MONDAY, JUNE 2 —> to Bijae, distance 6km
We left the yeogwan and headed through the outskirts of Hwaseo after having one more meal at our new favorite restaurant, Jjimirang Tangirang.
We were searching for a cutoff trail we had seen on our map. The spur trail would take us directly through the hills north of town and to the Baekdudaegan ridgeline. We'd be saved about 1.5 kilometers of hiking. We've become more focused on hiking smarter and not harder because we'd rather enjoy the trail than become slaves to it.
We left town through orchards, passing the ruins of a beautiful traditional house. We eventually found the right trail head after I got us lost.
We finally headed in the right direction as the weather took a turn for the worst. As we hiked, it got colder and windier. We were hot and sweaty after intensely climbing to the high ridge of the BDDGT. Once we reached the summit of the first mountain peak, we were chilled by our sweat and the steady wind blowing across the ridge. We hoped to make it to Bijae before rain came, but I guess Bijae isn't named as such for nothing.
The descent to Bijae was difficult and steep. A notable thing is that we saw a rabbit sitting next to the descending trail. She was still for awhile as we watched her, but when I tried to get a better photo, she ran off.
We were tired and ready to make camp the rest of the hike down even though we had only hiked 6km.
Arriving at Bijae, we found the pass completely cleared of trees. Construction was under way for a tunnel and wildlife bridge. While this seemed like a good effort to protect wildlife from speeding cars, it was also a lot of destruction to this patch of forest between the mountains.
On the northern edge of the pass at the edge of the road work, we found a newly built wooden platform to set our tent on. The platform was along a new section of trail made with pristine wooden steps.
The next challenge, as always, was to find water. We split up after searching the immediate area and finding no water. Kellyn cooked food with the water we had while I headed east down the road. I had hoped to find stream water as indicated on our map.
It was nerve-racking walking down this quiet road because I kept hearing the grunts and squeals of wild boars in the forest. They heard me walking along with my clacking trekking poles, and they dashed through the brush away from the road. Eventually I found and filtered water draining from a wetland on the edge of the forest. It still hadn’t rained, but the sky was dark and ominous.
Back at the platform, Kellyn had nearly finished cooking rice. Once we had our lentils boiling, she heard rustling in the dry leaves under the trees below us. A writhing cluster of three snakes slithered up the hill toward the dusty ground beneath the platform. We watched them come toward us, wondering if we had a good buffer between us and them. Eventually, the mass of snakes settled in the dirt out of sight. They had been beautiful, and we felt safe.
We ate in our tent just as rain showers washed over the forest. We hoped that it would only rain overnight. Only time would tell.
-Ben