A quick recap:
Day 2: Yangsan to outer Miryang
Day 3: outer Miryang to Miryang/Hanam-eup
Day 4: Hanam-eup to Namji-eup
Today's 30K walk took me to what I'd normally call my favorite quiet, little town of Namji-eup. I'm in a W50,000/night room for two nights at the Heitz Hotel (actually a motel). It was a long walk that featured my first dam of the trek: the Changnyeong-Haman Dam. I got to the dam late enough in the day for there to be no question that the convenience store in the admin building would be open, and a staffer would be present. The walk into Namji-eup was easy and straightforward enough... except that, during the final 5 kilometers, there was a sudden, Texas-style downpour. Contrary to yesterday's forecast, there'd been no rain all day, but the precipitation arrived with a vengeance right at the final part of the walk.
The rain and wind were so intense that I sheltered under a bridge (along with a very nice Korean biker who offered me an extra poncho) for over an hour before finally walking out into the rain. By that point, the rain and wind had both abated, but it was still rainy and a bit breezy. While this wasn't the sort of misery-inducing walk I'd been thinking of when I'd contended that cold rain is the worst weather to walk in because it's so demoralizing, it was still a bit of a slog. I arrived at the motel thoroughly soaked; I've hand-washed and am now drip-drying most of my clothes this evening, giving them all of tomorrow to dry completely. Also: how had I ever thought of Namji-eup as a quiet town? Today, it was noisy and bustling despite the rain. Lots of traffic, too.
On Monday, it's a 33K trek to the Jeokgyo-jang Motel, and another 2-night stay. That segment also features the second (and, I guess, only) big hill that I'll be doing this time around. Then on Wednesday, it's a monster 40K walk to Daegu's Hong-C Motel (홍시모텔), where I'll again spend two nights. Skirting Daegu's west side, I'll then do 25K to stay again at the If Hotel, where I'll dine on another favorite: crispy gganpoonggi (I'll request that it be extra crispy this time).
I decided to get up late again this morning because I knew there would be no rush if I was to be staying in Namji-eup for two nights. The 30K walk, which included about an hour's resting time plus about another hour's rain delay, took me from 4:50 a.m. to about 4:20 p.m., or 11.5 hours. Subtract about 2 hours for rest and delay, and that's 30K in 9.5 hours, or about 3.15 kph. Not very impressive. I did still reward myself with my usual NeNe Chicken once I got into town, and the guy gave me a free bottle of Pepsi (or does that come standard with a NeNe meal?) So I'm all carbed up for today, but I doubt I ate 5100 calories' worth of food. So far, no angina, and I seem to be doing fine with just pills and no insulin. As I said: the walk itself, with its blood-sugar-lowering properties, is a natural alternative to exogenous insulin. I've got Chinese food on tap for tomorrow—nothing healthy. Then on Monday, it's 33K to the Jeokgyo-jang Motel neighborhood. I'll definitely be working off the calories, and during my second day at that motel, I've scheduled myself to have only Survival Tabs. This is, in fact, how things will be for the rest of the trek: no more two-day binges.
I'd forgotten how this segment featured so many little ups and downs. Individually, I'd say that each hill didn't count as a hill, but over the course of a few dozen kilometers, the little hills added up and left me sweaty—another reason for me to wash my clothing finally.
The day had been mostly fine. The early morning had been unusually warm, and when I rechecked the weather, the forecast had changed to no rain. I suspected that it might change again, and sure enough, the forecast changed to rain at around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Right on schedule, as I got to within 5 km of Namji-eup at around 1 p.m., a Texas rain began to fall: first a few tentative drops, then a violent downpour that hit me right before I could shelter under a nearby bridge.
While I was under the bridge, a nice Korean cyclist with a gray beard, also caught in the downpour, kindly offered me an extra poncho should I decide to brave the precipitation. I thanked him but said I already had a windbreaker and a poncho; for the moment, I preferred to wait the storm out under the bridge. The biker waited as well, retreating to a far spot to make some calls. Back when we were standing together, we asked each other about our respective routes; his plan was to go about 40 km out, which I assume meant 80K total (out and back). He didn't seem to be doing the Four Rivers or anything like that.
Had it not been for the sudden (but not totally unexpected) rain, the day might almost have been boring. But despite the storm's inconvenience, it was an overall good walk. My feet hurt, but I took one dose of ibuprofen around lunchtime, and that's been it for today. I'll mostly stay off my feet tomorrow to give them time to heal and to toughen up. No solipsistic monks today.
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| a good, long walk, marred during the final 5 km |
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| about 5100 calories burned |
And here are the day's ten images:
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| Jupiter above and left of the moon |
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| cloudy in the morning but not that cool |
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| The moon tries hiding behind a cloud. |
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| There were Joro spiders everywhere. |
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| campers, most still asleep at 7 a.m. |
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| I got a real Misty Mountains vibe with this one. |
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| The river bends southwestward. |
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| Why isn't this tree as famous as the hackberry? |
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| how the rain looked early on |
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| succulent, dead burd |
I'm tired and can feel myself fading away. I might have more thoughts to add tomorrow while I rest. Partly sunny tomorrow; more rain forecast for Monday. Great.
ADDENDUM, 10/20: I can submit two items for an equipment review: my backpack's new rain shroud and my cell phone. The shroud is the about right size for my backpack, but it doesn't fit perfectly. Normally, during a rain, the slight imperfection might not matter, but it was extremely windy when the storm hit. Had I walked out into the rain when the storm was at its strongest, the shroud—which clung to the backpack thanks to a rubberized edge—would have blown right off. Ultimately, I decided to use the shroud to protect the one non-waterproof item inside the pack: my toiletry bag. I wrapped the toiletry bag up in the shroud and stuffed the bundle back in the pack, leaving the pack itself to get soaked. I need to buy a better shroud—one that can attach itself more firmly to the backpack's exterior.
My cell phone has been a source of problems, too. Even though I'd set its touch sensitivity to "insensitive" back in 2021, the phone has acquired a nasty habit of turning itself on and activating certain apps when I'm sweaty and/or it's raining. I don't know why this is happening; the touch-sensitivity settings haven't changed. When I'd decided to move out into the rain yesterday, I bagged the phone up in a Ziploc bag that I keep just for that purpose. The phone fritzed out, anyway, despite being dry.
Bonus pic: Changnyeong-Haman Dam:
PHOTO ESSAY
Mantis video.
In the end, it turned out to be a wet and wild day. And if you had left on time, you would have missed it! It's good you have a free day to dry out. Enjoy your rest time.
ReplyDeleteAlmost 50,000 steps—impressive! I recall my once-in-a-lifetime 50,000-step adventure. Following along on this trip with you is inspiring me (so far only in my head) to attempt it again. We shall see.
My favorite photo today is the moon in the clouds shot. The moon and trail create a sense of synchronicity. I'm not big into camping these days, but even if I was, that campground looks damn boring. What is there to do or see around there?
Rest well.
It took me more than an hour to complete the walk, so even leaving an hour earlier would have meant getting rained on.
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