Camping and Climbing in Ganhyeon
Saturday morning at 9:00 am, Seb and I, loaded up with backpacks full of climbing gear and camping supplies, met up with some Koreans from our climbing gym, Camp4. By 10:00 am, we were on the road in the backseat of our gym owner's SUV, excitedly headed for Ganhyeon, a climbing mecca located on a little creek about two hours southeast of Seoul.
The Great Rock.
We finally arrived in Ganhyeon a bit after noon, and we immediately had lunch with our group, which consisted of about ten others, most of whom knew very little, if any, English. After a fabulous lunch of spicy chicken soup and fish, we geared up in our harnesses and chalk bags and made our way across a little bridge to the massive climbing wall.
I think the posted yellow sign reads "No Swimming," but that didn't stop me!
Upon arriving at the wall, we were pleasantly surprised to see many other foreigners, including a Canadian regular at our gym. Not that we have anything against Koreans, but it was refreshing to have a nice flowing conversation after a morning of speaking "Konglish." Once we made sure our harnesses were secure (mine was a loaner), we began to climb. At first, Seb ran my balay for me, but after I met a few other girls at my level, I bid him farewell so that he could go climb more difficult routes. Before I knew it, the sun had set, and Seb, two foreign girls, and I were the only ones left on the wall. We decided to finally call it a day and hit the showers.
Yours truly in action...
After we were freshly cleaned via icy showers, we gathered within our campsite with the Koreans from our group. They began serving us heaps of steaming rice, galbi meat, kimchee, soybeans, and other delicious Korean dishes. After stuffing ourselves, we sat around and did our best to communicate with each other. We were honored to discover that one of our fellow climbers scaled Mt. Everest a year ago!
Seb and I enjoying the evening's entertainment.
For the night's entertainment, an old Korean man who sat with us was belting out his Korean "Mountain Songs," eventually asking us to reciprocate with our own home countries' mountain songs. (The only one I could think of was "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain.") The entire time, we were passing around a huge pot filled with Makgeolli, a sweet Korean rice wine. Finally, around midnight, we crashed into our makeshift tent and fell asleep.
Old-Timer singing the blues...
Sunday morning we were up around 6:30 am for a champion's breakfast of peanut butter, fruit, and bread. We then headed back to the climbing wall, and it came as no surprise to me that my arms were much, much weaker today. I could barely hang on after only a few minutes of climbing. After just three climbs, we sat down for a lunch of Ramen noodles and tuna, I jumped in the creek for a quick swim, and finally we packed up our campsite and endured the depressing ride back to the city.
The final thing I must say about this weekend is that I am hooked! I absolutely love rock climbing, and I want to make every effort to go as often as I possibly can before I leave in November. I also am very excited about some of the great new friends I met this weekend! I have definitely found my new love!
The Great Rock.
We finally arrived in Ganhyeon a bit after noon, and we immediately had lunch with our group, which consisted of about ten others, most of whom knew very little, if any, English. After a fabulous lunch of spicy chicken soup and fish, we geared up in our harnesses and chalk bags and made our way across a little bridge to the massive climbing wall.
I think the posted yellow sign reads "No Swimming," but that didn't stop me!
Upon arriving at the wall, we were pleasantly surprised to see many other foreigners, including a Canadian regular at our gym. Not that we have anything against Koreans, but it was refreshing to have a nice flowing conversation after a morning of speaking "Konglish." Once we made sure our harnesses were secure (mine was a loaner), we began to climb. At first, Seb ran my balay for me, but after I met a few other girls at my level, I bid him farewell so that he could go climb more difficult routes. Before I knew it, the sun had set, and Seb, two foreign girls, and I were the only ones left on the wall. We decided to finally call it a day and hit the showers.
Yours truly in action...
After we were freshly cleaned via icy showers, we gathered within our campsite with the Koreans from our group. They began serving us heaps of steaming rice, galbi meat, kimchee, soybeans, and other delicious Korean dishes. After stuffing ourselves, we sat around and did our best to communicate with each other. We were honored to discover that one of our fellow climbers scaled Mt. Everest a year ago!
Seb and I enjoying the evening's entertainment.
For the night's entertainment, an old Korean man who sat with us was belting out his Korean "Mountain Songs," eventually asking us to reciprocate with our own home countries' mountain songs. (The only one I could think of was "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain.") The entire time, we were passing around a huge pot filled with Makgeolli, a sweet Korean rice wine. Finally, around midnight, we crashed into our makeshift tent and fell asleep.
Old-Timer singing the blues...
Sunday morning we were up around 6:30 am for a champion's breakfast of peanut butter, fruit, and bread. We then headed back to the climbing wall, and it came as no surprise to me that my arms were much, much weaker today. I could barely hang on after only a few minutes of climbing. After just three climbs, we sat down for a lunch of Ramen noodles and tuna, I jumped in the creek for a quick swim, and finally we packed up our campsite and endured the depressing ride back to the city.
The final thing I must say about this weekend is that I am hooked! I absolutely love rock climbing, and I want to make every effort to go as often as I possibly can before I leave in November. I also am very excited about some of the great new friends I met this weekend! I have definitely found my new love!
posted by Tiffany Joiner @ 9:27 AM
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