FRIDAY, JUNE 6 --> to Beolbawi, distance 8km
We woke up to blue skies. What a nice change that there would be no rain today.
We got all packed up and excitedly hit the trail. Visions of fried chicken, soaking in hot tubs at the sauna and booze filled our head.
The treachery of the steep BDDGT didn’t disappoint. You almost always start your day on this trail with a steep climb. But again, the rewards were great. We reached a rocky promontory were we relaxed in the sunshine, taking pictures towards the south of all the land we had crossed.
Further down the trail, we met a dude who got lost trying to find Daeyasan, a peak along the upcoming closed section of trail. He wanted to hike back to the junction with us, but then he realized that we hike slow as hell. He sped off. We later wondered how he didn’t see the obvious trail closure sign at the junction, and how he thought going south away from Daeyasan was a good idea. I ruminated that perhaps he has a terrible sense of direction.
Another kilometer down the trail we reached some notable areas with striking boulders. One particularly massive boulder called house rock captivated us for awhile. We took a break within this surreal landscape of pine and stone.
After lazing around these boulders, we followed the trail down steep, muddy slopes which were damn-near impassable. Why. Why not switchbacks, people?
We heard distant voices through the forest as we approached the trail junction at Miljae. We discovered the source upon our arrival: a school trip was out for a hike to Daeyasan. They were contemplating the posting for the trail closure. The internet, and even KNPS office staff on the phones, don’t know about these closures. I had to ask a ranger at the last park entrance to get any information.
We wizzed past the school group and down our cut-off trail towards Beolbawi, the small village at the end of Yongchu Gorge. This scenic gorge was loaded with hikers, as it was a Saturday after all. That, and the valley was beautiful. The creek had more water than we had seen in a couple days. The pools were inviting for our sore feet, but we had precious time to catch a midday bus. We pressed on, not knowing exactly what lay ahead.
We passed more and more people as the valley opened up. The small streams became larger, and soon we had arrived at a touristy swimming areas. Little kids splashed around in rock pools naturally carved by the creek. Relaxing, no doubt, but the water was cloudy and stinky in the lower sections of the creek.
We reached the main encampments and were presented with a row of restaurants and minbak accommodations. We kept going, optimistic that following the creek trail would be a better, cooler choice than the road on this hot day. We knew we wouldn’t make it to the 1:30 bus, but the 5:20 bus was still possible.
Hiking along the creek was nice and peaceful for about 20 minutes until drunken singing filled the air. We had reached yet another tourist zone. A historic temple sat on the south bank of the creek, but the north side was madness.
A karaoke restaurant was loaded with people singing old Korean pop songs, and multiple tour buses and cars had brought loads of people out to party for the three-day holiday weekend (June 6 is the memorial day for the Korean War).
I like parties, too, but I was overwhelmed after being mostly alone with Kellyn in the woods for days. Blindly, I led us onward down the creekside trail. Big mistake.
Eventually, we reached an area where there were no people. We could find the trail here and there in the rocky bank, but much of it was unused or closed. We crossed the creek a couple more times and ended up in an area with even more minbaks along a new road. I got antsy having taken us this far.
I asked some men milling around their car if the road we were on led to the bus stops we wanted. They explained that we had hiked past Beolbawi about 2km. I had gotten us lost again. Fortunately, we still had time before 5pm and knew where we were.
We hiked back to Beolbawi. The elusive bus stop was there, but the bus times were all different. No bus at 5:20, so we would have to wait until 6:10 for a bus. Kellyn was nauseous, maybe from heat-stroke or our lunch of random snacks. Once she puked at the side of the bus stop, she felt much better. And so we waited for about an hour, ruminating about the trail and staring at people driving past in their cars.
Just when our asses were starting to fall asleep, a man pulled up in a blue Bongo truck. He asked us if we were waiting for the bus, and where we were going. We wanted to go to Mungyeongsi (Jeomchon), but we told him Gaeuneup was fine. He said he was going there and that we should put our bags in the back and go with him. Excitedly, we said yes and jumped in his truck.
Along the way he explained he would spend the weekend fishing near Beolbawi with his family. He had to go to Gaeuneup to pick up his wife. He was annoyed by all of the people singing and drinking by the river. He explained that memorial day should be a solemn day to remember those who have died during war, not one for drunken revelry. The scene along the creek was evidence that his opinion is definitely in the minority. He cautioned us that bars and night clubs in the city would be closed tonight. No matter for us.
We stared at the valley as we rode and chatted. Rice paddies lined the road and were met by rolling green mountains dotted by clusters of villages and minbaks. We arrived in Gaeuneup within 10 minutes, a small town with a rail-bike attraction. Our driver-friend pointed out his wife as we drove by. He leaned out the window and quickly explained why the hell he had two foreign people in his truck. She smiled, bowed and said hello as we drove off another 100m to the bus terminal.
Our new acquaintance and the ticket dealer helped get us the right ticket and the right bus. Even though it was unsolicited help, it was nice nonetheless.
Then we were off to Jeomchon in 15 minutes, the center of Mungyeong City. Goodbye for now, treacherous mountain spine!
