After a late night last night, we all slept in pretty late this morning. Liz and Anderson cooked up a nice big Saturday morning breakfast, which filled us all up. By about 2, we were fed, showered, and clothed, so we decided to head out for a hike at nearby Beomeosa. The skies were ominously dark as we departed the Muth’s apartment. By the time we reached Beomeosa, it was coming down lightly but steadily. Not enough to stop four world traveler-adventurers though There were a couple of temples/Buddhist sights to see along the way, but I know Joylani has more to write about those. I just enjoyed hiking up the rocky trail to the sound of the trickling stream and rain in the trees. The trail definitely got slippery and muddy, but it was fun. We walked a total of 5km over the course of about 3 hours, bisected by our reaching of the so-called North Gate. It was a just a stone gate on a windblown hill, set in a surreal location below the mountains. There’s really not much else to say about the hike, other than that we talked quite a bit and got a little wet. But it was a fun double-date if you will. Actually, I guess it kind of capped off a week-long double date.

Since I’m on the topic, I’ll use the rest of this post to delve into the Korean passion for hiking. We first began to notice hikers and outdoorsmen in Seoul. On the subways bound for the surrounding hills, middle age men and couples were decked out in outdoor apparel (North Face, LaFuma, Nike to name a few common brands), carrying packs and telescopic walking sticks. Then we saw quite a few of them in Seorak-san, walking in the rain like us, but much better prepared and geared up. And its impossible not to notice the millions of high-end outdoors shops around Busan. With all the latest clothes and gear, Koreans definitely look the part of serious hikers. And living in such a mountainous country, its not at all surprising. While I think perhaps they go a little overboard on the gear and clothes, they are serious hikers and nice to be in a place where outdoor/naturey pursuits are the norm.