"Life is an Adventure," tends to be the philosophy of my life these days wherever I am in the world. Whether I'm back in the United States or abroad as an English Teacher on either continent, I try to seek-out the more than the usual sit on a beach and get wasted option. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that if that's what you like to do and well sometimes its fine to do that, and I know I have done that, too, but when it comes to seeing or experiencing something new, if there's an alternative, I'd rather pick that.
When there was the invite through the tour group WINK (formerly Discover Korea) to go Rafting, Bungee jumping, and River Trekking, I had to pass this knowledge to a friend of mine first from Canada. There had to be someone/some people who wanted to experience some nature vs. human activities for the weekend. At Mud Fest, I passed the info. on to others. I text my friend Michelle (met at Judo~Juplish from Minnesota) who I know is always up for an adventure. So the group was formed within minutes.
The night before the trip, I could not sleep. I wound up getting maybe 3 hours sleep, if that. I hopped on my subways to the Apujeong terminal. I saw another expat with a back-pack (we sometimes tend to wear those when our heart is on constant travel). Turns out his name is Owen Patrick Gunning from Ireland and he too was headed to the same direction I was. Right outside the bus, I was greeted by some other friends: Barun, Andy Gray, and Stephanie Jean. Little did we know what we were about to get ourselves into.
On the bus, it was nothing but a friendly, funny bunch who came from all over the U.S., Canada, Laos, England, South Africa, Ireland, Austria, South Korea, pretty cool melting pot. Some were vocalizing their experiences at their schools, current US politics because well, us Americans we like to talk~and talk a great deal about anything/everything/nothing all at the same time~ foreign politics, Korea, etc. Nothing more than friendly banter and laughter, a great way to start the trip. Sometimes we just like to stare at each other, too and not say anything at all. :)
After some bumper-to-bumper Seoul traffic and a rest stop, we pulled into the bungee place in Inje~Gangwan-do province. That's when the heart started to pound. There's no way I was second-guessing myself. I definitely was going to try this since I have done skydiving before and well, this definitely is different in that with sky-diving you jump tandem with someone on your back; this is just you, a chord, and the ground.
After getting the straps and harnesses, we were all ready to go (or at least the ones who were doing this). While waiting on-line, Barun (Canada), Diana (Laos), and I (United States) were talking about what it is we were about to do. I read the bright yellow instructions that were mounted on the metal wall. What caught my eye was, "Look out at the mountains and think of a place." Easier said than done of course. After I gave Diana some positive reinforcement before she boarded the huge, what looked like a huge construction-crane, I was next. Once I was in the gigantic-construction-worker crane, there was no turning back. When I went skydiving, my pilot pointed out the rain clouds to me, and it felt almost rushed since we had to beat a storm to get in two more jumps from the group I went with. The weather was gorgeous and sunny and the crane took its time to get to the platform. The time came to stand on the platform, which was holy-god scary. I listened to the bungee instructor when he said, "Stand at the yellow line." I hesitated for a bit and held onto the metal bars near the entrance of the crane. "No, no, no. Stand on the yellow line." I looked down for a bit and got my feet lined-up.
"Ready," said the guy wearing an awesome beach-style hat.
"Uh huh," I said with a shakey voice.
"Put your hands up, stare at the mountains and think of a place."
My hands were up and closed my eyes to calm the nerves a bit and to think of my place.
"Ready. 1, 2, 3 jump!"
That's when I screamed my head off. After the first bounce the only words to come out of my mouth was, "ROCK 'N ROLL" and then more screaming (revert to video). It turned-out to not be so bad (of course). Every bad feeling I've had about anything was gone. Living the moment. The perfect present.
After jumping, I cheered on some others and high-five the fellow bunjee-ers. We all had a look of relief on our faces once it was done. Hunger started to kick in and it was time to head to the Yellow Restaurant (that wasn't the name, but the description of the building). Our offerings were 돈가스 (Dongas)~fried pork cutlet or 회덮밥 (hoedeopbap)~raw fish and rice. There was also kim chi (the national staple dish served at every meal~pickled/fermented cabbage), soup, and a few other side dishes. Everything was great and hit the spot. The next destination was Rafting.
