Hallasan in solitaire

In retrospective, the idea of hiking a mountain of almost 2000m above sea level, on a remote island in a foreign country, by myself, seems a bit crazy. Maybe I was, even though I went through some light preparations long beforehand during that summer (hiked twice). So on the D-Day of the hike I could no longer turn back and put all my expectations and excitement to waste.

I booked a cab the night before. packed my backpack (a 2L water bottled, 2 brownies, a Ghana chocolate bar, 3 bananas, flip flops, bandaids, dynamo headlamp, whistle), and set my alarm for 4:45am. I slept through the alarm on Wednesday morning at 5:15am, showered and dressed in 15min and waited for the taxi that never came for 5:30am. So I walked out in the early morning that was still the night, and hailed a taxi on the main road.

For 20000KRW he agreed to take me to the beginning of the Seongpanak trail on Hallasan. As the car drove through sleepy villages and started to go up into forest territory, it dawned on me that although I had 2 phones with me, I didn't know the emergency service phone number! Thoughts like "what if I disappear like this, abducted" or "what if something terrible were to happen?" haunted me during the 30min ride. I tried to keep my composure as someone confident who knew what i was doing and trying to keep busy with the phone pretending to send text messages to my imaginary freinds waiting for me at the trail.

When we arrived at the trail entrance, there were a few cars in the parking lot. There was a building with light inside, but the single person inside just waved at me to go ahead. I was left to myself in this vast wilderness and as the clock showed a few minutes after 6:00am and dawn was timidly showing its early lights on the horizon, I transferred the water into the camel bag, threw the bottle away, and wore my headlamp to start my foray in the dark and conquer Hallasan through the 9.7km trail.

The thick forest was very quiet and relatively dark. The trail was clearly marked with ropes on each side, and made of light gravel or planks of wood. On the side of the trail, emergency call booth with location number could be seen every 20m or so. This was very reassuring in knowing this was a well monitored trail. As I started to be at ease, I could hear the silence of the forest as there was no birds chirping yet or leaves rustling with the wind. In the stillness of the morning, the sound of a bumble bee or a fly would be deafening. It was comfortable as there was no wind, no sun, and the path was easy to walk on, with only the sound of my footsteps and breathing to break the silence.

Shortly before 7:00am, I was startled by a deer munching close to the trail, maybe 5m away. I stopped to breathe, tried to take a photo without flash, and waited for it to notice my presence and leave. It was  magical encounter after I had spent 1h on my own with the consciousness of being the sole creature in the reduced universe of the forest.A light fog completed the fairy tale setting.

The encounter put a smile on my face. But a few minutes later another thought quickened my pace and heartbeat :"what other (scarier) animals are there in this place?". It was interesting that my thoughts were so loud. And so my senses heightened as everything in the forest seemed to awake: minute sounds of rustled dead leaves, flights of the early birds, the scraping of my backpack against my back, etc...Eventually I had to consciously block my ears to ignore the sounds and not stop at every sound to check out what it was. After all I had a deadline to reach a destination and stopping to listen was only met with dead silence mot of the time.

I had to read the shelter before noon in order to have a chance to get to the summit, and so I walked on, waving away the occasional buzzing bug. I was aiming a minimum pace of 2km/h (about 10km to do in 5h max), having started early and not wanting to be out of breath yet. The Seongpanak trail was not very steep for the first 5km. As dawn finally broke information posters showed up on the side of the trail, indicating hiking progression and difficulty level. They were very encouraging and mentally prepared me for the steep sections ahead.

As the day progressed and I got used to the peace and calm outside and inside myself for 3h, rythmed by the regular breathing and footsteps, around 09:00am a disturbance came in the form of over hikers. I wasn't annoyed because they were a couple of middle aged hikers (50-55 year old maybe?) but because they overtook me so easily with nods and smiles, without loosing their breath.I was disturbed because I had someone ahead and there was a temptation to break my pace and catch up to them or follow their pace. So I needed extra focus on my breathing and pace. I needed to last the day, not to be first.

