Mission Impossible

This weekend I met up with Bethany in Seoul and we took a four hour bus ride to Sokcho, a really nice city on the northeast coast of Korea. It was beautiful...mountains on one side, ocean on the other. I would really like to go back when it is warm and hit up the beach. Anyway, our purpose for the trip was to hike Soeraksan, the 3rd tallest mountain in Korea and supposedly the most difficult hike. We arrived in Sokcho at ~1:00 am Satuday morning and awoke at 6:00 sharp. Unfortunately it was raining...and kept raining. Since we had come so far we decided to try the climb anyway. We dressed in lots of layers and hopped on a bus to the base of the mountain (well, to the side of the closest highway). When we got to the info booth at the bottom the guy looked at us and said..."impossible." He went on to tell us that there was heavy rain, it was a difficult hike, it would take us 7 hours, that we didn't have proper gear, etc. (Sidenote: when Koreans hike you would think they were climbing Everest. They are always decked out in hiking clothes, big backpacks, and trekking sticks. hehe.) He was so concerned that he wasn't even going to let us go! We explained to him that we had come so far and that we were going to hike the mountain no matter what. After about 10 minutes we finally talked him in to letting us go by saying we were only going to go a little ways. The hike was quite intense; the first kilometer was so steep and didn't have any flat areas to even rest for a little while. Sadly, the clouds were so low that after about 15 min. we were in them and couldn't see what I'm sure were breathtaking views. We did, however, see beautiful fall colors all around us, take in lots of fresh air, and get a great workout. After 2 hours, we were halfway up the mountain we arrived at some waterfalls, the air was getting cold very quickly and the rain began to mix with snow. Not to mention that the rocks were quite slippery. Everyone coming down was warning us about the conditions ahead. We had to decide whether or not we would go to the peak and stay at the shelter, or turn around and go back to our warm hotel room. We decided for the hotel and headed back down. I definitely want to try again in better conditions.

After the hike we grabbed some lunch at went the the "bus station," which was actually a little convenience store, and waited for the 3:35 bus. At 3:30 we headed outside to the side of the highway. Buses in Korea are basically always on time so we thought it a little strange when so much time was passing without it coming. We were still damp from the hike and were freezing just waiting! Finally, one of the other girls waiting for the bus went inside and learned that the bus wasn't coming for another half hour. She and her friend, who were Korean girls about our age, flagged a taxi. We told them we were going to Sokcho too and shared a cab. Between the four of us it ended up being cheaper than taking the bus, they dropped us off right at our hotel, and we got back in 20 min. instead of 50!

On Sunday morning we wanted to get up early and watch the sunrise over the East Sea; but, we woke up and...you guessed it...RAIN! We walked to the beach anyway and took a few pics before catching the bus back to Seoul and then home. All in all it was a good trip because it was fun to hang out with Bethany. We've already made plans for her to come visit me in 3 weeks for Thanksgiving!

Pictures from Sokcho/Soeraksan (the last 30 of the album are new)