Back onto the yellow school bus we went. It almost was as magical as the books are. hehe. We split into groups of 7-7-6. I wound-up in a group of 7. Our lifeguard's name was Mr. Dong. The first thing that came to mind was "The Donger" and just about every other quote involving the Donger from "16 Candles," of course not too many people seem to realize dong means shit. Before getting on the raft, we all had to do rowing, floating (in-case we fell out of the boat), and rocking practices. Mr. Dong took his oar and proceeded to splash us with it. Nick and I looked at each other and on the count of 3, we splashed him back after our training session. Yep, this was going to be an awesome rafting experience.
The group I was with was nothing more than the most spirited bunch. Rather than chant the usual 1, 2, thanks to Annie (South Africa), we started chanting KIM CHI. Then, came the other brilliant idea of SO JU and FIGH TING by yours truly. Koreans on the river were totally enjoying our chants and spirit. Naturally, we had to get into splash fights, too. It was just the nature of the beast.
After we hit the first set of rapids, Andy, Nick, Stephanie, and everyone else got wet. I flew out of my seat and landed in the floor of the raft. We were then in some calm water. Mr. Dong said we can go in. Stephanie and I both have life-guarding experience, which of course meant we swam the farthest out than everyone else. However, another batch of rapids was approaching, so we all had to swim back to the raft on top speed. Mr. Dong lifted each of us up onto the raft just seconds before we hit the next batch of rapids. Seriously.
About mid-way, was when we caught-up with the other two rafts with our group. Splash fights ensued before reaching shore. The life-guards/instructors, put the rafts together to create a huge slide. Each of us took turns running and jumping on the adult slip-n-slide (that didn't require any alcohol or nudity). We all cheered each other on no matter how fast, slow, careful, we did our tricks. Some of us, such as yours truly, did tricks like rolling-dive-jumping, rolling, cannon ball, flips etc. Too much fun and unfortunately, we had to stop and get back into our rafts.
Afterwards, it was time to hit the freezing cold showers, still not as cold Jisan Valley Rock Festival showers, but just as shivering. Time came to check-into the Pension. We pulled in to the gorgeous, scenic pension with penis statues out in-front of it. Korea is a very penis-envy society. They pride for the first son, very similar to other cultures in Asia and well, in the old-school way of thinking in the world, but that has changed for quite some time. At Jeju Island they have statues all over the island called Harubongs, when you rub their nose, you're supposed to have a boy. There's other penis sites all over the country like Penis Park, Penis Museum, and there used to be a Penis carving festival. Of course, if you have an immature mind or you do not mind the occasional perverted joke, you will laugh at any and all of these. However, the penis statues do mean more than well PENIS! They also represent fertility and good luck. The story behind Penis Park is quite unique, look it up!
Before dinner, some of us enjoyed a nice siesta, while some others hung-out at the gazebos. Dinner was spicy pork with lettuce wraps, rice, soup, and a bunch of other side dishes. Everything was fine-tasting and great. Some partook in soju (the national drink of Korea that is 30 proof, but goes down like moonshine~tastes like battery acid and its bottle looks like rubbing alcohol~same with the smell) with the bus driver. I was listening to this guy Ryan Rodgers, a fellow former journalist gone English teacher, such as yours truly, talk about Louisiana and New Orleans in particular. I wound up asking him some questions about the Katrina aftermath, etc. After watching the Spike Lee documentary that covered more facts than any news program at the time. While living in South Korea, some of that was covered, but after watching the documentary and hearing the stories, it was eye-opening. The culture in that particular state is quite unique since each section of the city are called wards, some people speak Creole, the food is phenomenal, and even though they were plagued with one of the worst disasters in North America in the last ten years, New Orleans remains strong.
Afterwards, some people hung out in the pension while others chilled by a bond fire. There we were talking about life, the universe, and everything in-between. Just enjoying each other's company. Some of the Koreans that were also staying in the pension invited us to dance around the bond fire with them. This was definitely something new. We held hands in a circle and did a dance similar to the hora (Jewish dance used for celebrations). After we circled the fire a couple of times, we clapped our hands and chanted, "We are the World." This continued for a couple more times. Then, the Koreans went to their gazebo, while our fire party continued with fireworks, drinks and fun moments.
The fun started to creep away when our bus driver decided to smack some girl's ass in our group. Ahyoung and Younga~the ones in charge of our tour~and a couple of other people from the group walked the bus driver back to his room. We were all hoping for a safe drive in the morning, since we had to be up for 9AM. Once he was in bed, the fun started with rebuilding our fire, more laughter, and dancing.