Some other hikers overtook me shortly afterward and even engaged conversation, asking "honja?" which I guessed meant "alone" or "by myself". I nodded and they smiled and I eventually came to my senses and explained I was left behind my friends who were ahead of me with a sudden fluency in Korean (+sign language), as my brain suddenly went overdrive and remembered all the vocabulary gathered passively while watching kdramas.

After the first 6km labelled as easy, the gravel and wooden plank disappeared to reveal a trail made of stacked boulder and narrow crevasses to climb through. The real exercises had started and frequent stops were needed to catch up breath, drink water, and admire the gradual change in landscape. More people overtook me and after more than 1h of struggling with almost boulder climbing, my thighs started to be sore. After a proper sit down to eat chocolate and replenish some energy after 4h hike, I resumed the hike step by step, meter by meter until I arrived at the gravel and wood planks trail again, and oh so above the tree tops and clouds.

As bushes and high grases replaced the tall trees, I was happy to wear a hat as the sun started to warm up. Out of nowhere a whole group of people started to arrive behind me and overtook me in a blitz. They were a group of teenagers (17-19 probably) on a school trip, and 80% male. Watching them run up the stairs with just a small bottle of water was astonishing. I sighted like an 80 year old woman nodding at the energy of youth displayed. Older folks wore gloves and full hiking equipment. I could not bring my walking stick but managed to keep my pace and not be disturbed by the crowd ahead or overtaking me. I briefly wondered how long it took them to hike so far as I was starting to reach my 5th hour.

As the summit got closer, and the air rarer, even the bushes became scarce and only rocks and grass could be seen on each side of the path. A helicopter was making trips to being the planks of wood and materials needed to repair the trail.At a certain part the trail had no path and one had to rock climb with chords nailed on the rocks.

On the other side of the island, a city (maybe Jeju city?) and the sea could be seen below cotton clouds.

Finally after 5h07min climb, I arrived at the summit short breathed, with my feet bloated and hurting, and starving. The feeling of victory, achievement, and relief could not be described and my mind shutdown to safeguard the memory of the previous struggle and to capture that exhilarating feeling of being on top or arrived at  destination.

The kids around me were eating their boxed lunch that looked hearty and yummy (rice and banchan/side dishes), while I sat down for a rest, took off my shoes, put on bandaids and wore my flip flops, and unpacked my brownies, bananas and chocolate bar. The view was from another world and I could not wish for more at that time.

After 30min resting and taking pictures with the help of other tourists (there were a few from overseas, like Australia), it was 11:30am and I had to face the climb down. I planned to take the Gwaneumsa trail and try to avoid the crowd.

 

 This trail allowed me to see the profile of the crater and to go through at least 3 valleys on the way down. It was a bit steeper in general than the Seongpanak trail, and there were several parts where it was necessary to climb out of the valleys as well. 

The trail down was prettier as well as the mountains and vegetation seemed very luxuriously green and rich. maybe it was the food in my stomach and the excitement that embellished everything I saw from that moment. I was hoping to finish the trail in 3h but it was more difficult and more painful than expected.

One oversight was the fact that it was warmer in the afternoon and there were little shades during the first half of the trail on the way down. Water was running low and the steep slope was taking a toll on the knees and ankles, especially on the part of the trail that had loose gravel or small rocks. Only the wooden plank trail was comfortable as I did not need to focus on where to step on and stabilize my ankles. I caught myself saying out loud "I hate rocks".

After a few hours coming down steps and rocks walking in the valleys on hanging bridges or river beds was a nice change of pace and rest the knees and thighs. Sometimes I had to sit down as my feet were shaking so much from the effort.Even climbing up from the valleys was welcome to use different muscles. I was still getting overtaken by the kids, rolling down the moutain at full speed, running with the music blasting from their backpacks.

The second half of the trail was under the shades of the tall trees, and had some geological, flora and fauna information posters near some viewpoints. After 3h going down from the summit I started to meet hikers on their way up, on their afternoon leisure hike. It gave me hope that the end of the trail would be close.

