Day 11, Leg 8

My feet are still intact, and I managed the 33K with only a few aches. I've had a persistent twinge in my left ankle since before the trek started; there's not much I can do except to walk it off. 

Today started off at around 3°C (37°F), but the sun shone as the day rolled on, and it got warm enough for me to strip off all my winter gear, leaving me to walk in my UnderArmour shirt and short-sleeve tee. I'm resting an extra day tomorrow, and it'll be sunny and warm again. Tuesday, I'll walk farther north to Libertar Pension; this'll be another over-30K walk, so I'll be staying at Libertar (next to Gumi Dam) an extra night as well. After that, I have three days in a row of walks. The third day will be an ass-kicking 36K—the longest segment of this final half of the trek. Weather on Tuesday and Wednesday looks good, but from Tuesday to Wednesday, there's a significant drop in daytime temps, which will undoubtedly be more pronounced the farther north I go. 

Today's walk took me out of the Daegu region and over to Chilgok. I'm staying at the Lee Motel as usual, but the big news is that this room's bathroom has a French-style bidet in it! Alas, it doesn't work, so I guess it's more decorative than anything. For people who only know the bidet function on a Japanese-style smart toilet, though, seeing a real bidet might be educational. I've included a photo here as a bonus #11.

Speaking of photos, I regret not photographing a friendly cat that ran up to me to beg for food. It meowed insistently; I felt bad that I had nothing to give it, and it was too skittish to accept any scritches. At this late point in the year, there are fewer living things to photograph, but I did manage to catch a lone Joro spider on camera—the only one I've seen thus far. 

I'll be showering and overhauling my tape and bandages once I'm at Libertar. Tonight, I washed my hair, my face, and my nether regions, and I also washed my underwear. Fuller laundry will also be done at Libertar. This will be my first time staying at the pension for more than a single night. Being a pension, Libertar is never cheap, but they said they had an end-of-year deal, so I paid W170,000 for two nights instead of W200,000. Whatever works. Tonight's motel cost is only W70,000 for two nights. The Lee Motel is humble but decent, nonfunctional bidet notwithstanding. 

I left late this morning: 6 a.m. This allowed me to sleep in an hour extra; I was exhausted after yesterday's walk, and I also knew I could afford to arrive late at the Lee Motel since I'd be staying an extra day. Confession: I'd done some stairs work before embarking on the second half of this trek, but absolutely no practice walks. You'll recall that I didn't declare myself fully healed until the Tuesday before departure. I was also still finalizing my Thanksgiving prep, so there was simply no time to do any walking. This means I'm retraining right now, as I'm doing these segments. Today, despite being much longer, went better than yesterday. I'm less tired. 

Plus my BMR, that's about 5600 calories burned.

Daegu: Keimyung University's big hospital

"The Arc [sic]," an aquaculture gallery

Gangjeong-goryeong Dam certification center

We love dilapidation!

Earthworm! What're you doing out on the path this cold morning?

I guess solar farms make more sense in a small country like Korea.

Much later on the path: a lone, defiant tree.

gone fishing

Perennially hilarious: "stank district." Uncorrected after all these years.

lone, 7-legged Joro spider

Rest day tomorrow, then a long trek on Tuesday. Stay tuned. 

And here's that bonus pic #11:

That's what a real, French bidet looks like.

PS: I left at 6 a.m. and arrived at 4:45 p.m., with about 90 minutes of down time for rest breaks. 10 hours, 45 minutes minus another 90 minutes for breaks. 33 km in 9.25 hours is 3.57 kph. I blame the shutterbugging.

PHOTO ESSAY

walking away from the Hotel If

Daegu's periphery isn't bad

the big, fake tree

This could be Keimyung University's main entrance.

It's a long walk past the campus.

Daylight approaches as I pass the campus hospital.

Bridge spanning the Geumho River... I'll cross, follow the Geumho to the Nakdong, and continue.

crossing

The Geumho is a placid tributary.

cute little spot, with a bamboo backdrop

I like the lighting, the colors, and the reflections.

swooping curve

These small structures are also found on the route from Seoul to Hanam City, close to the border.

approaching the Ark (I think they misspell it "Arc" unless that's deliberate ...?)

the 아크/a-keu (Ark/Arc)

It very plainly says "ARC" in Roman letters. The sign says the place is closed every Sunday and every January 1.

