Hiking Mt. Bukhan

As the weather's getting nicer (it's been hovering in the 40's and 50's the last two weeks!!), Jeff and I have decided to start hiking.  Can't think of a better way to take advantage of the spring, enjoy the outdoors, and get our muscles moving. 

Korea has many accessible small to mid-size mountains, and we found the perfect one just two hours from home!  Given that the snow is still melting, it was a bit muddy at times, but I'm proud to say that I fared much better this time around than when we tried to descend the ski resort path. 

We looked online to find which subway station to get off at, and then literally just followed the line of middle-aged hikers in their neon hiking gear to find the trail.  Hiking is an extremely popular pass-time for older Koreans, so you're pretty much guaranteed to find a mountain if you just follow behind a group with hiking poles and The Red Face (not to be confused with The North Face) hiking gear.  

We attempted to take a picture of a sign with the park map, as there were no paper maps to be found anywhere, but it was so crowded with Korean hands pointing this way and that, that it wasn't very helpful to us.  So... Plan B.

 
It was quite simple, really:

1. Walk in an uphill direction. 
2. Eat lunch at some point.
3. Make it back down before dark.

And it worked beautifully!

We managed to hit a couple peaks (like I said, they're not overly large mountains), traversed up a cool rock formation, and ended our hike at a Buddhist temple.  To be fair, we also encountered some chickens!  Not timid creatures.  They've clearly seen their fair share of hikers. 

Our 2nd time seeing mountain chickens!

A quick picture snuck at the temple.

A quick note about the rock formation:

The trail was narrow.  We were quite high up.  Jeff and I enjoyed a leisurely time resting atop the formation after clambering up to a safe spot.  When we decided to head back down, we had to wait patiently as a whole crew of people blocked the trail on their way up.  The line got a bit stopped-up when a young American military man fearfully (yet, still laughing) clung to the rocks and bellowed, "How am I gonna jump from a helicopter if I can't do this?!  I'm going to have a heart attack, hahaha."  As he crouched and regained confidence, buddies laughing at him all the way, a Korean ajoshee (a man about fifty or so years old) waltzed right past him, skirting the outside of the trail, and sporting a grin that clearly stated it was 'no big deal'.  After being passed up in such a breezy fashion, the military man took a minute to hang his head in a good-natured fashion, and then hastily scrambled up the rest of the rock.  The whole mountaintop had a good laugh.  

Bucket List - East Asian Medical Clinic

So, we've all had that painful experience where you sneeze so hard that you throw out your back.  Wait.  No we haven't.  Because that's crazy.  That's ridiculous.  Sneezes should not throw out backs.  Nonetheless, it's what happened to me five days into my two week vacation.

 

It was early in the morning, and I was just finishing up with breakfast.  As I bent down to put the milk in the mini-fridge, I felt a sneeze coming on.  Not wanting to sneeze directly onto all of the food, I turned just slightly.  

Somehow, the combination of my stiff morning muscles, a slight twisting motion, and a rather powerful sneeze (the beginning of a cold, I'm just now seeing the tail-end of) made it so that I couldn't fully straighten back out.  

As I stood, hunched over with my hand on my lower back, Jeff entered the room.  

What happened?!

Given that this happened within three seconds of his inquiry, I had no time to formulate a legit story that didn't embarrass me.  So, I told him the truth. 

I sneezed. 

After some laughter, we both realized it was actually kind of serious.  Standing and walking weren't bad.  Sitting up with perfect posture wasn't too bad, either.  The transition between standing and sitting, and sitting and laying down was a bit difficult, however.  More to the tune of excruciating, actually.  And extremely time-consuming.

Remembering Jeff's excellent experience with acupuncture, we decided to go to the oriental doctors who worked their magic on his back.  (He managed to throw his out in a much more legit way a few months back.)  

 

  

The clinic we went to used some rather curious instruments on me.  The experience began with me laying down on a bed - quite difficult in the condition I was in!  I was warmed by a heating pad beneath my neck, a heat lamp hovering above my feet, and a clay pot of boiling leaves resting on my stomach.  (The chimney-looking thing is exactly what it looks like.  It was a chimney that helped suck up the steam from the boiling leaves.)  After about 15 minutes of this, the doctor came back with the needles.  Eight to ten needles were placed in various places, from my ankle, heel, toe, wrist, finger, and knee.  I sat like that for about 15 minutes.  Then they came back and had me turn over onto my stomach.  (Once again, not easy!) They then attached electrified suction cups to my back which shocked/massaged my muscles for another 15 minutes.  More needles were placed along my spine and in a particularly knotted section of my back, and I rested like that for another 10 to 15.  When it was all said and done, the doctor came back, rubbed cooling lotion onto my back, and asked me to sit up. 