Gradually, we all woke-up to muffins and sandwich making. Little did we know, what we were about to embark on, and how our limits were going to get tested. Before we started the hike, we split-up. About four people and our bus driver decided not to embark on the river trek for whatever reasons. However, they still got to enjoy the exquisite, clear water and hang with some Korean families.
The forty-five minute hike was a grueling up-hill. We constantly had to avoid SUV's and pick-up trucks from the lazy Koreans. One guy in the group, Michael (from England), had a pair of water shoes that he recently bought. He decided to leave the label on his shoes. His reasoning was he wanted to return them after the trip. We could not stop laughing because, he did realize we were about to do a river trek and the only way he can return them was on a rainy day. ^_^
After we made it to some flat-terrain, we came to a bridge with some clear-deep water. All 18 of us realized, this was going to be the starting point for our river trek. However, before we started any of that, it was time to jump off the bridge. Now, I have no idea how high this bridge was, it was not anything like the George Washington Bridge (GWB), but one that you would come to on hikes. It was high enough that yes, you can injure yourself. Not to mention, there were plenty of rocks and a wall that if you knocked into them, ouch. The water was also pretty cold since, well, it was natural~only heated by the sun. There was also a platform on the side, which was a 1/4 shorter than the bridge. I decided to give that a try first. When I was starting my preps, Younga came up behind and scared me. I gave myself a count-down and boom-boom splash. The first thought I had from coming up from the water was, I have to try the bridge, which was not bad either. I lent some help to a few people in the group who are not strong swimmers and gladly brought them ashore. This was again, another moment, where we all kept cheering each other on. There was no pressure to do any of this. It was all by choice and great fun.
In some of the calmer part of the river, and while we were taking a rest, I noticed, in the water, there was a woman in another group struggling. Stephanie was there helping. I zoned-in and swam to assist on the other side of the woman. She clearly was going to drown because she could not swim. The gentleman she was with was not helping the situation by keeping her head in the water. Stephanie and I were gently keeping her head up as we brought her to shore. The guy, shooed us away when we wanted to try to help further. Thankfully, the woman was conscious and coughing and she coughed up water, too. However, it was important that she avoided going into shock. She could not stop shivering and shaking. But we were shooed. I doubt it had to do with the fact that we were not Korean, but that it was his way of saying, "We got this." Although, at the time, I felt annoyed in that, how can you shoo someone/anyone away who is trying to help, especially if it has to do with a life or death circumstance like that. Sometimes you just have to let that pride go!!!
After munching on some of our sandwiches, it was time to start our what was supposed to be six hour river trek. It was a perfect example of nature vs. human as we battled our way with currents, waterfalls, rocks, and a river. Some in the group, Michael and Ryan decided to ride the current like how Owen pointed out as some fish-salmon. However, we got to a cliff with a powerful current and waterfall. That's when we were flagging them down and telling them to stop. Ryan pulled himself out of the water before the falls. Michael, on the other hand, just barely made it to the side. If he took the turn and the fall, no idea if he would have been pulled under or not. The current was THAT strong.
We kept trekking, jumping off of cliffs into the water, resting, laughing, talking, helping each other up if we were struggling with the current. I taught Younga how to ride the current. All it took was keeping your feet in front of you and floating/keeping the butt up. At one of our rest areas, there was this guy Darryl (from South Africa) in the group, who we all nicknamed Obama. He was swimming underwater and so was a Korean. When their faces met, they startled each other. Another funny rest-stop moment was when Barun decided to take a nap on a rock. A Korean hiker started talking to him while he was sleeping. We all observed and laughed. The Korean guy walked over to Jae, Channey, Diana, and I and said in Korean that he should eat something before he sleeps. We just laughed and were sure to deliver Barun the message when he woke-up.
Now starts the part of the experience where it took a turn for what could have been the worst~and I don't mean that for dramatic effect and not like bungee jumping, rafting, or bridge jumping was not pushing a limit~, but what happened next was something unplanned and that the 18 of us will never ever forget nor do we blame A SINGLE PERSON for what happened. No complaints. We later on found out that the original path was flooded from the rain the week before our trip. I was walking a bit ahead of the group and we were consistently following the other South Korean trekkers. I noticed the group veered to the left into a mountainous-hilly region. I did not hear anyone say, stop, turn around, this is the wrong way. Barun and I kept going after we asked Ahyoung and Younga if this was the way to go.