 As more teenagers overtook me, I heard them encourage each other saying that there was only 1-2km left until the end. I was glad I could count in Korean until 5 to be encouraged by that good news. Somehow going down the mountains did not lift my spirit as much as the hike up. It felt more like a desperate trip to get home by sunset. I did not take into account the fact that my body would be tired and exhausted after 5h hike, and had a difficult time to survive another 4h of physical effort. All my energy was focused on breathing, standing, staying focused on putting my foot on stable ground. Should a dangerous encounter had happened, I had no reflexes left to flee or react..

The trail finally ended on a huge parking lot, and there was a 711 across the stree. I took off my shoes and wore the flip flops again to air my smashed toes, and drank a bottle of chocolate milk and a fruit juice to get fluids and sugar in my system. There was a bus stop on each side of the road but they didn't seem to be any bus running that day, or maybe it was too late. The next bus stop was 40min walk away! There were 4-5 taxis near the 711 and they wanted 20000KRW for Jeju airport or 35000KRW for Seogwipo. I went to Jeju airport and took the counter clock limo for 5000KRW.

I arrived at the hotel for 18:00 and managed to get a sunset view of the Seogwipo bay, and pigged out from local food from the nearby restaurant : seafood, ramen, with no concern for what it was. Then I showered and crashed, somewhat planning for the next day. But my body was numb and only sleep could help.

A mini trek to Seongsan Ilchulbong, or Sunrise Peak

Although the recommended course is to trek the Sunrise Peak to check out the sunrise from high above, I was not in top form to wake up before dawn 2 days in a row. So on Tuesday morning, the alarm went off at 7:00am again and I had noone but myself to blame for wanting a full day. By 8:00am I was showered and dressed and trying to engage conversation with a different receptionist of the hotel to get some information on how to get to Seongsan Ilchulbong. It didn't help that he spoke very little English and that I could not pronounce the name witht eh right accent. Fortunately 2 other Malaysian young tourists were headed the same way and had a better pronunciation than myself. So the receptioninst managed to point out on the map where it was (with Korean characters) and where the bus terminal was so that we could catch a bus.

By 8:10am, the 3 of us walked uphill in the direction pointed out, passing by a convenient store where I topped up my T-Money finally and grabbed breakfast, orange juice, and a bottle of water. The 2 ladies were staying for 4 days in Jeju and were enjoying their 2nd day. They apparently went to the Jeju Loveland the day before and were kind of freaked up by the amount of couples wearing couple outfits there (no surprise there) as well as the displays as well. So they bought a couple tees...HAHAHA. They also walked through the Jungmun resort, the Teddy Bear museum, and the Ripley's Believe it or Not.

At the bus terminal I impressed the green couple tees Malaysian girls by speaking in Korean to buy the tickets (even understood the price!) and eventually revealed my secret weapon: the phrasebook. Another couple of ajhummas showed us the bus stop since it apparently didn't have a number and didn't depart from the bus terminal. Instead it had a bus stop along the road.  At 8:40am and right on time, the bus 600 showed up, debited my T-Money and drove around counterclockwise around the island. The same ajhummas walked us to the Seongsan Ilchulbong trail entrance an hour later.

The peak appeared against a backdrop of morning clouds, and flaked with a parking lot full of tourist coaches. For 9am I found the place a bit crowded.

I lost the 2 Malaysian girls while I was taking the entrance ticket.

There were hoards of tourists from China, Japan and children on school-trips.The procession of visitors appeared like an ant trail on the flank of the mountain. The path was paved and delimited with ropes, with beautiful green grass and the blue sea on the sides. I was dressed with long sleeves and walking shoes since I planned to hike anyway, but other visitors were in flip flops, breezy dresses flapping ridiculously in the wind, high heels, sandals. Some even carried their babies out of the strollers. As the path became steeper, the trail became a two way path: one side for going up and the other side to come down. It was really a head to butt procession. Stopping to turn around and take picture was an inconvenience and blocked the whole procession. The view was pretty though, with a pretty contrast of colour.

There were places where only one person could go through between rocks or at a sudden turn in the path. Even for experienced hikers, the climb took longer than 15min due to the crowd. At the top of the peak, the traill ends in a wooden terrace over the crater.