Jeff's experience - nearly fully range of motion.

My experience - nothing changed.

This hour long procedure did seemingly nothing for my back.  Though, I won't count it as a total loss because I found it rather fascinating.  It was on my bucket list to try oriental medicine and/or acupuncture while here, and now I get to check that off my list.

Jeff was disappointed to hear that I had no relief from my pain... but we shortly got a little insight into why that might be.  Apparently the doctor he saw, located in this exact building and office number, had moved locations.  The doctor I was seeing was brand new.  So brand new, she gave me an umbrella as a grand-opening gift. 

 

Update: 

The next day, I decided to try a different, more hospital-like clinic that a friend suggested.  I had x-rays done (a bit intense, if you ask me!), more heating pads, more electrified suction cups, and more cooling gel.  Still, no improvement.  

The next day, they had me return to use the stretchy-outy machine pictured below.  It was decorated with pictures of astronauts and some Korean literature flashing the words USA CERTIFIED and something about NASA.  This should do the trick!  Two hours later, after the standard heating pad, electrified suction cups, a short massage, the stretchy-outy machine, and some more cooling gel... I decided to give up.  Still no improvement.

I stopped by a pharmacy that night and picked up a $3 cooling pack for my inflamed muscles.  I figured another couple of bucks wouldn't hurt too much after spending over a hundred on everything else.  And you know what?!  I felt a lot better in the morning.  Sleeping with my penguin pack on my back became my favorite way to relax for the next few nights.  Each morning, feeling better than the last.

Sometimes it's the simplest option that works the best.

 

Just What the Doctor Ordered

Jeff and I have been trying to incorporate more beef into our diets.  Well, for that matter, we've been trying to incorporate anything and everything rich in iron or B12 into our diets. I feel that things got taken to the next level after a trip to the foreign market, however.  I half-jokingly pointed out a can of liver spread to him and mentioned that it had a good reputation for iron content.  I did not, however, think that he would subscribe to it.  I cringed at his excitement to pick up a can and give it a try.  Within a day, he had toasted some bread, "fluffed" the canned liver, and adorned the snack with mustard.  I, acting like a three year old, sniffed at it and pushed the plate aside.  After a little prompting, I decided to pretend it was medicine and try my hardest not to smell or taste it.  To my surprise, though, it wasn't bad.  As in, not bad at all.  I'm not going to rant and rave about it, but I also won't put up such a fuss about eating it the next time it shows up on my plate.  The consistency reminded me of tuna fish.  The taste... didn't remind me of anything at all.  Perfect, as far as I'm concerned! 

Ski Resort Day 2 (Continued): The Way Down

 

Now it's time to discuss how Jeff and I managed to get back down the mountain.  Remember, this hike was originally going to be a leisurely "stroll around the parking lot."  That turned into a walk up a winding drive.  Which consequently turned into an off-road adventure through the snow, up, up, up a mountain path.

The real adventure set in when we decided to turn around and head back down.  Oh man.  The nearly non-existent tread on my Ugg boots was fully caked with snow at this point.  Let's also make it known that the snow was so iced-over that our steps were hardly creating footprints in the snow.  At least, they were not creating indentations on the top portion of our hike down.  The path was a little more worn in and churned up as you made it to the lower parts of the trail.  

As Jeff so elegantly put it, "Heading back down the mountain [was] pretty tough when your boots have the traction of plates duct-taped to your feet.

How do you remedy such poor hiking conditions?  You give up and laugh your butt off!  After falling for about the 50th time, (sometimes gracefully, sometimes not... usually with a thud, if I'm being honest) I decided to slide.  I crouched down, feet flat to the ground, arms trailing behind me for balance, and let gravity work it's magic.  I managed to make record time!  It was absolutely incredible, haha.  And SO MUCH FUN.  Thankfully, Jeff used his body as a barricade between me and some of the ill-placed trees that I would periodically make a bee-line for.  He also used his body as a roadblock so that I wouldn't continue sliding all the way down the side of the mountain when the path got particularly twisty.  How I didn't manage to knock him off his feet, I have no idea!

As we came closer to the trail entrance, the path got more bumpy and chopped up by footprints.  My super awesome method of sliding down the mountain wasn't working quite so well, anymore.  Balancing on my own two feet and walking down the mountain wasn't working quite so well, either.  

At Jeff's suggestion, I maintained a death-grip on his backpack, and let him sled-dog me the rest of the way down.  My feet were going every which direction, but at least I was moving forward and not continually tipping over.  