Then, we no longer heard the river and that's when the questions of, "Are we going the right way" started. Our guides were not 100%, however, the Korean hikers that we were passing seemed pretty sure of themselves, so onward and upward. But upward was getting steeper and steeper as we were still able to hike. At one point, we had to walk individually in-between a tree root to get to the other side. The Koreans were starting to get skeptical. Then, it got so steep that the only option was to start climbing. We all had no idea how high of a mountain we were on, how far up was the top, will the weather hold-up, no idea. At this point, neither did the Koreans.
We started the muddy-rocky climb. This felt like something out of Lord of the Flies. While I was in-between two trees catching my breath and keeping my balance---or else (seriously), my muscles in my arms were starting to spasm. I went from being in the front to now the one lagging behind. Thankfully, Jae and Andy lagged back to help me. I knew my spasms were happening because I was feeling weak and hungry. I was really trying not to focus on this and only on the climb. The two of them, pushed me and pretty much said, we have to go on for the only reason: survival. After Jae gave me some of his sandwich, and I started to focus on the fact, I can't stay in-between two trees for the rest of my life, it was time to go up.
Andy Gray was digging his feet into the muddy areas, so it was easier for me to climb onto or drag myself. There were still my stubborn moments of please get me off this already~I want to go to bed. But Jae was keeping me up from behind when I was slipping when the terrain got so steep that if you didn't grab onto roots or rocks you would be dead. Andy kept motivating and pushing me from the front. We stayed together and got more and more excited once we heard Ryan's voice on the top saying, "This is the voice of God!" It was so relieving to hear his voice.
Now that we were on top, the only way to go is down. I was looking around at our amazing scenery. We were stuck in part of the Taebaek Mountains. It had to be over 3,000 ft. On the trek downward, and since we split-up from the group, we did not know where to go. Ryan decided to stand on a boulder to see if he can get a better glimpse. The boulder fell from underneath his feet. Andy, Ryan, and I just stared at each other in WTF shock as the boulder knocked down baby trees and thankfully no one was hurt as we were shouting in both English and Hangul (Korean)-at least I know I did of LOOK OUT! The three of us were still in a state of shock, but we had to make it down. Now started the battle of, aside from survival, but sunlight.
Going down this mountain was not any different than the hike up. One false move and that's it. I really did not mean to be the lagging one, but fear was starting to creep in. I started singing songs to ignore the sun going down, my repertoire ranging from Led Zeppelin, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Rent, anything to keep my mind away from the fact that we had to get off this mountain before dark. "She'll be Coming Around the Mountain" was also one of the favorites of the day. Thankfully, one of the other girls in the group had a lot of orange peels from earlier in the day and tied them around tree leaves, so we could find our way down~thanks group that was ahead.
While most people were walking, I did mostly sliding down the mountain. At this point, from the hike up, I was covered in dirt and well, what more could a little dirt do. Plus, my ankle was starting to bother me~not the left one, which I broke a few years ago on black ice. It started to get darker once we reached the last leg of the excruciating, unplanned mountain. Darryl was resting on a rock with an injury. He did not want us to help him, he just wanted to stay there. We all said, no, let's go, while I was telling the Koreans behind us to wait. This whole area that we were in was nothing but mud. All of a sudden, I saw a flashlight and heard a South African accent, it was Annie~she was in the group that made it to the end of the mountain hours before us. I was so happy to hear her voice. She said we did not have further to go. We could hear the river. I pushed and pulled myself to that river. All of us were thrilled to have reached it. However, we still had some more to do. Another person came-up and surprised us, our bus driver. We were thrilled to see him. I gave him a huge hug. Nick was there, too with a flash-light. Owen handed me a stick to help walk up another mini cliff near the river and Annie gave me the flashlight. We were all thrilled to see each other!
WE DID IT! WE MADE IT!! NOTHING IN LIFE MATTERS EXCEPT FOR THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU MAKE IT OVER A MOUNTAIN!! I exchanged hugs with everyone once we made it to the end of this. Koreans that were camping in the area offered us some sandwiches and snack. Life, from this moment onward is nothing but easy. The 22 of us on this trip have a bond. We are stuck to each other like glue. Until the next trip full of even more memories. ^^ So to you reading this, you know have no idea how much it means to be typing this for you. Life is not only an adventure, but a precious daily blessing everyday. Sarang-hay-o (I love you)!
