Seoraksan Hike

WE DID IT!!!!

What an amazing hike! There were a few moments on the way up when I had to ask myself "Holly what they heck are you doing? Are you trying to prove something? This is nuts!" I don't think I would have felt like this if I: had a flashlight, had hiking shoes, had water to drink, and had more than two hours of sleep in my body.

The above picture is my favorite one from the whole day! God's creation is truly amazing! We were surrounded by clouds all day. Let me tell you a little about how the hike went.

9:30 Friday night Kaley picks me up and we head out the door to catch a train to Yongsan Station.

11:00 We arrive at Yongsan...meet up with our group, use the bathroom and board a bus

1:30 We stop at a rest stop where we are assured we will be able to buy something for lunch for the hike...nothing was found

3:00am- arrive at Seoraksan Mountain...begin hiking...Yes folks...we started hiking at 3 am

4:00 am- begin to seriously doubt the saneness of this decision...Tired, wet, and hungry

4:30am- strap on crampons to my sneakers...yes folks I climbed a mountain in sneakers...I don't recommend it.

5:00am- fall back away from the group...my knee is protesting the STRAIGHT up climb, and my legs are cramping from the stupid crampons....OUCH! The pain is great

5:45am- Seriously doubt if I am making it to the top of the mountain let alone to see the sun rise. I was so thankful that Jong-il and Y-jay stayed with me. They were so patient and we had a lot of fun.

6:30am-the rocks, stairs, and straight upness have almost stopped...Now is it just a steep uphill hike.

6:45am-about 500 meters from the top we stop...find a clearing and watch the glorious sun! It was spectacular! I compared my pictures with Kaleys and the sunrise looks similar from 500 meters down the mountain...I was proud of myself.

7:00am-reach the top of the mountain! Kaley was waiting for me in the bitter cold...We took some pictures and then made our way down to a shelter to take a quick nap and warm up a bit.

The BEAUTIFUL Sunrise!
So many clouds!

The SPECTACULAR view....Our God is so AMAZING!!!

The Top...I finally made it. Thanks for waiting Kaley!

There was about 3 meters of snow at the top of the mountain and there were a few times I fell into snow up to my hip! It was crazy! The crampons...as annoying as they were....were 100% necessary. Even with the claws on our feet we slid down the mountain quite a bit. It was really steep in some places! Kaley caught me mid fall!~ But I still managed to smile for the camera!

This is my second favorite picture of the trip! This walking stick pretty much saved my knee! I also had a lot of fun with it...Here I am poking the mountain with my stick!

This is some of our group at the top.

The way down was almost as gorgeous as the top! There were all kinds of waterfalls and the water was super clear! There were quite a few people on the mountain but I asked Y-jay how busy it was in the summer and she said it is like hiking in a line....It is that packed. Crazy! This is our whole group minus Warren (he is taking the picture) Kaley is in the front in the red pants and I am in the back with my pink hoodie...Please note there were five women on this hike...Our total time on the mountain was about 13 hours!

We had a lot of fun. It was a great experience. I thought it would take me a long time to recover...but it really didn't. My legs were sore and of course my knee but by Monday I was fully rested and could have gone to work...I was just happy I didn't have to because it was Korean independence day. Instead Kaley and I went on an adventure to Costco with one of the desk teachers from my work. We were able to score a HUGE jar of Skippy peanut butter, some Ritz crackers, bagels, CHEESE, yogurt, and I got a camelback backpack!

This weekend we are going to see Riverdance in Seoul. I am really excited. We may also try to see Alice in Wonderland if it is out. I have posted A LOT more pictures and some video on Facebook if you are interested...

Also...Kaley and I have been watching a lot of old school movies...So far we have watched "Uncle Buck," "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," "Parenthood," "Cool Runnings," "Maid to Order," and plan to watch "The Goonies," "Three Amigos," and "The Cutting Edge." Do you have any other must see oldies? Let us know....

This was a long one....much like our hike :)

Love and miss you all

Holly