It was difficult to get the full circle 3/4 circle of the crater given the wide angle needed, but it was very pleasant to be dried by the strong wind and the whooshing of the long grass in the crater. There were more schoolchildren taking a rest and sitting on the stairs while a guide or a teacher were trying to lecture them on something lost in the wind.
After 15min trying to imprint the sight in memory and taking in the wind, sun and smell of the crater, it was time to trek back down, moved by the wave of people climbing down. It was impressive to see the landscape and the crowd below.

The path split to the right towards the black sand beach besides the peak. It was on that beach actually that they usually hold the show about the female divers that harvest abalone in apne. There was a little hut to rest and wash up and a great view of the sea and black rocks with their own weird wild fauna. While walking on the black sand, I found out there were all sorts of crawly things quickly moving everywhere so I was soon creeped out and climbed back to the wooden path.

Then it was time to continue on my tour of the island, after grabbing an onigiri and dried meat snack from the street vendors catering to tourists. I caught the same bus counterclockwise as soon as I arrived to the bus stop, and my volcanic rock day continued...

Getting ready for a short trip to South Korea

I have finally resolved myself to take some time to reminisce and share my experiences during my trip to South Korea. Fortunately, I kept a daily journal, knowing that the brute force of reality when coming back is usually the biggest memory eraser.

This trip was the result of curiosity towards the culture on the peninsula, but also a sort of a check towards my fascination towards Japan. When wondering why I like and enjoy Japan, it was interesting to ponder whether it was South East Asia that attracted me or specifically Japan. Sure, I enjoyed Indonesia in 2008, but the country was not really the subject of my trip as it could have been any place.

Planning the trip was rather necessary as I took sudden fancy of the country but had no idea where to start. I invested in the Lonely planet book for Korea, which includes info on North Korea as well, and read it from cover to cover. Then I re-read it again with colourful post it bookmarks, while trying to make a selection of sights I absolutely didn't want to miss.

DESTINATIONS

The railpass wasn't worth if for the duration of my stay (~10days) and my Korean language skills were nil (despite an investment in a small phrasebook). If I wanted to do all I wanted to do, I needed a plan.

Given the amount of local attractions (gastronomy, landscapes, mountain sceneries, natural parks, palaces, temples, etc..) it took a while to decide on a theme but I finally decided on visiting cities of the old 3 kingdoms (Silla, Baekje, Goguryeo), and some UNESCO World heritage temples along the way. Elements considered when making the choice? Historical dramas (The great Seer, Warrior Baek Dong-Soo, Queen Seo Duk) related to the kingdoms, popular kdramas (Reply 1997, Personal taste) and also kvariety shows (Running man, 1N2D) highlighting the regions.

Finally, lured by the challenge, I planned to hike Hallasan, the highest peak in South Korea, located on the honeymooners' haven island of Jeju, south of the peninsula. After all, it was a good opportunity to be by the ocean and visit some kdrama and kmovie landmarks.


All in all, the destinations were set, as well as the means of transportation (plane from Busan to Jeju and back to Seoul, as well as trains to the various cities). The hotels were booked as well through the very efficient and useful Korea Tourism Office. Activities onsite was left to the improvisation.

BUDGET
Regarding the budget, I wasn't sure how to manage the currency. The main expenses were already done before the trip in term of booking and ticket purchases. I kept Euros and Swiss Francs in cash for emergencies and planned to buy a plastic card (T-Money) for pay as you go metro tickets, convenience store purchases and even taxi. I was a bit worried it would only work in Seoul but at least I would save some cash in Seoul.

An additional planning consisted in booking the train tickets ahead to benefit from the foreigner's discount on Visit Korea year.The site has free buses, train tickets discounts (10%) information and bookings.

Armed with much expectation and excitement, my trip began on a sunny September day...

The end of summer at Mont Blanc

The high temperatures of August are becoming memories, and rain and wind are welcoming September. It is on this day that Darja and I are going to Mont Blanc. Yes, as if the landmark were an easy destination next door. I needed a bit of convincing from the other ladies to go, since I am in no shape to go climb some ice walls and walk in neck deep snow...all that in above 3000m altitude.

