A major development from the trail occurred over the last section. After 400km of trial and tribulation, Kathleen, our hiking companion, chief translator and source of feminine energy decided to call it quits. It was a bit of a shock for Mark and I, as we had not long passed the halfway mark, which for me anyway was a massive psychological booster.
As we've all learned, long-distance hiking isn't just about traipsing through the mountains everyday in a state of bliss. It's a major psychological and physical challenge. Each day you go to bed and wake-up, knowing that the kilometres are still there, waiting to be walked one step at a time. It's not over in 3 or 4 days, which is the norm for most of the tramps I've done in New Zealand. It's also not over in 1-2 weeks. It's continual and although these mountains are not high, they are brutally steep and never-ending. From every high point all you can see in all directions is wave after wave of dark green peaks, eventually merging with the horizon haze.
In Korea there are no spectacular snow-capped mountains nor pristine lakes to take your mind off the daily kilometres. More often than not you are either grinding up or methodically descending a direct path along the ridge, encased in a dappled green hue. A large portion of time is spent alone, in silence, contemplating your own thoughts. Many things bubble to the surface and can wreak havoc with your headspace. Things such as purpose, family, desires, fears, past and present all come knocking at some time. On a cold morning these little seeds of doubt begin to germinate. On the first mountain they begin to swell, on the second they want to burst desperately. On the third, fourth and fifth they start to bloom, flourish wildly, emphatically and with deadly sway. But if you can endure these temptations, see through the beauty of those petals, take the next step, see them as they are, then they will eventually, inevitably, fade away, to be replaced by the next moment. The brief relief brought of a cool breeze, the excitement of the last surge to the summit or just a quick exchange with a fellow hiker.
I guess this aspect of mental turmoil often, rather than the physical challenge of the trail, seems to break many long-distance hikers' ambitions.
From my point of view it was both sad and frustrating to see her leave, as she is one of the tougher people I know. We weren't really expecting to be in this situation and although Mark and I tried our best to convince her to stay, her mind was firm and she was ready to leave. We said our goodbyes but the feelings of having failed her somehow stayed with me for a few days. Talking about it later that morning, Mark and I both delivered the sort of emphatic and inspiring speech we each wanted to motivate her with, but couldn't deliver the day before. Could we have managed the food, rest days, pace etc any better? We decided, and Kathleen herself had told us that nothing would have changed her mind and so it is. Mark and I walked on with our new mate Ki-Jun and Kathleen headed back to Seoul.
So, Kathleen is no longer on the Baekdudaegan. She decided to return home to the States after a long time in Korea, catch up with her family and explore new options from there.
We had 28 days of good times and good memories on the trail. She was invaluable as a friend, probably saved us from burning out after 3 weeks and her language ability allowed us to sink a little deeper into the headspace of Korean society, getting past the usual 'hello's', 'goodbye's' and limited conversations typical with a language barrier. She was also unfortunately our main techno-coms component so hopefully the blog doesn't suffer too much!!
By the way, Kathleen has promised a final blog entry so I'm calling you out here haha!
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