"ARC" on the door, too

now following the Nakdong again

Koreans love (1) abstract sculpture and (2) disembodied hands.

When a virgin graduates from Keimyung University, the ARC will lift off and go back to the galactic core.

Gangjeong Goryeong Dam comin' up

When I'm heading south to Busan, I usually hit this place in the early afternoon. Strange to see it in the morning.

The river water must flow.

the bridge across the dam's top

Gangjeong Goryeong Dam's certification center

them long morning shadows

A bit misleading: we're heading forward to that tunnel, not to the right.

Before they put that stupid fencing up, I used to be able to photograph this fish from many different angles.

a tunnel of mesh or netting

Trash! And there's more where that came from.

See?

Take a good look.

persistent persimmon tree

one of several pelotons

The sign is facing backward, but it warns of a million-won fine if you burn stuff in the fields.

외딴 칩/waeddan-jip = remote house

REMOTE HOUSE, I say!!

I guess "Remote House" is a resto: "chicken stew, duck, barley rice, strong soy-paste stew."

On the stone, it says, "영벽정/yeongbyeok-jeong," which could be "Shining Jade Pavilion."

The font on the very left says "Fish Village."

a poem I have no hope of deciphering

I have yet to stay in a minbak (except for that one time in 2017). This one looks a bit fancy.

Dilapidation!

Guess we're heading left.

some kind of aster (Japanese, California, etc.)...?

shwimteo on a hill

yellow boxes = apiary

the worm in the cold... I doubt it survived

the huge solar farm you have to divert around

I think I'm finally beginning to dislike solar farms. The solar panels are a nightmare to dispose of, and the farms create their own, sometimes-unwelcome microclimates.

Songha Farm

I did, however, idly wonder what it'd be like to live out here.

Someone's going to have to tell me what this is all about.

We've gotten around the solar farm. There will be more on this trip, alas.

grave markers for what is probably another family plot for a rich family that can afford the real estate

huge baesu-mun (drainage gate)

onto the boardwalk

and off again (it was short)

I wonder whether this is a yearly event.

more mystery bottles

an impressively twisted and partially buried glove

more myo in the distance

drainage gate seen from the "front"

climbing around to the back, "behind" the gate

from behind

The trail goes on.

modern shwimteo

Blue Pac-Man probably needs to get with Ms. Pac-Man so he won't be blue anymore.

I'm more than halfway there.

I'm tempted to get a group together to do some Shakespeare in the park when I see these open areas.

I heart you.

North America, but without Florida

a distant church

I hear Gollum rasping about the Dead Marshes.

I'm slightly reminded of le marais near where my buddy Dominique lives.

a bit of baseball going on

I've stopped here for a piss before, but not today.

slight uphill (doesn't count as a hill)

This has always felt quarry-like.

another burd convention

...and we're back to boardwalking

And just like that, we're done with the boardwalk.

once again with the lone chair up against a tree

Weren't the numbers reversed a little while back? Never trust these numbers! Only Naver Map!

heading into the bamboo for a bit

This torn-up shelter has been here for years.

Another little tributary flows into the Nakdong River.

a harvested field in winter

arfer spots me too late again

Be careful of falling.

Zero meters, or the holy "om"?

placid fishing spot

the #2 Waegwan Bridge

This is the last big stretch of the Nakdong River before I turn off to reach the Lee Motel. It feels weird to approach the Lee from this direction.

Choongeun Church

a marker for the Waegwan Ferry of old

a glimpse of a long walkway and/or bikeway

the Chilgok Stank District—yes! (the map image looks to be copied from Naver Maps)

Danger Guy! No swimming, fishing or skating (ice skating in winter?).

I normally pass this group of statues in the pre-dawn hours as I head south. This feels weird.

Pyracantha berries, I think

Joro spider, stubbornly out in early December

Chilgok Dam certification center, 500 m

Chilgok Dam

the dam's name—Chilgok (Chilgok-bo = Chilgok Dam)

bridge specs

Gongdo Bridge (Gongdo-gyo) across the dam's top

my destination, the Lee Motel

The tree in front of the motel seems to have something to say.

Bidet! Alas, nonfunctional.

gross underside of my left foot

gross underside of my right foot (note the bandages serving as padding)