In fact, it turns out there is a relatively mundane access from Chamonix Mont Blanc. On today's weather, it is very cloudy and rainy, or snowy above 2000m, so we really didn't expect to claim the peak. Nevertheless I woke up at 6am again to go to the airport and wait for the shuttle she booked. After grabbing some breakfast at the arrival terminal, we had to wait for the other passengers. It was a bit strange to wait for a plane to land when you were not expecting anyone.

Instead of leaving at 8:15am, we finally drove off shortly before 10!!! In the van, someone had flown from Washington DC, some from Ohio...I was missing my bed...

We were dropped off in front of the funicular to the Aiguille du Midi at around 11am, and we checked the visibility from the webcams (none), the price and schedule, before wandering in Chamonix to get a feel of things and decide whether or not to go up there. Eventually we took our tickets and hopped on a rather full funicular.

We left the world of colour for a trip towards a thick, fluffy, silent fog, and ended up in a world where white prevails.

There are 2 funiculars to take, and on a clear day, there are many trails worth taking after the first funicular. But we were having a special day and visibility was not optimum and snow made every trail slippery. So we just aimed for the top of the funicular to get to the Aiguille du Midi, appearing in front of a shy white sun.

After taking in the effect of the altitude, and getting frozen by an mini blizzard, it was time to grab lunch. We first settled in the local cafeteria, but soon got ejected since picnic was forbidden. So we ate safran rice, bananas, dried figs, tomatoes, more rice and lots of tea in the funicular waiting room, while watching real brave climbers returning from their forays into the glacier, all dressed in red and wearing killer boots and brandishing spikes...ahem.

For digestion, we first climbed up to the souvenir shop, bought some postcard and settles on the bench outside the toilet to write our memories on the cards. A group of Japanese tourists (hum, I wasn't even surprised) assembled in front of us, after we let or seat to an old couple from Tokyo. We chatted a bit and they were impressed. I was more impressed I was getting more comfortable understanding either Japanese or Korean. It was funny how the tour guide took attendance by calling out everyone's names before setting out. I discovered that each group member had a headset, and the tour guide had a microphone and a radio to describe things instead of yelling out loud her surroundings. Of course, that also meant the members could disperse and wander about freely, to then regroup at her command. It is definitely more discreet that the usual umbrella holding or strange item holding to lead the group.

After we posted our cards, we ventured outside and took more photos of the different landmarks, enjoying the surreal presence of the fog everywhere we looked.

And because there was no visibility, we got to visit the actual construction on top of the Aiguille du Midi for free. There was first a small museum of mountaineering which was showing the different old apparels and tools used to build the funiculars into the rock,  then a short corridor carved into the rock leading to the elevator.  Once outside the elevator, more wind and snow awaited us, as well as the litle sign (unfortunately next to the rubbish bin).

After all the cold, we found a room with huge photos of the mountain chain, like giant postcards mirrorring what was outside the huge bay windows.

We could have stayed longer but it was already past 3pm and we still wanted to walk around Chamonix. So with a last look at the bright snow outside, we set out on our journey downward, across the poetic, magic fog. The trip down to town was as crowded, and we played soundtrack quiz to pass the time while being crushed to pulp in an over-packed metal box hanging from a metal cable over a growing snowy mountain.

Back at healthy breathing altitude, I was horrified to find out more runners were still trickling to the finish line of the ultra trail of Mont Blanc. Those people started running the previous night around 7pm, and were still thriving to get back to this finish line! We walked along the stream, meeting some runners on their way to the finish line, and we applauded them like every viewers. We even cheered for an unknown Japanese runner, only identified as such by the small Japan flag on his backpack. All in all they were all thin, dirty with mud, carrying 2 walking sticks, a backpack and bottle, a surely a dose of mental strength.

We just found a spot to walk on the dirt, and resume our chitchat about the different dramas we had watched.

As evening started to fall in Chamonix, we walked along the shopping street one more time, looking for a cozy coffee shop to rest and wait for our shuttle back. We found this cozy wooden shop in front of the funicular, and chatted about past lives for an hour before hopping into the van again and head back to Geneva airport. A look back provided us with a great view of the Mont Blanc and the Glacier.