I have NO IDEA why he wasn't having any problems.  Literally, none, haha.  He was just plodding along, steady as ever, patiently watching my chaos and ever willing to lend a helping hand.  Even with me hanging off his backpack, swinging too and fro, his steady gait couldn't be deterred.  

Below are two pictures of me before I decided to give in to the ice gods, lower my center of gravity, and use my boots as sleds.  At a snail's pace, I would hop from tree to tree, trying my hardest to stay vertical.  (The pictures truly don't do it justice!)

 

As difficult and sweat-inducing as all of this was, it was by far my favorite part of our ski trip.  I haven't laughed so much and so hard in quite a while!  And, believe it or not, Jeff is still willing to take me hiking again in the future!

Ski Resort Day 2: The Hike Up

On day two of our ski resort stay, we were feeling a bit tired, so we opted out of renting another set of skis and lift tickets.  Instead, the plan was to go on a little walk before reading and relaxing with a cup of coffee and hopping on the bus back home.  The weather was up in the high thirties / low forties again, so we just couldn't turn down the opportunity to be outside.  Even just a quick walk around the parking lot would do...

But of course, a quick walk around the parking lot led to us finding a little winding drive going up the mountain.  On the way up this winding drive we saw a deer!  A real, live deer!  Wildlife in Korea that isn't a mosquito or a magpie!  Jackpot.  :)  We saw the deer, and then later some little deer footprints. 

Continuing up this small drive led to a small enclosure of farm animals.  Two small enclosures, actually.  Not really sure what they were doing there, but we stopped for a little bit and listened to their squawks.  Tried to squawk back, and aimed to get the perfect picture.  Geese (I think), bunnies, roosters, and chickens were all happily coexisting.

As we wandered around the end of the drive, looking at the animals and out at the mountain scene, we noticed a small foot path through the snow.  Why not continue on, eh? 

And so we did!  Despite our less-than-ideal choice of mountain hiking foot gear, we decided to trek around in the snow.  It was gorgeous! We even managed to break a sweat.  Below are a few pictures of the field at the base of it all with beautiful tall... um... grasses?  What are those things called?  Reeds?

 

The bottom right picture shows a rather unimpressive view of the skiing area.  We're already a ways up our little hike, so the slopes in the distance look less impressive than they actually were. 

As we continued up, the hike got progressively more treacherous for my non-treaded Ugg boots.  No worries, though, right?!  We had all morning...

Thank goodness Jeff has the common sense to know to give yourself a fair amount of time to get back down.  As my next post will show, it was a rather tricky feat to get back down the mountain and onto the bus on time!

Ski Resort Day 1: Night Skiing!

Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort 

Recognized for its size and safety by the International Ski Federation (FIS), Welli Hilli Park (formerly Sungwoo Resort) is equipped with half-pipes and boardwalks that meet the size qualifications for international competition. Its FIS certification and variety of facilities has made it a popular destination for serious snowboarders.

The resort offers 19 slopes ranging from bunny slopes to black diamond courses and a mogul course to maximize fun and thrills. The Fun Park, the largest of its kind in Korea, offers more than 10 facilities including a C Box, X Box, and Wall Box for snowboarders to practice their tricks. 

Courtesy of:  http://english.visitkorea.or.kr

First of all, this was a fantastic trip!  Jeff took two days off of work (of which I already had scheduled vacation time) and treated me to a birthday skiing adventure!  We left early on Monday morning for the subway and following bus ride that would take us east to our ski resort.  

The bus dropped us off a tad bit early, so we had a few hours to enjoy hot coffee and an impressive view of the slopes while we waited for our room to open up.  As we gazed out into the mountain scene, I commented on the size of the hills.  Now, Wisconsin is flat, you see, and that's the only place I've ever skied.  I searched for the bunny hill, but I couldn't find one.  I mentioned my intimidation and was met with Jeff's, "if you're intimidated, I'm terrified!"  Haha.  He didn't show his fear, but he informed me that the few times he has hit the slopes (quite a while ago) weren't the most successful or graceful experiences.    

We spent another part of the afternoon searching for a decently-priced hat and mask for me since I managed to leave home without both.  As you can see from our picture, we certainly looked the part of avid, super-cool skiers...or not, haha. 

  

Finally, somewhere around 7pm (it was a long, confusing process trying to get our skis, boots, and lift tickets!), we began our downhill adventure!  We stood in awe of the hills and full of confusion as we tried to interpret the map.  Yes, the runs were color-coded, but the Korean explanation of what each color meant wasn't overly helpful to us.  We decided to trust our eyes and simply looked for the hill with the gentlest angle.  