When there was the invite through the tour group WINK (formerly Discover Korea) to go Rafting, Bungee jumping, and River Trekking, I had to pass this knowledge to a friend of mine first from Canada. There had to be someone/some people who wanted to experience some nature vs. human activities for the weekend. At Mud Fest, I passed the info. on to others. I text my friend Michelle (met at Judo~Juplish from Minnesota) who I know is always up for an adventure. So the group was formed within minutes.
The night before the trip, I could not sleep. I wound up getting maybe 3 hours sleep, if that. I hopped on my subways to the Apujeong terminal. I saw another expat with a back-pack (we sometimes tend to wear those when our heart is on constant travel). Turns out his name is Owen Patrick Gunning from Ireland and he too was headed to the same direction I was. Right outside the bus, I was greeted by some other friends: Barun, Andy Gray, and Stephanie Jean. Little did we know what we were about to get ourselves into.
On the bus, it was nothing but a friendly, funny bunch who came from all over the U.S., Canada, Laos, England, South Africa, Ireland, Austria, South Korea, pretty cool melting pot. Some were vocalizing their experiences at their schools, current US politics because well, us Americans we like to talk~and talk a great deal about anything/everything/nothing all at the same time~ foreign politics, Korea, etc. Nothing more than friendly banter and laughter, a great way to start the trip. Sometimes we just like to stare at each other, too and not say anything at all. :)
After some bumper-to-bumper Seoul traffic and a rest stop, we pulled into the bungee place in Inje~Gangwan-do province. That's when the heart started to pound. There's no way I was second-guessing myself. I definitely was going to try this since I have done skydiving before and well, this definitely is different in that with sky-diving you jump tandem with someone on your back; this is just you, a chord, and the ground.
After getting the straps and harnesses, we were all ready to go (or at least the ones who were doing this). While waiting on-line, Barun (Canada), Diana (Laos), and I (United States) were talking about what it is we were about to do. I read the bright yellow instructions that were mounted on the metal wall. What caught my eye was, "Look out at the mountains and think of a place." Easier said than done of course. After I gave Diana some positive reinforcement before she boarded the huge, what looked like a huge construction-crane, I was next. Once I was in the gigantic-construction-worker crane, there was no turning back. When I went skydiving, my pilot pointed out the rain clouds to me, and it felt almost rushed since we had to beat a storm to get in two more jumps from the group I went with. The weather was gorgeous and sunny and the crane took its time to get to the platform. The time came to stand on the platform, which was holy-god scary. I listened to the bungee instructor when he said, "Stand at the yellow line." I hesitated for a bit and held onto the metal bars near the entrance of the crane. "No, no, no. Stand on the yellow line." I looked down for a bit and got my feet lined-up.
"Ready," said the guy wearing an awesome beach-style hat.
"Uh huh," I said with a shakey voice.
"Put your hands up, stare at the mountains and think of a place."
My hands were up and closed my eyes to calm the nerves a bit and to think of my place.
"Ready. 1, 2, 3 jump!"
That's when I screamed my head off. After the first bounce the only words to come out of my mouth was, "ROCK 'N ROLL" and then more screaming (revert to video). It turned-out to not be so bad (of course). Every bad feeling I've had about anything was gone. Living the moment. The perfect present.
After jumping, I cheered on some others and high-five the fellow bunjee-ers. We all had a look of relief on our faces once it was done. Hunger started to kick in and it was time to head to the Yellow Restaurant (that wasn't the name, but the description of the building). Our offerings were 돈가스 (Dongas)~fried pork cutlet or 회덮밥 (hoedeopbap)~raw fish and rice. There was also kim chi (the national staple dish served at every meal~pickled/fermented cabbage), soup, and a few other side dishes. Everything was great and hit the spot. The next destination was Rafting.
Back onto the yellow school bus we went. It almost was as magical as the books are. hehe. We split into groups of 7-7-6. I wound-up in a group of 7. Our lifeguard's name was Mr. Dong. The first thing that came to mind was "The Donger" and just about every other quote involving the Donger from "16 Candles," of course not too many people seem to realize dong means shit. Before getting on the raft, we all had to do rowing, floating (in-case we fell out of the boat), and rocking practices. Mr. Dong took his oar and proceeded to splash us with it. Nick and I looked at each other and on the count of 3, we splashed him back after our training session. Yep, this was going to be an awesome rafting experience.
