Wait...what do you mean THATS the top??

After spending all week debating whether or not we should go, Tina and I packed our bags and headed to Korea's favorite national park, Seoraksan. Seoraksan is KOrea's 3rd highest mountain, and let me tell you, you know it. Its part of the Taebeack range, one of the most important ranges in all of Kland. After a 3 hour bus ride we ate lunch. Tina and I walked around trying to find a place to buy Magkoli (my favorite refreshing beverage) to quench our thirst at the top of the moutnain of Doom. As we were broadcasting our needs, a boy claimed that he had an EXTRA bottle, cause he is just that wise, and we became buddies.
We got to the mountain and treked around for a while, and it was fairly easy. I mean, some uphill, but we're thinkin' we can take it and are beasting around.We get to some famous rock that rocks back and forth but you can't push off the cliff. Its a little over rated. Heundeulbawi seems silly, and we did try to push it, to no avail.
Push EP Pussssh!
After that we started our climb to the summit. It didn't look that far and my cocky ass was sure we got it. I didn't realize that there was between 800 and 900 steps at a 80 degree angle to climb. Try doing that with a broken hand! Once we got to the top we enjoyed our Maekgoli and sat among the mist making new friends and taking pictures. It was beautiful and worth the effort. We had some fun up on the top and generally just chit chatted, made poor decisions about barriers before scaling back down. IN Korea, going down is almost as difficult as going up, just not as steep. But we made it to the bottom triumphantly. We spent the night with our new friends drinking and relaxing in a hot pool.
Top of the mountain
The next morning we woke up early for a "Not so hard but Long hike" This was a LIE. It was 7 km, the first 1.5 was straight uphill. KILLER. AND SPIDEY FELL OFF THE TOP. It was tragic (I have since gotten a new one, but c'mon, that was the ORIGIONAL SPIDERMAN!) The rest of the hike was amazing though. We hiked through valleys that were absolutly beautiful. This area (the Oesak valleys) is probably the prettiest thing I've seen or done in Korea. The rock formations and the trickling streams were awesome. It was a beautiful trek on a beautiful day, and made me realize how much I love natural beauty.
Valleys
We ended our trip by laying in the sun and just relaxing. I have never been so sore after 2 days of hard core hiking! I understand why Koreans believe this is the most beautiful place in the country, because it may be.
Tina, me and our new badass friend Fiona in the valley

I loved Seoraksan, and am so happy to have done this!
On the Next Editions:
Zoo animals,
September 5th

Patience, Faith and Calves of STEAL,
ErinJ