Jeff's plan was to stay on the bunny hill for much of the night, and given how icy the snow was (it had warmed up, melted, and refrozen recently), I was perfectly content to join him.

In Wisconsin, there are things called bunny hills.  On the Korea Tourism website, it stated there were bunny hills.  In Wisconsin, the bunny hills are small and equipped with a rope tow.  In Korea (typically underwhelming, in my experience),  at this particular ski resort, the "bunny hill" was equipped with a four-person chair lift.  This was a VERY LARGE bunny hill.  

After building up our resolve and courage, we found flat ground and snapped our boots into our skis.  Let me reiterate, we were on flat ground.  That did not, however, stop us from sliding right through the line-up area for the lift, and nearly sliding past the loading dock.  The lift operator practically had to catch and stop us so we could board.  Based off of our smooth sailing so far, I decided to give Jeff and I plenty of space when it came time to depart the life.  (Haha, fantastic typo I noticed upon re-reading this.  I intended to say, "depart the lift."  "Life" seems somewhat fitting, though, too.)   When I say this, I mean that I moved to the far side of the bench lift so that there were two empty seats between us.  He informed me later that I somehow still managed to ski over the back of one of his skis as we scrambled to get off, haha. 

After a little wobbliness on both of our parts, we made it down our first slope unscathed!  Something magically clicked for Jeff, and it turned into the best night of skiing he's ever had!  Our third time down the hill, another beginner skier managed to make like a bullet for Jeff's shoulder... he was fine, but she definitely felt the impact.  We decided to move on up and try to find a slightly more difficult, less crowded run.  

There was another area marked with the same color on the map that we decided to try.  We hopped on the ski lift closest to our destination, and quickly became concerned.  This ski lift was an upgrade from the last one- it was a fully enclosed lift meant for going higher up on the mountain.  We had a leisurely few minutes as we continued to go up, up, up.  As we went up, up, up I began to feel scared, scared, scared.  We were going quite high up, and the runs below us were looking beyond steep.  Hardly anybody was even on them!

Jeff and I made a swift decision to stay within the safety of our enclosed lift, and ride it right back down to the bottom, haha.  Well, kind of.  Our curiosity ended up getting the best of us, and we decided to take a quick tour of the lodge located at the top of the mountain before hitching a ride back down on the lift.   Jeff attempted to open the door as we prepared ourselves, our skis, and our ski poles (we later realized they should have been attached to the ski compartment on the outside of the lift, not jumbled inside the small space with us).  The door, however, did not budge.  He tried again, a tad more frantically.  Still, it was locked tight.  So... back to plan A, we would stay on the lift and ride it back down.  And back up, and back down... until our door decided to cooperate.  As our little bubble lift approached the platform, the brilliant engineering kicked into gear, and the door opened for us.  Apparently it's locked shut as a safety precaution while over the open slopes, and only opens once in the safety of the loading dock.  Ok, disaster averted.  Feeling a bit sheepish, we looked about and realized that the less intimidating hill we were searching for was, in fact, located all the way up there.  It managed to wind its way down the backside of the mountain, and make for a quite enjoyable run!  About midway down, you could even see the lights of a nearby town - the magic of night skiing!

We did this run a handful of times before deciding to call it a night due to frozen toes and shutting down lifts.

The view from our room, a beautiful...

parking lot.  

Ah well, you can't win 'em all. 

The room was quite nice, though!

Can You Tell We Live in Asia?

Jeff has been in Korea for a half a year now, and I'm going on somewhere around 18 months!  It would be a lie to say the culture has had no effect on us.  We both eat kimchi, we both give and receive items with two hands, we both give slight bows when entering or leaving a building, and we both invade people's personal space without flinching.  

But would you believe me if I said our lack of chair usage wasn't a result of being in Asia?  Granted, many Koreans do not use sofas or chairs... or even beds... but that is not why we've opted to use folded up blankets instead of the chairs we so awkwardly placed in the middle of the room.  You see, we both have a tendency to sit on the floor, regardless.  Ask our parents, our college roommates, whoever knows us best.  I have to admit, the floor heat used in our Korean apartments helps make the floor all the more inviting on a cold winter day! 

Wait... I take that back.  The floor heating makes the ground level more inviting at my house, but not at Jeff's.  He's a bit more cost-efficient and uses a "heat fan" instead of the hot water pipes underfoot.  That would be a more accurate explanation of why the blankets are folded up so nice and thick, and why both piles of blankets and books are accompanied by our much-appreciated slippers.  His floor is chiiilllly!