Let's hike! My survival trip to 2000m

And so I woke up excited to start my first ever hiking trip. I bought comfortable shoes that cost me a kidney and 2h deciding, a 22L backpack that has back ventilation, middle pocket and more, lots of hiking pants, and a walking stick. For sure they were not only for this day, but also for future hikes and the trip in September. I even got a 2L camel bag.

A&S picked me off at 7:45am on a beautiful cloudless morning. We then picked up Lily as well an drove to France towards Bernex. In the car we talked about fainting, accidents, first aids and many more scary things. We could see our destination from afar: la Dent d'Oche. Although I was anxious, I brought enough to survive in case I decided to get lost: Swiss knife, 6 cereal bars, 2L water in the camel bag, first aid kit, a dynamo torch lamp, my fully charged mobile, an apple, 2 packs of tissues, my VT  fleece jacket,  a change of pants (one of the hikers pants), and a walking stick. I was probably missing the emergency flares....

Two other couples joined us and I had to relieve myself on the parking lot before starting on the path that was more has 20% sloped upward with rocks. They warned me the first part was difficult. I huffed and puffed and used my old lady cane as best I could, stopping every so often but advancing nonetheless. The boys were having a  chat while walking behind me, while I was struggling and focusing on where to put my foot next.

After the rocky slopes under the shades of pin trees, we finally emerged onto a valley between 2 beautiful green sloped mountains, where cuddly cows were ringing their bells merrily and refreshing my numbed mind.

We had to go through electrified fences, more rocky paths to finally get to a water point, almost 1h30 after our start from the parking lot. The water was so fresh I washed my head until I got a brain freeze. We had climbed about 400m and it was decision time for the group: go straight for the peak and eat there or go for the lake, have a meal and split there.

So we went for the meal first, and 2h later we were eating at about 500m from where we started.

During the meal, I reasoned that I would also try for the peak since I've been thus far, and also because there would not be another opportunity to go for it: just thinking back at the huffing and puffing would surely not motivate me to come back!

So after a short lunch break where everyone took off their shoes to asphyxiate innocent mountain fauna an flora, we were back on our feet, and climbing hard for the other 500m. We met many other trekkers running down the mountain after seeing the top, and encouraging me. It was more difficult since I wasn't as fresh, and although i coul manage my breath, I was afraid my legs would give in. But I made it to the 2000m to see the lake and Montreux on one side, and the Alps and Mont Blanc on the other side, surrounded by cute mountain goats.

The peak was still out of reach but we soon headed for it,  only to be told back by the boys that it was too dangerous and that even they would not go through. So we got back down the mountain disappointed, but also happy to go back and enjoy the walk down. Our enjoyment soon changed into pain as our toes were taking our weight in the downward slopes. At least there was no way of getting out of breath.

The guys came across the path to climb to the peak form another side and went for it. We ladies came down to the water point to rest and get refreshed before returning to the parking lot with the promise of ice cream. We eventually saw the guys giving signs on the peak and starting to walk down the mountain. So we left as well, arguing that they would catch up with us anyway. And sure enough when we got back to the pine forest, there they were!

We took an easier path down to the parking lot, and exchanging the trekking shoes for flip flop made it so worthwhile! Some hike for the view, some hike for the challenge of going to the top, and some hike to feel that relief of taking your shoes off...I hiked to test the equipment I bought at first, but also glad to have accomplished such a seemingly impossible task for me.

Relaxing around an ice cream cup each, they told me they were impressed I didn't give up because it was a difficult trek for a beginner. I was a bit vexed because the thought never crossed my mind. But it also reminded me how strong I can be despite my initial fears: if I take it slowly, catch up my breath and have enough water, I can do it.

We all yelled at A for tricking us into doing this hike, since she told us she did it with her mom. We also joked that the next days would be the most painful days...But the memory of the view is soothing enough...I might not have been to the 2100m top, but reaching 2000m after a 1000m altitude hike was my first hiking achievement.

I have started training and I will hike more...next month:P
I got home at 8pm, showered and crashed into a deep sleep.