South Korea

I woke up very early the next day, took my shower and went out to find the bus stop. It was still very dark and cold. I waited for a bit and got on the bus. I tried to get whatever rest I could but I was quite nervous. I didn't know what to expect since it was gonna be my first time hiking in snow. I arrived at the trailhead, a bit lost as to where the entrance was since I couldn't see a thing but I followed where the people were going and found the starting point.

I was now hyped, ready to go and started a good pace going up, there were a lot of stairs and I found myself taking breaks every now and then but maintaining a steady momentum. The sunrise started and gave me much needed sight, illuminating the dark forest and casting silhouettes on the trees, it was quite a sight to behold. After an hour or so of constant uphill, patches of snow started to appear. The soil was slowly being covered up as I went higher and higher. It also started to feel a bit of the fatigue from the all the climbing but I was also excited as I wanted to see more snow. I passed a few stations, eating my sandwiches along the way. Halfway through the hike, I realized I wouldn't be able to find food or rent snow shoes at one of the stations. Seeing the signs that warned not to proceed without those spikes on your shoes would be perilous. Now, I wasn't just going to go up and turn back so I decided to push for it and continued onward through the now winter wonderland landscape of Hallasan.

It definitely got harder as I found myself slipping on the slippery ice and snow, it took its toll on my body more as I had to really grip hard on the rope to support myself going up while others passed by me seamlessly. This continued on for a long time with some flats in between. The final stretch was soon in front of me, there were soldiers also doing the hike but they were simply running through it like it was nothing. As for me, the wind blared and the cold felt like a slap on my face, I clutched on the rope and did my best to put one foot forward and the next, slipping a bit each time. Eventually, I did make it to the top. Here, the wind was at its most fierce. I didn't have much time to celebrate until the cold started to seep in my body, so I tried to see as much of the crater and summit as I could, I asked an old man to help me take my picture as I climbed over the fence to get the best angle possible and I hurried down.

Downhill was also quite difficult for me, I was tired and very hungry. I certainly did not bring enough food. I managed to get to a view point and begged a middle-aged man for some food and got some kimchi gimbap from him. I was overjoyed, this could keep me going for a while. Another guy overheard my predicament and also offered me some chocolate, which I accepted without hesitation. The kindness of strangers have filled me up and I found myself cruising for a bit more, encountering the chocolate guy several times in various resting points. I have also devised a way to go down at a much faster and easier pace: sliding through the snow. As I laid my butt and pushed, I flowed like water downhill, saving my legs from a lot of fatigue and downhill pressure. I continued to do this for who knows how long, there was a close call where I ended up gaining too much speed and crashed a couple of times, having to grab at some branches or rope. There was one incident where I literally stopped myself before sliding off the cliff. It was at this point that I made the wise decision of stopping this tomfoolery and to just walk. Walking also proved to be challenging with the slippery snow and ice and my shoes were not made for it at all, especially going through narrow cliffs. I wonder how many lives I would have lost if not for my sheer dumb luck.

Soon, the snow started to pave way to mud and it was back to good old soil. A very welcome terrain after such a hard experience. I was glad the worst was behind me, there were beautiful rivers flowing, some caves by the valleys and lush vegetation again. The only problem was some paths had such spikey rocks, it made it so hard and borderline painful to just walk. I kept at it for so many hours, losing my gloves somewhere along the way as I stopped by several resting points. My legs were aching and I was very hungry again, eventually I made it to the exit and headed straight to the bathroom. Finally, it was over and I still had much time to spare.

I decided to head to Gwaneumsa Temple by walking since it was close by. I dragged my crying legs to more uphill slopes until I reached the temple grounds. Just walking a few meters would already tire me out and I took every opportunity to just rest and sit down. The temple grounds itself was amazing, the main attraction was a giant golden Buddha surrounded by hundreds of stone statues. I explored the place a bit more and waited for my bus back to town, praying I got the right one as there was no English at all and I just had to rely on comparing the Hangul on a Korean map app. Fortunately, it was the right one.

I really wanted to go to an onsen to finish the day and wash away the fatigue but since I had some time, I tried to go to Jeongbang waterfall. The journey itself was still several kilometers of walking, and my tired legs were not happy about it at all. It was a trip not worth taking though as I found out it was closed when I arrived at the place. I went to the bathroom and sat down and planned my next route to a bathhouse which was on the way back to my hostel. I arrived at the bathhouse and stripped down and got in. I was surprised with Korean bathhouse culture because there was a guy just using his cellphone while in the bath. In Japan, this would have been totally illegal. I let the hot water wash away my fatigue for a while before heading out only to find out my shoes were stolen. This was really a huge blow for me as now I had no shoes. They were also brand new, a gift from my parents. It was thermal and weather proof, and I only got to make use of it a few times. Really unfortunate, the lady called her son-in-law and we spoke on the phone a bit but at that point I had lost hope already. They gave me a cheap but new pair of shoes. I went ahead and went back to my hostel with a broken heart but still the show had to go on as I had one more day.Read more