The group I was with was nothing more than the most spirited bunch. Rather than chant the usual 1, 2, thanks to Annie (South Africa), we started chanting KIM CHI. Then, came the other brilliant idea of SO JU and FIGH TING by yours truly. Koreans on the river were totally enjoying our chants and spirit. Naturally, we had to get into splash fights, too. It was just the nature of the beast.
After we hit the first set of rapids, Andy, Nick, Stephanie, and everyone else got wet. I flew out of my seat and landed in the floor of the raft. We were then in some calm water. Mr. Dong said we can go in. Stephanie and I both have life-guarding experience, which of course meant we swam the farthest out than everyone else. However, another batch of rapids was approaching, so we all had to swim back to the raft on top speed. Mr. Dong lifted each of us up onto the raft just seconds before we hit the next batch of rapids. Seriously.
About mid-way, was when we caught-up with the other two rafts with our group. Splash fights ensued before reaching shore. The life-guards/instructors, put the rafts together to create a huge slide. Each of us took turns running and jumping on the adult slip-n-slide (that didn't require any alcohol or nudity). We all cheered each other on no matter how fast, slow, careful, we did our tricks. Some of us, such as yours truly, did tricks like rolling-dive-jumping, rolling, cannon ball, flips etc. Too much fun and unfortunately, we had to stop and get back into our rafts.
Afterwards, it was time to hit the freezing cold showers, still not as cold Jisan Valley Rock Festival showers, but just as shivering. Time came to check-into the Pension. We pulled in to the gorgeous, scenic pension with penis statues out in-front of it. Korea is a very penis-envy society. They pride for the first son, very similar to other cultures in Asia and well, in the old-school way of thinking in the world, but that has changed for quite some time. At Jeju Island they have statues all over the island called Harubongs, when you rub their nose, you're supposed to have a boy. There's other penis sites all over the country like Penis Park, Penis Museum, and there used to be a Penis carving festival. Of course, if you have an immature mind or you do not mind the occasional perverted joke, you will laugh at any and all of these. However, the penis statues do mean more than well PENIS! They also represent fertility and good luck. The story behind Penis Park is quite unique, look it up!
Before dinner, some of us enjoyed a nice siesta, while some others hung-out at the gazebos. Dinner was spicy pork with lettuce wraps, rice, soup, and a bunch of other side dishes. Everything was fine-tasting and great. Some partook in soju (the national drink of Korea that is 30 proof, but goes down like moonshine~tastes like battery acid and its bottle looks like rubbing alcohol~same with the smell) with the bus driver. I was listening to this guy Ryan Rodgers, a fellow former journalist gone English teacher, such as yours truly, talk about Louisiana and New Orleans in particular. I wound up asking him some questions about the Katrina aftermath, etc. After watching the Spike Lee documentary that covered more facts than any news program at the time. While living in South Korea, some of that was covered, but after watching the documentary and hearing the stories, it was eye-opening. The culture in that particular state is quite unique since each section of the city are called wards, some people speak Creole, the food is phenomenal, and even though they were plagued with one of the worst disasters in North America in the last ten years, New Orleans remains strong.
Afterwards, some people hung out in the pension while others chilled by a bond fire. There we were talking about life, the universe, and everything in-between. Just enjoying each other's company. Some of the Koreans that were also staying in the pension invited us to dance around the bond fire with them. This was definitely something new. We held hands in a circle and did a dance similar to the hora (Jewish dance used for celebrations). After we circled the fire a couple of times, we clapped our hands and chanted, "We are the World." This continued for a couple more times. Then, the Koreans went to their gazebo, while our fire party continued with fireworks, drinks and fun moments.
The fun started to creep away when our bus driver decided to smack some girl's ass in our group. Ahyoung and Younga~the ones in charge of our tour~and a couple of other people from the group walked the bus driver back to his room. We were all hoping for a safe drive in the morning, since we had to be up for 9AM. Once he was in bed, the fun started with rebuilding our fire, more laughter, and dancing.
