Hiking Mt. Daedun
A view along the hike up Mt. Daedun.
Today was definitely one of the best days since I've been here. I went hiking up Mt. Daedun in the Jeollabuk province with about 20 people, mostly English teachers like myself from Canada and the States. It was a trip organized by a group called Adventure Korea...I heard about their website from a friend, and I'm glad I did!
My day started around 6:30 am...I had to walk to the nearest subway station, which is about 2 miles from my apartment. Well, I was a bit anxious, because it was my first sole adventure on the subway. I guess my nervousness got me nowhere...except on the wrong subway line. To make a long story short, I got lost, found my way, got lost again, but finally met up with the bus...about 30 minutes late. To say the least, it was not the best way to start off my day.
Anyway, we had a 2 hour bus ride before reaching Mt. Daedun around 11:30 am. We ate Bibimbap (mixture of rice, veggies, and egg) before finding out there was a long wait just to start our hike. As I've mentioned before, Koreans love to hike, and there were probably a thousand people on the mountain...and that's being modest. Anyway, once it was time for us to go, we boarded a gondola that took us halfway to the top. From there, we climbed up the remainder of the mountain via long, narrow suspension bridges that swayed with the wind. I have to admit, it was a bit scary.
Once we got to the top, we took some pictures and admired the amazing views before beginning our hike back down to the bottom. This time, we skipped the gondolas and thus avoided the masses of people; it was finally our time alone on the mountain. The hike down was super-steep and muddy, but we all made it down without too many falls.
We finally got back on the bus just as the sun was beginning to set around 5:00 pm. What should have been a 2-hour drive back home turned into a 5-hour ride...the traffic getting back into Seoul was a nightmare. However, it was a perfect time to really get the chance to talk to some of the people. The others on the trip have led such amazing lives, full of international travel and experiences. It was such a great opportunity for me to meet some people here with similar interests.
I finally boarded the subway around 10:30pm, making it home around 11:30pm. The weekends here fly by so fast!
My day started around 6:30 am...I had to walk to the nearest subway station, which is about 2 miles from my apartment. Well, I was a bit anxious, because it was my first sole adventure on the subway. I guess my nervousness got me nowhere...except on the wrong subway line. To make a long story short, I got lost, found my way, got lost again, but finally met up with the bus...about 30 minutes late. To say the least, it was not the best way to start off my day.
Anyway, we had a 2 hour bus ride before reaching Mt. Daedun around 11:30 am. We ate Bibimbap (mixture of rice, veggies, and egg) before finding out there was a long wait just to start our hike. As I've mentioned before, Koreans love to hike, and there were probably a thousand people on the mountain...and that's being modest. Anyway, once it was time for us to go, we boarded a gondola that took us halfway to the top. From there, we climbed up the remainder of the mountain via long, narrow suspension bridges that swayed with the wind. I have to admit, it was a bit scary.
Once we got to the top, we took some pictures and admired the amazing views before beginning our hike back down to the bottom. This time, we skipped the gondolas and thus avoided the masses of people; it was finally our time alone on the mountain. The hike down was super-steep and muddy, but we all made it down without too many falls.
We finally got back on the bus just as the sun was beginning to set around 5:00 pm. What should have been a 2-hour drive back home turned into a 5-hour ride...the traffic getting back into Seoul was a nightmare. However, it was a perfect time to really get the chance to talk to some of the people. The others on the trip have led such amazing lives, full of international travel and experiences. It was such a great opportunity for me to meet some people here with similar interests.
I finally boarded the subway around 10:30pm, making it home around 11:30pm. The weekends here fly by so fast!
Hikers climbing up a vertical suspension bridge.
posted by Tiffany Joiner @ 9:08 AM
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