,915 meters (6,284 feet). That's about thiiiiis much shorter than Mount Washington. The peak was a 1.7 kilometer hike from the shelter, up and over one peak, and then up again. Eric and I were one of the first hikers to start up the trail, as we needed to give ourselves as much time to get there as possible. We didn't want to wake up very much on the wrong side of dawn to get to the show late. Nevertheless, we were soon being passed by other hikers, Dan and Dave included, on our way up the first peak. It didn't make it easier that the wind was absolutely tearing at us on the exposed ridge. I really thought for a second that the wind could hold me up if I started to lean into it. It wasn't quite that strong though. I didn't think Eric was gonna get over the first peak a couple times, but he made it, and as the trail went down the east side of the mountain, we got shelter from the wind which was still howling like an angry banshee. A particular group of Korean hikers would pass us, and then we would pass them as they rested, and then they would pass us again, and the process would continue. Even though Eric and I were hiking slowly, at least we were maintaining a consistent pace.
On the way down the first peak, we could see the headlamps of the hikers ahead of us, those farther down the peak we were on, and beyond, those farther up Cheonwangbong. This was actually one of my favorite sights on the hike. I could see the lights bobbing as each hiker took each step, and I could see their lights follow their eyes as they looked from side to side, and up and down. Apart from their lamps, it was still pitch black, but all the hikers were spaced out like a scatter plot so that I could see the line of the trail. It turns out that the two lights in the very front, nearly to the peak as I was watching them, were Dan and Dave. After making our way slowly down, and then once more up, where, from just below the peak, I could see the scatter plot of even more numerous lights behind and below me, we finally met up with Dan and Dave on the top. I could see that the dawn had begun to break on the far side of the peak, but the sun was still yet to be seen due to all the clouds. Dave was in his down sleeping bag, shivering and trying to take shelter from the wind, which was brutal. They had been the first ones on the peak, and had been there a half-hour prior to Eric and mine's arrival.
The peak was rock and jagged and exposed. It began to fill up with hikers like bleachers as the light grew. Still no sign of the sun, but this was common. The day before, Eric and I were talking with a Korean hiker who said he had tried to see a clear sunrise three or four times unsuccessfully before he gave up on it. We could see our breath when we managed to find a protected nook where the wind wouldn't rush it away. I scrambled here and there trying to take a good photo and keep myself warm, but only partly succeeded at both. As the sky continued to lighten, with still no sign of the sun, we decided to pack up and hit the trail. After we managed to get around the crowd, just before we left the peak, the sun showed itself and was welcomed by everyone clapping and cheering, probably because now they knew it actually was coming up and would eventually get the chill out of their bones.
We all started the hike down together. Today we had all day. We passed the time by naming actors and trying to think of ten movies they had been in. Eric and I did this the previous two days, and Moise had come up with this time-killer the previous weekend in Seoul, and it was surprisingly fun. At one bend in the trail there was a piece of paper with an arrow taped to a rock, pointing down a little side trail. A Korean guy said god-knows-what and guided me and Dan down the little trail, but Dave and Eric opted to keep walking. Their loss. It turned out that we were led to an outcrop of smooth rock over a small river valley. The leaves looked to be in prime color, and there was a long, sloping rock that a little waterfall slid down. The colors were much more pronounced and vibrant today than they were just two days ago, on our fist day when Dan pointed out one solitary tree of bright red across a short valley. I don't know if the foliage was different on this eastern side of the park, or if two days is really enough time for a remarkable change in colors, but Dan noticed the difference too. It was a very nice time to be on a mountain.
After our detour to the viewpoint, we met up with Eric and Dave across a bridge. I realized at this point that I wouldn't be able to wait to the end of the hike to take the shit I had been feeling I had to take over the last couple hours. You know you really have to shit when digging a hole behind a fallen tree in the middle of the woods feels like a luxury.
Dan and Dave once again took off at their own pace while Eric and I moseyed on down the trail, which seemed to be unnecessarily difficult, snaking up and down the top of the little stream valley rather than just following the stream down at an even grade. Oh well. I was eventually bored and fed up with seeing candy-bar wrappers and soju bottles here and there on the trail so I attached one of my trash bags to my waist and picked up trash as I went along. This had the dual benefit of making me feel good about myself and matching my pace more closely with Eric's.
We got to the bottom of the trail forty minutes after Dan and Dave. We still had some walking time ahead of us to get to Daewonsa, the official end of the trail, and then beyond, to my motorcycle and the bus stop. When I dropped my bike off at this side of the park three days ago, I considered leaving it right at the trail head so I could leave instantly at the end of the hike. Then I thought that might be kinda cold, to take off and let the others walk on to the bus stop, so the bus stop is where I left it. The topic of conversation between Dan and Dave and I was Gorilla Burger. Gorilla Burger is easily the best burger place in Daegu, and from all I can tell, in Korea. Our mouths were watering at the very thought of it, and I knew I had the sole privilege among us to be able to eat there today. If we got to the bus stop for them to make the 4:30 bus, which I figured we would, I could be home in Daegu within four hours, which meant I could be eating an Oasis Burger by 9:00pm.
It was close, but we got to the bus stop in time, with Dave scurrying ahead like he didn't give a shit if the rest of us made it or not. Eric was still lagging on the pavement, but he made it on time too. It was annoying that he was so physically unprepared for the hike, but in the end I was proud of him for sticking through it, even though on the top of a mountain you don't have much of a choice but to keep going. I'm sure that he won't be doing something like this again, but I'm also sure he'll remember the trip and the fact that he finished something that he had thought he couldn't. The trip home, as beautiful as on the way there, though I was much more tired, took even less time than I thought it would. I had devoured a plate of chili-cheese fries and an Oasis Burger well before 9:00, after I arrived at home, unloaded my stuff and took a much needed shower.
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