Day 1: Setting Forth

Course: Jungsan-ri--Mach-eon-ri

Distance walked: 15km 

It didn't take long to meet our first obstacle on the trail. When we arrived in Jungsan-ri on April 26th to the base of the trail's first mountain, Cheonwangbong, we were informed by the National Park rangers in Jirisan that due to the prevelance of forest fires during this time of year, the first 42 kilometers of the trail were closed. We could climb Cheonwangbong, but the course to Nogodan would not open until May 1st. We hadn't even started yet and we were already met with a fairly major roadblock. While slightly disappointed, Rob and I had both done the course previously and the three of us were unwilling to wait until May 1st to get started, so we made the decision to climb over the mountain, hike around Jirisan and meet up with the trail again after Nogodan. What happened next, we wouldn't have been able to imagine.

We reached the summit of Cheonwangbong on a sunny, clear morning. As we hiked down the opposite side of the mountain, a Korean woman (who I will now refer to as Youngsoo) who was making her way up the mountain, struck up a conversation with us. After hearing about our plans, the conversation went something like this: 

Youngsoo: Where are you staying tonight?

Us: We don't know yet. Camping somewhere. 

Youngsoo: I'm staying with my friend at her uncle and aunt's house in Macheon (a very small town). You should stay there with us. Let me call my friend, she's ahead of me climbing up the mountain. 

(Phone call) 

Youngsoo: Hey, come down the mountain quickly. I met some foreigners on the trail.

Friend: Ah, the two Russian guys and a girl? I saw them.

Youngsoo: Yeah, but they aren't Russian. Just come down quickly.

(End of phone call) 

That was all it took to get us invited to stay with them for a night in the rural town of Macheon.

The five of us took the bus to the woman's uncle's house and waited outside while she asked permission for us to stay with them. The aunt was embarrassed by her home and was understandably hesitant to let three strangers stay there. But what soon became a running joke, after seeing Mark's extremely well-worn, dirty, holey hiking singlet, quickly felt at ease having us there (and may have even pitied us a bit). 

For the next day and a half we ate more than our fair share of food, learned how to pick various healthy greens from the mountains, visited a temple, made an appearance at the town's hangout for grandmothers, laughed a lot, laughed some more and made great friends. Just another example of Korean kindness and the luxury of not having a strict timetable to really get to know the Korean country and its people.

 

Rob and Kathleen atop the first peak, Cheonwangbong. Just the start of the Great Ridge.

 

We spent the morning learning how to pick Ssuk (쑥) and gosari (고사리) with our new friend, Heesun (희선). After spending her early childhood and most summers of her youth with her grandmother in the countryside, she was an expert at scouring the mountains for healthy greens.

Rob getting some experience in a Korean kitchen cooking some Kimchi Pancakes (김치전) with Youngsoo, an extremely generous and outgoing woman who has literally traveled around the world. She shared both her excellent cooking skills and one-of-a-kind stories from the various countries she has traveled.

Enjoying a day on the mountain with Heesun, overlooking the valley near Macheon.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip thus far for Mark and Rob and quite possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We were invited into the inner lair of Korean grandmothers: a place where men are strictly forbidden, the heat is set to a stifling temperature, and where foreigners may never have been privy before.

Enjoying dinner and makeoli with good souls.