Day 13, Leg 9

Today was colder than the past two days, and windier. I also lost my right glove; I guess it was just a matter of time. Good thing I brought along two pairs of gloves. The weather forecast shows that Thursday morning, when I leave Libertar Pension, it'll be below freezing, with temps reaching a high of 9°C (48°F, which is practically warm). Thursday's walk will be a fairly easy 23K, putting me officially in Sangju, where I will stay at either the Havana Motel, with its unpleasant idiot of a manager, or somewhere else local. Friday's walk will be similarly easy at 25K; that walk takes me to the Sangju Bus Terminal neighborhood, where I will stay at the unfamiliar Bobos Motel before breaking straight east for the concluding portion of this walk. The Saturday walk from Bobos to Daesun Motel will be the longest segment of this second half of the trek: 36K. Today, I survived 33K just fine, both of my soles intact. I peeled off my bandages and will redo them tomorrow. Tonight, it's enough to have a decent shower and just let my feet breathe. Re-pre-taping will happen tomorrow night.

I'd forgotten what a nice segment today was. The segment between Libertar and Lee Motel (or vice versa, as I did it today) is simple and straightforward; the weather was bright and beautiful. I'm also a big lover of wind, even when the cold and wind together leave me with a runny nose. 

Distance markers were all hilariously off; I passed one marker that said Gumi Dam (right next to my destination) was 10.6 kilometers away; almost a kilometer later, a different marker said the dam was 11 km away. Naver Map also gave me a headache when I needed to figure out how to cross the Nakdong while I was in Gumi City. The app referred me to a path across the water that didn't exist, so I just took the bridge that parallelled the nonexistent path.

I also saw a whole mess of Joro spiders, which must not have gotten the memo that winter is upon us. Delighted, I photographed several of them. I didn't think any would still be around, but I saw one the other day and six or seven today. 

No idea how long the good weather—and my feet—will last, but when I get back on the trail this coming Thursday, that will be the sixth day out of eleven days on the walk calendar. I'd done nine days of the 20-day walk calendar in October; if all goes well, and I don't get snowed out, I ought to be able to finish this year's walk in style, if not exactly triumphantly. Here's hoping.

note the change from 32K to 33K

so about 5670 calories burned

"Chilgok, city of peace and national defense"

looking backwards and east at dawn... so much for "red sky in morning"

It really was a nice day today.

the geese that didn't fly south

That goose was standing so still that I thought it was a statue at first. Then it moved. It had three companions.

where they hang invisible people

one of many dog statues in a park... heartwarming

is it a contradiction in terms to call this a concrete boardwalk?

last vestiges of the persimmons

Gumi Dam, a few hundred meters before Libertar Pension

I left at 4:45 this morning and got to the destination before 4 p.m. Walking speed was about the same as two days ago, with about the same amount of time spent resting.

Another day of rest tomorrow, then three days in a row of walking.