Gradually, we all woke-up to muffins and sandwich making. Little did we know, what we were about to embark on, and how our limits were going to get tested. Before we started the hike, we split-up. About four people and our bus driver decided not to embark on the river trek for whatever reasons. However, they still got to enjoy the exquisite, clear water and hang with some Korean families.
The forty-five minute hike was a grueling up-hill. We constantly had to avoid SUV's and pick-up trucks from the lazy Koreans. One guy in the group, Michael (from England), had a pair of water shoes that he recently bought. He decided to leave the label on his shoes. His reasoning was he wanted to return them after the trip. We could not stop laughing because, he did realize we were about to do a river trek and the only way he can return them was on a rainy day. ^_^
After we made it to some flat-terrain, we came to a bridge with some clear-deep water. All 18 of us realized, this was going to be the starting point for our river trek. However, before we started any of that, it was time to jump off the bridge. Now, I have no idea how high this bridge was, it was not anything like the George Washington Bridge (GWB), but one that you would come to on hikes. It was high enough that yes, you can injure yourself. Not to mention, there were plenty of rocks and a wall that if you knocked into them, ouch. The water was also pretty cold since, well, it was natural~only heated by the sun. There was also a platform on the side, which was a 1/4 shorter than the bridge. I decided to give that a try first. When I was starting my preps, Younga came up behind and scared me. I gave myself a count-down and boom-boom splash. The first thought I had from coming up from the water was, I have to try the bridge, which was not bad either. I lent some help to a few people in the group who are not strong swimmers and gladly brought them ashore. This was again, another moment, where we all kept cheering each other on. There was no pressure to do any of this. It was all by choice and great fun.
In some of the calmer part of the river, and while we were taking a rest, I noticed, in the water, there was a woman in another group struggling. Stephanie was there helping. I zoned-in and swam to assist on the other side of the woman. She clearly was going to drown because she could not swim. The gentleman she was with was not helping the situation by keeping her head in the water. Stephanie and I were gently keeping her head up as we brought her to shore. The guy, shooed us away when we wanted to try to help further. Thankfully, the woman was conscious and coughing and she coughed up water, too. However, it was important that she avoided going into shock. She could not stop shivering and shaking. But we were shooed. I doubt it had to do with the fact that we were not Korean, but that it was his way of saying, "We got this." Although, at the time, I felt annoyed in that, how can you shoo someone/anyone away who is trying to help, especially if it has to do with a life or death circumstance like that. Sometimes you just have to let that pride go!!!
After munching on some of our sandwiches, it was time to start our what was supposed to be six hour river trek. It was a perfect example of nature vs. human as we battled our way with currents, waterfalls, rocks, and a river. Some in the group, Michael and Ryan decided to ride the current like how Owen pointed out as some fish-salmon. However, we got to a cliff with a powerful current and waterfall. That's when we were flagging them down and telling them to stop. Ryan pulled himself out of the water before the falls. Michael, on the other hand, just barely made it to the side. If he took the turn and the fall, no idea if he would have been pulled under or not. The current was THAT strong.
We kept trekking, jumping off of cliffs into the water, resting, laughing, talking, helping each other up if we were struggling with the current. I taught Younga how to ride the current. All it took was keeping your feet in front of you and floating/keeping the butt up. At one of our rest areas, there was this guy Darryl (from South Africa) in the group, who we all nicknamed Obama. He was swimming underwater and so was a Korean. When their faces met, they startled each other. Another funny rest-stop moment was when Barun decided to take a nap on a rock. A Korean hiker started talking to him while he was sleeping. We all observed and laughed. The Korean guy walked over to Jae, Channey, Diana, and I and said in Korean that he should eat something before he sleeps. We just laughed and were sure to deliver Barun the message when he woke-up.
Now starts the part of the experience where it took a turn for what could have been the worst~and I don't mean that for dramatic effect and not like bungee jumping, rafting, or bridge jumping was not pushing a limit~, but what happened next was something unplanned and that the 18 of us will never ever forget nor do we blame A SINGLE PERSON for what happened. No complaints. We later on found out that the original path was flooded from the rain the week before our trip. I was walking a bit ahead of the group and we were consistently following the other South Korean trekkers. I noticed the group veered to the left into a mountainous-hilly region. I did not hear anyone say, stop, turn around, this is the wrong way. Barun and I kept going after we asked Ahyoung and Younga if this was the way to go.
Then, we no longer heard the river and that's when the questions of, "Are we going the right way" started. Our guides were not 100%, however, the Korean hikers that we were passing seemed pretty sure of themselves, so onward and upward. But upward was getting steeper and steeper as we were still able to hike. At one point, we had to walk individually in-between a tree root to get to the other side. The Koreans were starting to get skeptical. Then, it got so steep that the only option was to start climbing. We all had no idea how high of a mountain we were on, how far up was the top, will the weather hold-up, no idea. At this point, neither did the Koreans.
We started the muddy-rocky climb. This felt like something out of Lord of the Flies. While I was in-between two trees catching my breath and keeping my balance---or else (seriously), my muscles in my arms were starting to spasm. I went from being in the front to now the one lagging behind. Thankfully, Jae and Andy lagged back to help me. I knew my spasms were happening because I was feeling weak and hungry. I was really trying not to focus on this and only on the climb. The two of them, pushed me and pretty much said, we have to go on for the only reason: survival. After Jae gave me some of his sandwich, and I started to focus on the fact, I can't stay in-between two trees for the rest of my life, it was time to go up.
Andy Gray was digging his feet into the muddy areas, so it was easier for me to climb onto or drag myself. There were still my stubborn moments of please get me off this already~I want to go to bed. But Jae was keeping me up from behind when I was slipping when the terrain got so steep that if you didn't grab onto roots or rocks you would be dead. Andy kept motivating and pushing me from the front. We stayed together and got more and more excited once we heard Ryan's voice on the top saying, "This is the voice of God!" It was so relieving to hear his voice.
Now that we were on top, the only way to go is down. I was looking around at our amazing scenery. We were stuck in part of the Taebaek Mountains. It had to be over 3,000 ft. On the trek downward, and since we split-up from the group, we did not know where to go. Ryan decided to stand on a boulder to see if he can get a better glimpse. The boulder fell from underneath his feet. Andy, Ryan, and I just stared at each other in WTF shock as the boulder knocked down baby trees and thankfully no one was hurt as we were shouting in both English and Hangul (Korean)-at least I know I did of LOOK OUT! The three of us were still in a state of shock, but we had to make it down. Now started the battle of, aside from survival, but sunlight.
Going down this mountain was not any different than the hike up. One false move and that's it. I really did not mean to be the lagging one, but fear was starting to creep in. I started singing songs to ignore the sun going down, my repertoire ranging from Led Zeppelin, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Rent, anything to keep my mind away from the fact that we had to get off this mountain before dark. "She'll be Coming Around the Mountain" was also one of the favorites of the day. Thankfully, one of the other girls in the group had a lot of orange peels from earlier in the day and tied them around tree leaves, so we could find our way down~thanks group that was ahead.
While most people were walking, I did mostly sliding down the mountain. At this point, from the hike up, I was covered in dirt and well, what more could a little dirt do. Plus, my ankle was starting to bother me~not the left one, which I broke a few years ago on black ice. It started to get darker once we reached the last leg of the excruciating, unplanned mountain. Darryl was resting on a rock with an injury. He did not want us to help him, he just wanted to stay there. We all said, no, let's go, while I was telling the Koreans behind us to wait. This whole area that we were in was nothing but mud. All of a sudden, I saw a flashlight and heard a South African accent, it was Annie~she was in the group that made it to the end of the mountain hours before us. I was so happy to hear her voice. She said we did not have further to go. We could hear the river. I pushed and pulled myself to that river. All of us were thrilled to have reached it. However, we still had some more to do. Another person came-up and surprised us, our bus driver. We were thrilled to see him. I gave him a huge hug. Nick was there, too with a flash-light. Owen handed me a stick to help walk up another mini cliff near the river and Annie gave me the flashlight. We were all thrilled to see each other!
WE DID IT! WE MADE IT!! NOTHING IN LIFE MATTERS EXCEPT FOR THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU MAKE IT OVER A MOUNTAIN!! I exchanged hugs with everyone once we made it to the end of this. Koreans that were camping in the area offered us some sandwiches and snack. Life, from this moment onward is nothing but easy. The 22 of us on this trip have a bond. We are stuck to each other like glue. Until the next trip full of even more memories. ^^ So to you reading this, you know have no idea how much it means to be typing this for you. Life is not only an adventure, but a precious daily blessing everyday. Sarang-hay-o (I love you)!
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